[Tano]

I had an audition for about an hour yesterday. I brought my D8000 Pro with me for a quick comparison to the YH-5000SE.

The chain used: SP3000T (hires source) to DAVE (dac) to HA-300mk2 (amp)

At the beginning I listened to YH-5000SE connected to DAVE's 6.3mm headphone output. The sound was good but I was not impressed tbh. I noticed that while YH-5000SE is easy to drive, the bass was muffled and not controlled well. Then we turned on the HA-300mk2 and gave it some time to warm up.

The bass after having the dedicated amp is much better and the sound opened up. I tried the low gain and mid gain setting on HA-300mk2 and liked the mid gain better as it has more punch.

Sound-wise I think YH-5000SE is similar to D8000 Pro but they are not the same. YH-5000SE is a little bit brighter, soundstage a bit bigger, and also a bit more clarity (especially the piano). I think it makes sense since D8000 Pro was released 3 years ago.

I was on the fence if I should get the D8000 Pro Limited Edition. After the audition I placed an order for a pair of YH-5000SE immediately. The store owner told me that they have received many orders and my pair might come in next Apr or May.

Thanks! This is really interesting. It must be really good if you prefer it over the D8000 Pro.
What about the bass?

 

[HiFiDJ]

I heard it in a tweet (in japanese) from the Portable Audio Festival 2022, 17-18 Dec in Akihabara. BriseAudio obtained the connector parts and will soon produce cables for YH-5000SE by order.

Well, just one hour ago, Nobunaga Labs posted a tweet with a photo of YH-5000SE and their new cable "Tateshina". Tateshina is a universal-style cable with 3.5mm mono on headphones-side connectors and 4.4mm for the amp side. So we can expect YH-5000SE suited with a wide range of cables.

Do you know if it has to be mono or can it be any 3.5mm connector?

 

[HiFiDJ]

I was on the fence if I should get the D8000 Pro Limited Edition. After the audition I placed an order for a pair of YH-5000SE immediately. The store owner told me that they have received many orders and my pair might come in next Apr or May.

Me too, then I realized that some dealers will be able to get their hands on the limited edition specific pads which, as far as I'm aware, is the main difference between the regular d8kp and d8kple. Others have reported that the d8kple sounds like a cross between a utopia22 and d8kp.

What chain do you regularly run your d8kp, out of curiosity? Just the sp3000t?

 

[doctorK53]

Do you know if it has to be mono or can it be any 3.5mm connector?

Not confirmed yet. The specification sheet of YH-5000SE and its cables do not show its pin assignment. But I guess, because tateshina has normal pin assignment same as Focal Stellia and many others (t=hot, s=cold), it should not be a problem to use a standard 3.5mm trs connector cable (t=hot, r=cold, s=ground or not connected).

 

[chinyue]

What about the bass?

I didn't feel the bass was lacking when listening through the HA300mk2, but I think I had to use a familiar chain to do a meaningful comparison.

One thing I forgot to mention is they told me the demo pair sounded awful when it just arrived. It became better and better after some run-in. It was approaching 100hr listening time when I had the audition. Maybe it can continue to improve after more run-in.

 

[chinyue]

What chain do you regularly run your d8kp, out of curiosity? Just the sp3000t?

I like the D8000 Pro on a tube amp. My chain: Auralic Aries G2.1 (source) to Esoteric K-03XD (dac) to Woo WA33 (amp)

 

[chinyue]

Not confirmed yet. The specification sheet of YH-5000SE and its cables do not show its pin assignment. But I guess, because tateshina has normal pin assignment same as Focal Stellia and many others (t=hot, s=cold), it should not be a problem to use a standard 3.5mm trs connector cable (t=hot, r=cold, s=ground or not connected).

3.5mm TRS connector works. I brought a Moon-audio silver dragon cable made for Sony Z1R (which can also be used with D8000 Pro and Hifiman 3.5mm headphones) and it worked well with YH-5000SE. The key point is don't use a locking 3.5mm connector so it can be inserted correctly.

 

[HiFiDJ]

I like the D8000 Pro on a tube amp. My chain: Auralic Aries G2.1 (source) to Esoteric K-03XD (dac) to Woo WA33 (amp)

Me too, and nice chain!

3.5mm TRS connector works. I brought a Moon-audio silver dragon cable made for Sony Z1R (which can also be used with D8000 Pro and Hifiman 3.5mm headphones) and it worked well with YH-5000SE. The key point is don't use a locking 3.5mm connector so it can be inserted correctly.

I use a dhc adapter with my d8kp so good info to know.

 

[K3cT]

Brighter than the D8000 Pro is not a good sign lol. I’m curious but early impressions seem to indicate that these lean bright like HD800, ADX 5000 etc.

 

[HiFiDJ]

Brighter than the D8000 Pro is not a good sign lol. I’m curious but early impressions seem to indicate that these lean bright like HD800, ADX 5000 etc.

My thoughts too. I haven't heard the Dave but it could be the pairing with the ha300 that's making it lean bright.

Btw @chinyue I'm assuming you demoed them with the stock leather pads? I don't think you mentioned anything about that.

 

[Slim1970]

Brighter than the D8000 Pro is not a good sign lol. I’m curious but early impressions seem to indicate that these lean bright like HD800, ADX 5000 etc.

I have the D8K Pro’s and the ADX-5000’s. The ADX-5000’s aren’t really lean, but they aren’t as full-bodied as the D8K Pro’s either. They sit right in the middle of neutral, which is very unique. I don’t find the ADX-5000’s as bright or artificial sounding as the HD8XX series of headphones. They have much better bass and sound more balanced. With that said, the way the YH-5000SE’s are being described does make me wonder if they will fit my sonic preferences. I would like to hear them in my setup and see how they compare with some of my headphones.

 

[chinyue]

My thoughts too. I haven't heard the Dave but it could be the pairing with the ha300 that's making it lean bright.

Btw @chinyue I'm assuming you demoed them with the stock leather pads? I don't think you mentioned anything about that.

That's right, I demoed with the stock leather pads. Also agree it's hard to judge on an unfamiliar chain, it could be due to DAVE or the amp. The brightness is only a bit more than D8000 Pro so not a big concern to me.

 

[chargedcapacitor]

Brighter than the D8000 Pro is not a good sign lol. I’m curious but early impressions seem to indicate that these lean bright like HD800, ADX 5000 etc.

One persons "brightness" is extremely subjective. I wouldn't put to much stock into these claims until someone can publish measurements, or you demo it yourself.

I certainly would hope these dont lean bright like an HD800; the 6khz peak on those is something any capable manufacturer would surely avoid.

 

[537778]

May be it's bright but done right

 

[doctorK53]

Yesterday (Dec 22) was the release date of YH-5000SE. But no report of arrival was found in Japanse SNS. Perhaps the number of the first shipment was very limited, or delay because of heavy snowfall since Monday. (Or, only "gray market" buyers obtained)