Yamaha NX-N500

MusicCast employs a high performance wireless network to deliver music and audio enjoyment. It can stream digital music content from your smartphone, PC or NAS to other MusicCast devices in your home. It can also share the music from external devices such as a TV or CD player connected to the NX-N500. Audio content from Bluetooth-connected devices can also be streamed to MusicCast devices in multiple rooms.

Inheriting all the precision of the classic NS-10M studio monitor, the NX-N500 is a modern monitor that boasts musical expressiveness exceeding its class. By repeatedly evaluating the tuning of the left and right speakers at 2 to 3m audition position intervals, it achieves stereophonic expression that liberates the true feeling of the music. Smooth and immediate vocals, a sense of the body of the melody instrument, a solid backbone to the sound and high density audio data. This is Yamaha’s answer to the demand for powered speakers capable of handling hi-res sound.

The power amplifier component, critical to powered speakers, utilizes a discrete configuration analog amplifier. It produces strong, expansive sound, all in a bi-amp system featuring a 45W woofer and 25W tweeter. By directly driving each unit individually, it produces powerful sound while maintaining the feeling of high S/N ratio.

In principle, balanced transmission cancels the external noise that becomes mixed with the signal during transmission. In the NX-N500, all digital audio input signals undergo balance conversion in the L-channel speaker before being transmitted to the R-channel speaker. XLR cable is used to establish balanced connection between speakers. This approach thoroughly eliminates noise.

With a 2-way, 2-speaker configuration, the NX-N500 utilizes a 3cm dome tweeter capable of handling 40kHz high bandwidth playback in order to reproduce the rich amount of audio information unique to hi-res sound sources. And by incorporating a thick waveguide it achieves smooth and accurate high frequency reproduction. The woofer employs the same New Advanced PMD diaphragm used in the high-grade Soavo model. With deeply expressive power to its low frequencies and comfortably relaxed high frequencies that feel free of peaks, the NX-N500 triumphs over both highs and lows.

The enclosure employs thick MDF with high rigidity to produce uniform acoustic characteristics, and features the total three-way mitered-joint construction traditionally used in Yamaha high-end speakers. Suppressing unwanted resonance and highly accurate, it helps ensure that you’ll hear sound with an outstanding sense of resolution.

The NX-N500’s high performance USB DAC is a full-spec PCM 384kHz/32-bit unit with support for DSD 5.6MHz native resolution. It is compatible with asynchronous transmission and can perform low-jitter transmission by using its own master clock, without being affected by the PC clock. It also makes use of an ASIO driver, it achieves lower latency and higher throughput and along with Windows PC compatibility, it’s also compatible with MAC OS Integer Mode, allowing 32-bit playback even in MAC OS.

The D/A converter for the NX-N500 is the ES9010K2M from ESS Technology, Inc. not only itshigh precision processing of 32-bit audio, but also the ability to handle large amounts of audio data with full PCM 384kHz, DSD 5.6MHz native reproduction, strength in the low register, and high quality definition in the high register. Since the built-in D/A converter generates its own master clock, an original Jitter Elimination function is also included, permitting D/A conversion with extremely low impact of clock jitter.

The NX-N500 is equipped with the latest Bluetooth technology, making wireless operation more convenient than ever. You can stream music from the NX-N500 to Bluetooth headphones for private listening or to Bluetooth speakers.

Use your smartphone or tablet together with the MusicCast CONTROLLER app to operate the speaker and change settings quickly and easily. The same Controller app functions as a remote control for all your MusicCast-compatible devices too.

The front of the speaker provides an LED display indicator color coded by operating status: orange for ECO Standby mode, green for network function, pink for AirPlay and sky blue for USB DAC, allowing easy, making it very easy to confirm the music source currently selected.