Truly classic style never fades, but it can be updated – and if you don’t believe that, cast eyes and ears over the new Yamaha 2000 Series of hi-fi components, recently unveiled to much desire at CES 2023.
Serving up a vintage vibe while boosting it with modern muscle, the series includes two components as part of a complete stereo system for home music streaming – these are floor-standing speakers the NS-2000A, and a network receiver R-N2000A. We’ve got our fingers and toes crossed for a turntable and/or a CD player to come.
This combo is designed to vibrantly output what Yamaha are calling True Sound, so that you feel the artist is right there doing their thing in front of you.
The R-N2000A network receiver is where old meets new, blending Yamaha’s lauded analog sound, build and design with the latest in streaming, wireless and digital tech, while the speakers bring all-new design along with patented technology from Yamaha’s 5000 Series.
The receiver also borrows from the engineering of that series’ pre-amp and amp, with perfectly symmetrical left-right circuitry and a floating/balanced power amp for supreme channel separation and signal-to-noise performance.
On top of a hearty build, the receiver serves up the full gamut of Yamaha MusicCast streaming services, with Amazon Music HD, Apple Music via AirPlay 2, Spotify, Tidal, Qobuz, and more. These are all accessed through an app. The end result is high-res, lossless sound through WiFi.
Adding to the appeal, a high-performance USB-DAC function gets the best out of your high-res audio sources, and an HDMI ARC connection lets your TV link to it.
It’s also beefed up with Yamaha Parametric Room Acoustic Optimiser, or YPAO, so it fixes up differences in room acoustics, ensuring you have the perfect listening environment.
As for design, the front-panel features glorious retro illuminated level meters and crafted controls along with a subtle digital front panel display for easy reference of detailed source and content data.
As for specs, there’s a toroidal power transformer serving up spacious, realistic sound, ESS SABRE ES902PRO Ultra DAC so you have the ultimate in high-performance conversion, precision EQ, and 384 kHz playback.
The speakers also take things to another level, with a three-way, four-driver bringing consistent sound tone colour across the whole sonic spectrum by using ZYLON – a newly developed material – for each driver. ZYLON offers exceptional sound velocity and minimal internal dissipation,
This is all encased in spruce, the favoured material in the soundboards of grand pianos, which is obviously something Yamaha know a lot about. This serves up faithful tonal balance.
Designed for the best possible dynamics by using laser vibrometers and advanced Finite Element Method analysis, the cabinet is truly next-level.
Patented tech such as Resonance Suppression Chambers and the Acoustic Absorber make sure your audio isn’t muddled by excess sound-absorbing materials.
Making certain they look good in your space, they feature an all-new design which is a sight to behold, with graceful curves and the sort of black finish normally seen on grand pianos.
Plus, there are solid brass speaker terminals ensuring a very secure connection.
“We have a long history and a loyal fan base for our hi-fi gear, and the 2000 series ushers us into a new age,” says Alex Sadeghian, director of Consumer Audio for Yamaha Corporation America.
“We designed a real, high-performance receiver, supercharged it with cutting-edge technology, and then paired it with a new generation of speakers.”
