Terrific, very accurate sound at any level your amp can handle, very clean, accurate reproduction.

Can't get them anymore in the US, don't work as well in large rooms (designed as true studio monitor speakers).

I bought these speakers as part of an all Yamaha system in the early 1970's. The only thing I've replaced on any part of it is the needle in the turntabel. The "Natural Sound" amp (don't remember the model but is about 60W RMS) is probably a better one than the Pioneer it is now hooked to (the Yamaha amp doesn't even have a remote). The other comments I've tell me my 'bright' CD's are probably the result of my mid-range Pioneer CD player rather than the speakers. Will look into fixing that.

It is a great system and I would love to find a couple more of these speakers.

Similar Products Used:

None, I've had these since the early 1970's.

Neutrality, dynamics, transparency.

Amplifier matching

I bought my NS1000m speakers in 1979 as a student. I have used them with the following amps - sugden A48/II, Yamaha 810, Rotel 840bx, Pioneer A400, Audiolab 8000A,Conrad Johnson MV55, Copland CTA401, Krell 3000i, musical fidelity A2, and various Analogue and CD sources.

They are best used close to a wall .

These speakers are very neutral, letting you hear what was recorded. They are fussy about the partnering amps,in particuler affecting the bass and mid range. For example the A400, MV55 were bass light. The 810 had no depth. The best match was the CTA401. The 25 watts of this being enough.The 8000A is a good match, and so is the A2, but this amp sounds rough beyond 1/3 level ( which is loud, but the CTA401 and 8000A, 840bx go louder, cleaner. The Krell sounded "Electronic"and "hard".

So,if you have heard these speakers and thought they were Bass light, had hard midrange. sounded muddy, hard treble etc, you are proberby hearing either the recorded quality, or the electronics.

For their second hand price of 500.GBP typically in the UK they are hard to beat when matched with the 8000A or fidelty A2. IF you can afford the CTA401 or other Copland Valve amp then this is a great match.

The ratings compare to the best of the present hifi high end.

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Sonus Faber Concertos. Rogers LS3/5A

Effortless perfomance. Efficient & sensitive. Robust construction. Well suited to class-A and hybrid class-B (say Quad 401 and later)

Attenuators for mid&tweeter. Sensitive to positioning. Big. No binding posts (small sprung connectors). Unforgiving - sound a little harsh with many class-B amps.

I first heard these over 20 years ago and knew that I wanted some. I could just not afford them... Then they weren't available... I bought a pair of KEF 104.2s which were fine but I still pined for my first true love... And then came the internet! I tracked some down and haven't looked back!

These beasts just do what you tell them and never show any sign of complaining. They can deliver hard trumpet that hurts like the real thing. They can give you a snare that you feel in your rib cage. They can pump bass that makes you wish you hadn't let those few punds of fat accumulate on your midrift and your windows want to go and play in another house. They can let my brigded NAD 2140s deliver so much power to them that my lights dim under the strain.

They can do that all at once and show no strain. They just lap it up.

Yet these same beasts can let you hear the spittle on a flautists lips, the rustle of pages in a full flow orchestra, a guitarists fingers kicked back by an already buzzing string.

I could listen to a recording of my own mother and be absolutely sure she was there.

Do you get my drift?

These speakers are world class.

The only things they've got against them in my book are;
* They are very unforgiving. A lot of music when paraded naked in front of your ears will turn you off. If you like the music, you'd wish you weren't using these speakers.
* They are too big for many households. (including mine!)
* They have almost useless little spring connectors - you have to pare down any heavy cable to fit.
* They look slightly garish.
* The very strong magnets mess up any CRT with a few metres.

I love 'em to bits.

Similar Products Used:

Kef 104.2, Mission Argonaut/780.

I Bought my NS1000s 2nd hand. I would have no idea how old they are but they may be 10 to 15 years old. They have been rejuvenated with Supra internal wiring and I personally touched up the cabinet.

With these formidable speakers mounted on super heavy four pillar sand filled stands I set about fulfilling a lifelong ambition of building up a half respectable rig. I elected to go the one brand route from sources to speakers. Mix & Match makes sense but I like things neat and tidy that you can get from one brand; However, yes I am aware of the pitfalls involved i.e. that audio companies dont generally make all good components (as I was to discover!)

So the Yamaha monitors formed the basis of a hefty rig complete with CX1/MX1 pre power combo, KX580SE cassette deck, an old T7 tuner and CD4050 CD player. And guess what? The NS1000 lapped up the pre/power and cassette deck and produced a well balanced clear sound underpinned by superb, quick,
taut and extended bass. However the monitors made it clear that the CD player was not in the same league with bright, prominent midrange/upper with vague bass. Discovering more from other enthusiasts and retailers, I learnt that Yamaha has tended to be quite patchy when it comes to CD players.

Therefore I had to introduce another brand into my rig otherwise I would be destined to listening to tape deck and tuner forever. So I went for the MSB Link DAC (See MSB Technologies web page for the rave reviews). Its hard to put a finger on but this DAC has ridded the system of the searing brightness of the Yamaha CD player and now the CD has become the prime listening source as it should be.

I paid $1100 Australian for these speaker and reckon they are an absolute bargain as they are very hard to purchase now and are destined to become a collectors item (they probably already are). I intend to keep them and rebuild if required. Check the cast alloy baskets for the woofers; They are HEAVY DUTY.

Stunning accuracy and ruthlessly revealing of any preceding defeciancy before it.

Slight forward balance but can be tamed with the midrange set to -3db

I have had these speakers in my possession for about 15 years and I suspect barring a tragedy I will have them for at least as long in the future.
The combination of dynamics and realism is superb and even after comparing them to some expensive newer speakers from JBL, KEF, Celestion and B&W I can say that only the big Tannoy dual concentric D900's come close.
Be careful, you need top quality components with it , in my case a Pioneer PD77 CD player used as a transport, Musical Fidelity X-DAC HDCD D/A converter, Musical Fidelity pre-amp and Plinius poweer amp.
Be prepared for a magical listening experience.
Make sure they are sited on solid stands and relatively close to the wall but away from corners.

Similar Products Used:

JBL Century , KEF 104/2

Clarity, transparency, robustness.

I have 2 sets of NS1000M's and one set of NS1000's. I have the M's setup in my home theatre system. A pair for the mains and a pair at the rear, driven by Rotel Michi RHB-10 power amps (one amp for front, one for centre, bi-amped, and one rear). Dolby Digital and DTS is done by Yamaha DSP-A1. The 1000's are for listening to music only, CD, vinyl and 78's.

The first pair of M's I got in 1989, I had to get rid of some dual concentric Tannoy's, they were very close in performance, but the M's are more robust.

You can turn these suckers up as loud as you like with a clean amp and they'll do what you like and still sound sweet. The bass certainly tightens up at higher volumes, the slam from movies is fantastic, and coupling these with a sub to pick up where they drop off at about 40Hz, is all you need for a great home cinema setup.

As far as music goes, partnered with other good equipment these are hard to beat. The NS1000's are a little smoother than the M's but still maintain fantastic clarity, and pinpoint soundstaging. I have my CD player (which has digital volume control)connected directly to the power amp with Nordost Red Dawn interconnects. It's hard to believe this speaker design came out in the late '70's.

Will Mr. Yamaha bring out a 25 year celebration model?