YAMAHA 5000 SERIES

When Yamaha announced its 5000 Series of two-channel audio, one choice was fascinating — it would be all-analogue. There is no digital source for the system, although of course Yamaha has other products in its ranges which could do the job.

But in pride of place at the front of the 5000 Series is the GT-5000 turntable, the final component to be released in this combination of turntable, separate pre-amplifier and power amplifiers, plus the iconic NS-5000 loudspeakers. We’ve now spent time with the entire system, and together they manage to deliver something which is both fresh and modern, yet which clearly leverages both Yamaha’s past classics and its engineering technologies developed over the company’s century and a quarter.

SOLID BUILD FROM SOURCE TO SPEAKERS

The first impression of the 5000 Series upon encountering the full complement is its combination of aesthetic desirability and rock-solid build quality throughout the system. Yamaha’s GT-5000 turntable, for starters, is not only a wildly desirable physical object: it is a clear demonstration of the company’s engineering prowess. It takes inspiration from Yamaha’s GT Series of yesteryear, where GT stood for ‘Gigantic & Tremendous’ — and clearly still does, in both size, and in weight, with the 5kg aluminium platter and 14cm brass inner platter contributing to the overall weight of 26.5kg. The platter on most turntables is 30cm in diameter. The platter on the GT-5000 is 35cm in diameter, a significant enlargement.

The chassis of most turntables is around 42cm wide and 32cm deep; that of the GT-5000 is around 55cm wide and 40cm deep. And then there’s the height. The chassis itself is 12cm thick, with another 4cm for the four support feet and a further 8cm for the height of the tonearm — so overall,