Amp and Preamp recommendations for Yamaha NS5000

Very interesting thoughts.

I think either gryphon or pass as you guys say might be the answer.

I also got a suggestion for Jeff Rowland monos.

@georgehifi  I think your recommendation is probably spot on with pass labs to keep things detailed and musical. Although I would not say its sounding clinical right now with the dual brystons. But I just feel like pass labs will bring even more musicality while retaining all the detail.
@yyzsantabarbara  this speaker is indeed so interesting in that some people perceive it to be smooth and rolled and musical while others very lean and clinical. I think its a real chameleon and adapts to the gear you feed it. For me it sounds like the perfect balance of both. Oh and marcus/shawn had it connected to the yamaha as3000 and Directstream dac.

Thanks will look into this.

Sorry my thread lead to such fighting.  😔

As I said to yyz in dm. I may go from dual 4bsst (with sst2 mobo) to a single 14bsst2 with not much investment for the change. Hope thats not a side grade.

Hey thanks YYZ, just returning this thought process. I am sorting out my front end streaming/transport gear a bit but still thinking about amps.
A suggestion was made to me for the XA25. My first thought would be it might be a bit underpowered for 88 db? But the people mentioning it disagree (they've never used ns5000). My feeling is these are speakers that like power. Thoughts?

YYZ did you already buy the ns5000? Would really love to hear what you think about the benchmark and Coda amps on the ns5000.
@arctikdeth Can you tell me what amp you recommend that would be better than my dual 4bsst?
Also no interest in CDs so i can focus on the amp.

The NS3000 looks interesting! I bet it disappears really well and probably would be a better fit for my room as well. If you get it youll be one of the first to own it.

Have you considered the TAD CR1 ? Those looks amazing.

Yes I can say the ns5000 is a true dark horse speaker. Not a lot of people know about it but its truly magical sounding. Astounding clarity, imaging, soundstage. It simply sounds so natural. My review has more details but I love them.

As for the ns3000 ya i agree they might be a bit small for my room unless I paired them with my dual 18 inch psa lol. But I like the ns5000 integration with my psa which I cross at 40 hz and turn them down.

As for amps. People on my discord tell me a pass labs xa25 would be more than enough for my speakers since my room isn’t that big. They are 88db and I am confused because even pass said that since the specs mention 200 watts to 600 watts that 200 at least would be ideal? Does more power allow for a more dynamic effortless sound? I rather go for an x250.8 that is being sold locally imo. I’m not confident 25 watts per channel would work.

Luxman m900u looks good. Going to take a hard look at it.
Also musical fidelity seems a great value thanks.
And ya I agree it seems these are speakers that need power so I am confused by the recommendation of 25 watts per channel class A? Just because I am in a smaller room. Wouldn't that still impair the full voice of the speaker even at low levels?
I admit 1 problem I had with the speaker is the soundstage tends to collapse a bit at low listening volumes so I do wonder if a higher quality amp can fix that. Might just be inherent in the design?

@jtgofish  Can you elaborate? Are you referring to the impedence curve? Also thoughts on Yamaha saying 'normal input 200 watts'.

My local dealer has a Musical Fidelity 800 NuVista  and willing to take my brystons in on trade. Also has new AS3200. Whats cool is hes willing to  let me test each one to see which I like more.
But my gut tells me to sell my brystons and get the pass x250.8.

So the 250.8 just sold. So gotta look at other options.

Thinking of the coda no.8 also. Also the accuphase e470 or p450

After a lot of research I am leaning towards either a Pass integrated or a 150.8 or 250.8 with my audio gd he9 preamp.
Or a luxman m900u or 509X.
A friend of mine recently listened to the NS5000 with a VTL tube pre, m5000 power amp and brikmann dac and said it sounded too smooth. I know the ns5000 is very neutral... do you think pass or luxman might be too warm overall? HE9 is likely neutral to slightly bright so may balance things but I do have a denafrips terminator so that may also push things to too warm?

Guys thanks for the suggestions:
@twoleftears Actually a local dealer does have an AX-5 twenty used for sale for about $5600 usd. I definitely am considering it. But kinda leaning towards going for a power amp so I am open to a future pre-amp upgrade.
@verdant Chord amps seem interesting. I don't know how easy it would be to get one up here in Canada. Heard chord is kinda a pain to deal with also.

Verdant thanks man I will definitely look into it.

Wow. Mark Jones was right about bridged mode sometimes being inferior to stereo.

I’ve had these brystons amps for well over a year. I never really tested out 1 amp in individual mode. Always using bridged mode with dual amps. Since the guy who is buying is picking them up in 2 days I tested single amp stereo mode... holy crap.

The soundstage grew tremendously, especially depth which immersed you in the music so much instruments seemed to surround you. Textural nuances became incredibly palpable and details accentuated with more separation and holographic layering. I could all of a sudden pick out subtle nuances that never jumped out at me before like they do now. The speakers vanished completely and closing my eyes I struggled to place the location of the towers with sound references alone.. its like the sound totally de-coupled from the speakers and just swirls around the room. This is a big gain in SQ and I actually save money with this gain (by selling 1 amp) !

So I sold my brystons and looking for a new amp.

Mainly considering pass (X or XA), Luxman (m900u or 509X) or CODA (no. 8 or 15.5).
1 interesting possibility came up though. The Sanders magtech monos. I have a local seller on them for a good price. But looking at the specs of these they have insane power, 2000 watts. Max input of my NS5000 is 600 watts. Prior to that my brystons were I believe 900 wpc in bridged mode. Do you think these are potentially dangerous to pair with the ns5k ?

LOL. Ya I think if I hook them up I'll turn my volume dial so incredibly slow while sweating bullets lol

I'd love to grab an m900u. Pricing on it is tough though.
Used X150.8 or new Coda no8 are probably good cheaper options.

Guys my review of the X350.8

http://sonicvisions.org/index.php?threads/review-of-pass-labs-x350-8.62/

TLDR its incredible

I really enjoy the Ref 5 SE + X350.8 with the ns5000. They move me to tears everytime I listen to them. But lately I am enjoying a warmer more organic type of sound (that I heard with the bottlehead crack OTL amp with black silk hd650). So trying to move more in that direction. I have the bottlehead moreplay preamp coming in but still looking around for a warm tube pre + power amp or integrated to try on the ns5k.

I tried the PL Evo 300 integrated in ultra linear. It was ok... on headphones it was incredible though so it makes me wonder if its just not enough power to drive the ns5000. Maybe stepping up to the EVO 400 integrated or monos would open up the stage on ns5000 more ?

The magic I heard on headphones with the prima luna wasnt present when the evo 300 was connected to the ns5000 despite volume not being an issue.

I wonder how the Krell sounds vs the Pass tho. Since the Pass is already a relatively warm and musical (for SS) amp.

@yyzsantabarbara  I am about 9 feet away and they are about 8-9 feet apart.

Is coda warmer than pass ?

@paullb im pretty sure ns5000 will be much brighter (more neutral) than the harbeth which is known to be very thick and warm. But I haven't heard the harbeth and will allow someone else to chime in.

@yyzsantabarbara how does m900u compare to your coda no 16 and krell? Have you ever compared directly to pass ?

I hear many people saying luxman is pretty neutral but has a relaxed tone so ya  I dunno maybe. Still thinking about what direction  I should go.

@80s_forever ya i am open to accuphase... its pricey though but might be worth checking out for sure