Looking for speaker recommendations that I can purchase on Amazon.com

@mofojo I'm not entirely sure what you were trying to say. However, here is my actual experience with this Yamaha P5000S amp.

First, the problem that originally brought me here, harsh and fatiguing higher frequencies, was mostly cured by switching to this amp. It was the single biggest improvement I made. Changing speakers further improved that issue to the point where it is no longer a problem.

I'm not suggesting there is no room for further improvement -- indeed I am planning to purchase both a pair of floorstanding speakers and a new subwoofer. However, I came here a couple weeks ago with a problem. My music was hurting my ears! With the Yamaha amp, I do not currently have that problem. I'm enjoying my system now.

Furthermore, when I listen to music now, I have a sense of an expansive sound stage, I can easily make out each instrument, I can hear an impressive level of detail. I can turn the volume up and make it loud, and the quality does not degrade. Cymbals sound good, female voices sound good, bass guitars sound good, etc. My most challenging music, classical Indian music (such as sitar with a "drone" accompaniment instrument called a tanpura) sounds enjoyable. (It's not as good a a live concert, but I don't think I'll get close to "live" until I can purchase some really high end speakers, a new subwoofer and optimize my listening room. Switching amps right now is not going to get me to "like live music", as I am sure everyone here will agree.)

I am coming to realize that the biggest deficiency in my system is probably the subwoofer, which is too boomy.

With the range, dynamism, clarity and detail I hear, as well as lack of noise, I don't really see a need to spend energy trying to solve a problem that doesn't exist. People here are quick to assume my Yamaha amp is  a problem simply because of the "club" tag it carries.

@kalali said, "...polluting this site by providing misinformation based on the absence of actual experience."

I have no idea exactly what or who kalali was referring to, and I absolutely don't care because I have no interest in who said what. In spite of the harsh language, there is a point there. I do observe that there have been an overwhelming number of negative comments about this amp from people who have no actual experience with it. Do those comments "pollute" this site? I'll stay out of that debate.

In terms of my next steps, I am certainly not going to switch amps before I buy new speakers. Some of you can deride the Yamaha amp as much as you wish, but I am thoroughly enjoying it. New speakers are my next step.

I'm out.  Glad you're happy with your amp and best of luck finding speakers that work for you.  Enjoy the music!

Food for thought here:

You said: " The Yamaha AS2000 costs 3 times as much. I’m not sure it would give me a 3x better experience. And with a 30 day return policy, it would be hard to give it a 100 hr break-in and stay within that return window."

Reply: You leave the component on all the time, turn the speakers off, raise the volume a little and you have your 100 hour break in period done in just over 4 days.


You said: " My most challenging music, classical Indian music (such as sitar with a "drone" accompaniment instrument called a tanpura) sounds enjoyable. (It’s not as good a a live concert, but I don’t think I’ll get close to "live" until I can purchase some really high end speakers, a new subwoofer and optimize my listening room. Switching amps right now is not going to get me to "like live music", as I am sure everyone here will agree.)"

Reply: I disagree with your last sentence but whether you switch amps or not, the main point is to be open to suggestions, open to different gear and listening experiences. Yes, your room will make the biggest impact on the gear that you have and most people pay little attention to their listening room so that is very important. But if you’ve never heard tube gear than your last statement about "never going to like live music" is one based on inexperience and close mindedness. I’m assuming the Yamaha at 26 lbs is some kind of digital class D amp, and yes, they all sound pretty good; however, I have found that most of the digital amps are extremely clean sounding but can sound dry, that is why they are best mated up with a tube preamp. They need the added sweetness of tubes.

For lots of us, this is a journey and the fun of it is trying out different gear and getting different flavors of how things sound. And in all my years of this journey (35+ years), overwhelmingly, I have found that when I have tube gear, all is right in the world and when I have solid state gear, I always find myself wanting tube gear again. There is something just very right, very pleasing to my ears, the even order distortion that nothing but tube gear has that makes it just so right sounding. So I’m saying is just check it out, you might be very amazed with how different the experience is and how you have a preference for it as many people do. And if you do happen to listen to some tube gear, know that there are many different variations of tube gear as well. Each tube has a different sound and whether it’s Push pull, single ended triode, single ended pentode, or OTL all have a much different flavor as well. So many nuances, so many options - yes, but that’s where a forum like this helps.   With tube gear, there is an emotional content to what you are hearing that I have rarely, if ever have achieved listening to SS gear and as a result,  the guys producing good SS gear always try to make their stuff sound like tubes.  



You said:  "I am coming to realize that the biggest deficiency in my system is probably the subwoofer, which is too boomy. "

Reply: I doubt it highly, might be improper set up or placement. A lot of people listen with a subwoofer way too loud or for video enhancement. When set up correctly, you should not be able to detect where a subwoofer is placed and it just fills in the bottom end seamlessly without drawing attention to itself.

Best of luck on your journey and enjoy the music!

Willemj, per your message:

" lou_setriodes,
You are I think too fast in your scepticism about that Yamaha amplifier. Did you actually read the review of the Yamaha P3500S that I linked to, and the very detailed measurements that the reviewer published? These days I at least rarely see such factual detail in a review. It is a first rate amplifier and fully up to high hifi standards. I therefore bought the smaller P2500S for my son, and I can only confirm that amplifier’s sonic qualities."

No, I have not read the review and I’m not a meaurements guy whatsoever. I’ve heard things that measure horribly that sound amazing and vice versa. I’ve heard classic tube gear that measures horribly but is so sweet and euphonic that it was some of the best sounding gear I ever heard. Cut off in the lows and highs but that midrange was to die for and just so musical.

So I much prefer musicality over measurements. I’ve heard single ended gear that measures poorly but when you hear it, it just sounds so right. I’ll take that anyday over measurements on paper. It certainly is a benchmark to be looked at initially, but I let my ears decide.