Customer Reviews

Yamaha NS-555 3-Way Bass Reflex Tower Speaker (Each)

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I bought these speakers only after I made the mistake and purchased the NS-125s. After being very disappointed with those speakers, I was looking for anything to cheer me up. Then when my package of NS-555's came, and I set them up...wow!! I am using them as my main speakers, along with my Yamaha receiver, center, rear and powered sub. I wanted to go wtih Yamaha speakers as my main to complete my setup.

All I can say, after I figured my receiver for the better main speakers, I was litterly blown away. These speakers rock and now my TV room sounds like a movie theater. I was worried that my receiver wouldn't have enough power for these speakers. I am running 75 watts per channel in theater mode and 100 watts in stereo mode. Even with the 75 watts, I can not even turn my system above -30 before the sounds starts to rock the entire house!!! This was the sound that I was looking for when I first had my idea of a home theater system.

Overall I highly recommend these speakers. I could not beleive the power difference between the NS-125s, and for only $50 more per speaker, the choice is all ready made easy! These speakers sound great. I can hear sounds in movies that I never heard before, seeing I was using a 2 way speaker and upgraded to a 3 way. All I need now is to upgrade my center to a 3 way and I am done!

It should be noted that the ns-555's are specifically labeled home theatre speakers; however, I am in the process of building an audiophile system and these are currently my fronts. Right now my music is delivered to these yamaha's via a Marantz sacd player pushed by a 100W/ch Marantz receiver. So, my review is somewhat skewed as I am one with the expectation of exceptional sound quality. These Yamaha's are very good for usage as the front speakers in a surround home theatre system!

The yamaha NS-555's produce very good sound for their low-low price, consequently their response levels at the very extreme highs and lows is not the greatest...The soundstage that they reproduce is well defined, but somewhat narrow; leaving many who I demo them for saying, "wow those sound really clean."

In order to get a significant level of improvement above the ns-555's you have to invest about five times the amount of dollars. My next step in upgrading my personal system will be to replace these with a pair of Bowers and Wilkins loudspeakers. So, you can see where I am coming from, and I hope that this helps you realize these are a great place to start building a top-notch system, and they are also good for someone less peculiar who seeks a solid pair of home theatre speakers.

Consider yourself lucky that you've run across these speakers. I'm not an audiophile, but I like to believe I have a decerning ear for reasonable sound quality. These speakers look and sound great - I'm using as my fronts along with the ns-444 center and the onkyo sub/surrounds that came with my hts-770 HTIB. I'm very satisfied. My only negative is that, at low volume levels, the sound tends to be a little strained (that's the only word I can think to describe it). I'm convinced it's my receiver though. Looking forward to upgrading my Onkyo 520 so I can REALLY hear these bad boys shine!

The Yamaha NS-555 speakers are a very good buy for anybody wanting to setup a good sound system without entering into the rarified realms of audiophilia. My experience with them has been with classical (mainly piano) works and jazz. For these genres, the Yamahas have been entirely satisfactory. I have seen reviews elsewhere which complain of a lack of bass. Maybe this is an issue for heavy metal fans where bass is very much part of the soundscape but for the music I listen to, these speakers provide a satisfying experience. I suppose the best thing that can be said about them is that they are simply unobtrusive. I never notice them sonically (I suppose my ears have adjusted to them). I'm playing Sviatoslav Richter's offering of The Well Tempered Clavier on them at the moment. The clarity and timbre of the piano are superb. There are, I suppose, better speakers out there but at this price, I would be surprised. Also, they look elegant, tall with a black piano finish and brushed silver feet.
Highly recommended!

Update 1 February 2010. I've been using these speakers for over 3 years now and given my listening pattern, they must have at least 6000 hours on them. There has been no change in my opinion about them. They are excellent speakers both in appearance and performance. I have no reservations or quibbles about them. They provide a very satisfying musical experience. Depth, detail and balance are all there. 'Natural Sound' describes them well. For the music lover, these Yamahas are unbeatable value.j

Update 3 September 2011. I've been running these speakers biwired to the amplifier for about a year or so, as per the recommendations of the Yamaha handbook. I can't honestly say that there has an improvement in their performance due to this setup. I would like to hear other users' opinions on this.

These speakers are immersive, and that's the only thing that really counts. When you sit down to listen, you don't want to leave. Seconds become minutes become hours; these are the speakers that you could lose days with, just dreaming and beautifully drowning in music. (For the setup geeks: my setup is two of these, an HK 3485 receiver, Cambridge D500 special edition CD-player, Kenwood CT-203 tape player, and 16-gauge speaker wire with Monster banana plugs.) For 2-channel music listening, you really don't need a subwoofer unless you're a total bass fiend.

And the looks? They are polished black and simply ooze class. The speakers don't take up much space either width-wise or depth-wise. In fact, they're smaller than the speakers I replaced, though a bit taller. The height is just right for sitting in a chair and listening, so you don't have to worry about that either. Finally, some assembly is required -- you have to screw in the feet (four per speaker), and they go in fairly deep.

In short, immersive.

I recently hooked up a pair of these NS-555 speakers from Yamaha as the fronts for my surround sound system which are of course the mains for any 2 channel stereo music listening. Originally, I had some small Yamaha bookshelf speakers, the NS-6490's in the front but when I replaced my OLD Sony home theater receiver with a Yamaha RVX663 I found the 6490's a little wanting. After looking at a number of speakers in my budget and the reviews of the NS-555's on a variety of web sites I decided to do an "all in the Yamaha family" selection and got them.

Hooking them up and playing them the initial sound was a bit too stiff in a seemingly precise but harsh way HOWEVER after about 90 minutes of play time there was a more than a subtle change in the sound quality as they smoothed out tremendously yet still very natural, precise sounding.

Some people do not believe that speakers are capable of "breaking in" but to my ears this was a substantial change. They sound very good now and there are those that say it takes about 100 hours of playing for speakers to completely break in. I feel there is no doubt there will be some improvement in the coming weeks, althought I doubt as dramatic as that at about 90 minutes in.

A small number of some reviewers report that the NS-555's do not have enough bass capabilities. i on the other hand can report that I am more than pleasantly surprise at the bass response I am getting from them and I am using a single lead hook up. Yamaha's design allows for bi-wire hook ups on the NS-555's, using seperate leads for the midrange and tweeter then a lead specifically for the woofers, it maybe possible to then increase the bass response to a higher level. I am willing to try the bi-wire set up and have some good spade connectors on their way for that purpose. The NS-555's can take banana plug ins also which is quick and easy.

Currently I am using the OPPO DV-983H DVD player also as the CD player and it really compliments the system well. The picture is excellent thru the RXV663 and the sound from both DVD's, CD's, SACD's and a variety of DVD audio titles have all been great. CD listening seeems to be the most clear and natural when using the RXV663 two settings that are close in sound "Straight" and also a "Pure Direct" that really allow the speakers to shine with the content of a good sounding CD. Some CD's where the recording is from really old sources like poor tapes and 78's can benefit from some of the sound scenes the amp can produce.

MSRP for these are $249.95 for a single so $500 for the pair. Careful searches can find some really good bargins on these so look carefully.

Fit and finish seems top notch and the sound rivals some speaker systems I have heard that are at a much higher price point. So far in the sound quality for dollar aspect these are hitting a home run in my book.

Brought these speakers on Amazon in Sept 2008 and have had them for over a year. Just wanted to provide a simple review regarding their performance. They are a very good entry level speaker (pair for under 0.5K) with great sonic balance lows, mids and highs. The bass response has developed over time, at first I thought a subwoofer would always be necessary, although a subwoofer has its role in a home theater system; these speakers will hold their own in a stereo setup. I have removed the cross-over bridging clips and run separate amps to the bass and treble sections of each speaker from my Yamaha RX-V663. Highly recommended speaker. The piano finish luster still shines and presents a nice complement to your entertainment center. One will be very pressed to find a 3-way speaker pair of this quality and price.

Update: Dec 2011, These speakers are still providing great service and sound a pair of smooth broken-in speakers. No complaint.

After reading the favorable reviews on Amazon about these speakers I deceided the Yamaha's had the most favorable feedback in their price range. When able to hear different speakers in A vs. B comparisons I know each speaker set has its own pro's and con's. Not finding a store nearby to demo I took a chance based on others comments. The true test of any speaker pair is how they sound in your living room. These sound great,look great and I'm very happy with my purchase.

These speakers perform extremely well. They output pure quality sound. The High and Mid range tones are my favorites. I think the lows could have been a bit better, but pairing them with a sub-woofer compensates for the very little gap in bass. If you have or are planning on having a surround system or home theater, than you'll have a great balance once you add a sub-woofer to your speaker set, but if you plan on having these two floors speakers as your main speakers for both music and movies, then I would recommend you go with the NS-777 which output deeper lows.

These speakers are outstanding, in both performance and looks. Not sure why they're somewhat ignored by the "audiophile" world, must be the reasonable price. I compared the 555's directly against the current Infinity Primus 3-way tower model. The Infinity's are excellent. But, the Yamaha's seem so much more "musical" with greater detail, focus and depth. Get a pair of these along with a good subwoofer and you won't go wrong! You owe it to your ears!

Short term follow up for anyone interested. Had them for a little over 3 months now and they do indeed "get better with age." The soundstage has "widened" but still retains mid/treble focus and the bass has smoothed out nicely. Turned the subwoofer way down. Not sure what's up-breaking in maybe?-but they're sounding better and better.