Yamaha NS-600A
The Yamaha NS-600A makes music feel immediate through a rich, vocal-forward midrange, lightning-fast dynamics and an unusually expansive soundstage for a compact standmount. Mark Gusew found its textured bass, vivid detail and three-dimensional separation especially engaging, while the beautifully finished, rigid cabinet adds premium substance to its energetic, musical presentation.
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Deliciously Crispy
Sound Quality
91/100
Build Quality
94/100
Value for Money
88/100
Pros
Expressive, full-bodied midrange gives vocals and acoustic instruments exceptional texture, tonal colour and presence.
Huge, three-dimensional imaging with clear instrument separation makes the compact speaker sound far larger than its cabinet.
Fast transients, taut integrated bass and strong timing create a lively, punchy, rhythmically engaging presentation.
Superbly finished, stiff cabinet with premium crossover components and solid-brass binding posts.
Cons
Treble can sound bright, forward or assertive with some amplifiers and recordings, making sympathetic system matching important.
Deep-bass enthusiasts, particularly for pipe organ or heavy metal, may want to add a subwoofer.
Its frequency response is not ruler-flat; minor audible dips and peaks trade neutrality for a more characterful presentation.
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What Reviewers Are Saying
SOUND QUALITY PERFORMANCE 91/100
The NS-600A is described as clean, vivid and highly articulate, with a touch of warmth that keeps its presentation engaging over long listening sessions. Its strongest traits are an expressive midrange, expansive imaging and notably quick, punchy timing, although system matching matters because the treble can become forward with some amplifiers and recordings.
Bass
88/100
Bass is textured, taut and well integrated with the midrange, with clean starts and stops rather than audible overhang. It reaches impressively deep for a compact 5.25-inch standmount, but listeners focused on pipe organ or heavy metal may still want a subwoofer.
Mid
93/100
The midrange is a clear highlight, bringing fullness, density, texture and tonal colour to instruments and voices. The reviewer notes a slight emphasis here, making vocals particularly immediate and emotionally involving.
Treble
87/100
The upper registers are open and well-lit, supporting strong articulation and intelligibility. However, the balance can become bright, forward or assertive depending on amplifier and recording, so sympathetic partnering is worthwhile.
Soundstage Imaging
95/100
Despite its compact cabinet, the NS-600A produces an enormous and cavernous stereo image. Instruments are described as clearly separated and convincingly suspended in three-dimensional space, with impressive width, height and depth.
Dynamics
93/100
The speaker’s transient speed, timing and rhythmic drive make pop and other energetic music feel lively and involving. Its taut bass and clean leading edges contribute to a punchy, responsive presentation.
Assessments of Build Quality, Usability, and Overall Propositions.
Build Quality
94/100
Reviewers found the cabinet superbly finished, with an upscale piano-black lacquer, rounded edges and notably high stiffness in a knock test. Solid-brass binding posts and premium Mundorf capacitors reinforce the impression of carefully executed engineering.
Value for Money
88/100
At US$1,499 / £2,299, the NS-600A sits in a competitive premium standmount market, but the review considers it a welcome and worthy option in that class. Its refined finish, expansive presentation and unusually strong midrange and imaging help support the asking price, provided its tonal balance suits the partnering system.
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Specifications
- Type
- 2 way Bass-Reflex Type
- Woofers
- 5-1/8" cone type
- Tweeter
- 1-1/4" dome type
- Frequency Response
- 47 Hz-65 kHz (-10 dB), -100 kHz (-30 dB)
- Nominal Input Power
- 40 W
- Maximum Input Power
- 120 W
- Sensitivity
- 85.5 dB
- Crossover Frequencies
- 2.6 kHz
- Impedance
- 6 ohms (minimum 3.6 ohms)
- Dimensions (W x H x D)
- 8-1/8" x 15-1/8" x 13"
- Weight
- 21.8 lbs
- Accessories
- Front Grille x 1, Cushion x 4
Manufacturer's Description — Yamaha
NS-600A Bookshelf Speaker (Each)
The NS-600A is a compact 2-way speaker that provides faithful reproduction of all musical instruments and precise sound images.
- 2-way bookshelf speaker with 5 1/8" woofer
- A newly developed "Harmonious Diaphragm" made of a blend of materials, including Zylon and spruce, for true tonal balance
- Ideal cabinet construction, designed with vibration analysis technology cultivated in our crafting of musical instruments
- Yamaha-patented Acoustic Absorber optimized for the NS-600A
- Yamaha-patented R.S. (Resonance Suppression) Chamber for suppressing unwanted resonance
- Authentic piano finish adds to the luxurious joy of ownership
- High-quality parts for crossover circuitry, including audio capacitors made by Mundorf of Germany
- Solid brass speaker terminals for highly secure connection and luxurious feel
TOTAL ELEGANCE WITH CLEAR SOUND FIELD
Yamaha created the NS-600A bookshelf speaker by fusing rich aesthetics with the latest advanced technology. The unique diaphragm material produces exceptionally unified tone, while the spacious large-capacity cabinet delivers a vast and luxuriant sound field. It is all topped off with a beautiful grand piano-like finish that gives you an even more luxurious music listening experience.
Using our signature gloss finish, a technique traditionally reserved for our finest pianos, this speaker provides an aesthetic pleasure, whether you're immersed in its sound or simply admiring its presence.
TRUE SOUND
Yamaha is the only audio brand in the world that manages every facet of sound, from its creation to the moment it graces your ears. Simply close your eyes, and you won't just hear the music - you'll experience the unparalleled sensation of being genuinely closer to the artist.
TONAL BALANCE
Every ear hears the world differently. Yamaha expresses sound as the artist intended. Reproducing sonic elements such as vocals and instruments at the right pitch requires both passion and precision. Yamaha accomplishes this through tonal balance, enriching harmonies and recreating musicality to help you hear sounds you couldn't hear before.
PERFECTLY UNIFIED TONE
PERFECTLY UNIFIED TONE
As a world-renowned music brand, Yamaha is relentlessly committed to accurately reproducing the sounds of instruments. In order to make this quest a reality, we created flagship speakers under the design concept of having consistent tone color throughout the entire frequency spectrum and applied unique technology to achieve it. For each and every one of its speaker units, the NS-600A employs the newly developed Harmonious Diaphragm™—made from a blend of ZYLON®, which has excellent sound velocity and optimal internal dissipation — and spruce, which is used in the soundboard of Yamaha grand pianos.
DYNAMICS
We pursue a sense of dynamics that express the contrast between stillness and motion in the music - allowing you to immerse yourself in the deep emotions in the music.
TOTAL MUSIC REPRODUCTION
Our patented Resonance Suppression chambers are mounted on the back of the tweeter in order to faithfully express even the finest nuances of musical instruments and voices. Two specially shaped tubes cancel unwanted resonance generated behind the diaphragm, revitalizing and maintaining the original sound.
FAITHFUL MUSICAL PRESENCE
Conventional speakers use a large amount of sound-absorbing material to eliminate standing waves inside the cabinet. However, this also removes much of the music's character. In the NS-600A, we’ve employed our patented Absorber tube to eliminate standing waves, while minimizing the amount of absorbing material, so that the original realism of music is reproduced with full energy and dynamism.
SOUND IMAGE
The position of the artist and instruments, along with the delicate nuances and atmosphere of the performance space, are stunningly reproduced. The resulting sound is so lifelike, you'll feel as though you were in the same room as the performance.
HIGHLY MUSICAL VIBRATION CONTROL
The principles for creating superb sound — understanding enclosure acoustics and pinpointing where to suppress vibrations — are virtually identical, whether crafting musical instruments or speakers. The NS-600A's cabinet construction incorporates state-of-the-art design technology while making full use of laser vibrometers, a tool essential in musical instrument research and development, as well as sophisticated Finite Element Method (FEM) analysis. The cross piece of the cabinet has also been reinforced. Experience a rich spatial sound that fully immerses you, making you feel as though you're right in the center of the performance.
SEAMLESS SONIC PERFORMANCE
Representative of the flagship series, the NS-600A adopts the highest quality parts for the crossover circuit. The MCap® SUPREME Classic audio capacitor made by Mundorf of Germany, renowned as the pinnacle in audio-use capacitor, is used along with a huge woofer coil.
TWISTED FLARE PORT
The speaker is equipped with our original Twisted Flare Port. It adds a gentle twist to reduce air flow noise around the port, a common problem in conventional bass reflex speakers. This delivers an exceptionally accurate response with clear, tight bass reproduction.
HIGH-QUALITY FEEL
The speaker terminals feature an original design, with a shape that comfortably fits with human fingers for a luxurious feel, while simultaneously allowing for effortless tightening.
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Authorized dealers for Yamaha NS-600A
- Absoulute Audio plus Video — in-store — Aiken, South Carolina, United States (website)
- The Music Room — online and in-store — Erie, Colorado, United States (website)
- 138 Quaiduson — online and in-store — Lille, Hauts-de-France, France (website)
- A1 Futureshop — online and in-store — North Rocks, New South Wales, Australia (website)
- Abt Electronics — online and in-store — Glenview, Illinois, United States (website)
- Accessories 4 less — online and in-store — Apopka, Florida, United States (website)
- Acclaim Sound and Light — online and in-store — North Bay, Ontario, Canada (website)
- Acoustic Sound Design — online and in-store — Las Vegas, Nevada, United States (website)
- Acoustic Sounds — online and in-store — Salina, Kansas, United States (website)
- Acton Gate Audio — online and in-store — Cymru, United Kingdom (website)
and 264 more verified dealers