Japanese audio stalwart Yamaha recently announced two new sets of high-end headphones, the YH-4000 and YH-C3000, that promise to envelop your ears in audio luxury. Well, that’s our theory anyway, just based on the prices (and the company’s long history of making fantastic audio gear).
The new cans first appeared in April earlier this year, but Yamaha chose to keep most of the details to itself… until now.
They’ve managed to garner a lot of attention in audiophile circles and have sizeable shoes to fill as follow-ups to the highly acclaimed YH-5000SE flagship launched in 2022.
Yamaha is at it again
Like the YH-5000SE, the YH-4000 use an open-back design, meaning your ears aren’t entirely sealed off from the outside world. In fact, it seems the design of the YH-5000SE went down so well that Yamaha hasn’t felt the need to change much.
The YH-4000 use the same earcup housing and planar magnetic drivers, a type of headphone transducer generally praised for its excellent tonal balance, clarity, and detailed, authentic sound. However, a major difference between them is Yamaha’s removal of some sound-damping material and custom sound tuning for “a uniquely responsive, natural and precise sound.”
The midrange and bass performance have been improved with new mesh filters that better regulate internal pressure. Crafted from magnesium, the 320-gram cans feature lightweight housings and a two-layer headband with a stepless slider mechanism for the perfect fit.
A little too rich for your taste?
In contrast, the YH-C3000 feature a closed-back design. Your ears will be sealed off in the silk protein leather-covered memory foam earpads and hand-crafted, painted, and polished beech housings, a wood Yamaha says was picked for its “natural acoustic properties.” They also get the stepless headband slider for precise adjustments, and only come out 10g heavier than their open-back counterparts.
Precision seems to be what Yamaha is after with the YH-C3000. They ship with the newly developed ‘Armodynamic’ drivers, something the company has been working on for the past ten years.
These drivers use a “three-layer diaphragm that sandwiches a soft foam layer between two layers of blended paper, resin and ZYLON — a high-performance material also found in the Yamaha flagship Hi-Fi speakers.” This is said to result in “high-resolution sound with a fast response and minimal distortion.”
The YH-C3000 should be available from this month, while the YH-4000 is expected to go on sale later in October. The latter bears the high (but still half as much as the flagship’s) MSRP of $2,500 (~R43,620), while the former will require a much more stomachable $1,700 (~R29,660). We certainly hope we’ll see them turn up in South Africa, but probably best not to hold your breath.
