Yamaha NS-1000 Cabinet question

[ARC512]

There a set of Yamaha NS-1000 up on the local Craigslist. I am thinking of picking them up but the cabinet looks “off”. I have never seen a set that had just the front painted black. It looks like there's some paint splatter on the front as well. Has anyone ever seen this particular cabinet finish before? Hes not asking a bargain price so it would be nice to know if this isn't a true as sold set of speakers. I have attached an image of the speakers. If its not an original finish what do you think it has done to the value of the speakers?

 

[imral3]

just wanting to watch the thread.

 

[cubby01]

Hard to say from these pics. Cabs look original but it almost looks like the original ash veneer has been pulled off and they've been painted/stained. Mine have places with missing veneer. Thankfully it doesn't affect the sound.

 

[Graceman]

I've never seen that finish. Someone may have re-veneered the sides/top but the front looks as if it has been brush painted, and not very well either. I think the original colour may have been stripped off and then some varnish or veneer added. I would be curious to know what finish is on the bottom of the speaker as that may reveal some of the story.

 

[twiiii]

I thought that the few pair of 1000's we sold were either Ebony with a black face or all black. I just don't remember seeing a pair with a walnut looking finish.

 

[avionic]

Someone has attemped a pretty crappy looking refinish. NS-1000M were covered with an birch veneer and painted all satin black. NS-1000's were veneered with macassar ebony and did not have grills over the woofer.

 

[avionic]

Tag from the rear side of my NS-1000M's

Hes not asking a bargain price so it would be nice to know if this isn't a true as sold set of speakers.

I'd have to pass. There are much nicer examples out there. These would need a complete refinish to make them look presentable IMHO.

 

[Cosmos]

They do look like factory cabinets that someone thought they could "improve".. and failed.

If they were cheap enough, I'd jump on them and refinish, but if the seller is thinking of getting more than $500 or so, I'd pass.. God only knows what else they tried to "improve"..

 

[SaturationPt]

I thought that the NS-1000 had inset baffle edges and the NS-1000M had the flat baffle to the edge. Are those NS-1000Ms?

 

[avionic]

I thought that the NS-1000 had inset baffle edges and the NS-1000M had the flat baffle to the edge. Are those NS-1000Ms?

They are butchered up M's Only the M's had the large NS-1000 monitor plaque/sticker.

 

[avionic]

I thought that the NS-1000 had inset baffle edges

Thats correct.The M's had 4 pins to hold the grills on.

 

[SaturationPt]

Too bad, those speakers have a lot of fans. I'd be more sad if they were NS-1000s though.

It's completely possible that they were in an installation where they were pretty beat-up, and although they might have needed a new exterior, it could have been done much better. Probably had a hard life and deserve a nice restoration & retirement, but I agree they need to go for a bargain price to make it worth the effort, needy Ms are not at all rare.

 

[avionic]

Judging from overall appearance. I'd be questioning the serviceability of the beryllium (Be) tweeters and midrange drivers.

 

[ARC512]

After some investigation and auditioning them for about an hour we made a deal. He had the grills and a set a nice stands. They are NS-1000M's that he had re-veneer in a rosewood finish. He said he has them about 10 years. He seemed genuine and he had a lot of other gear in his collection. I thought it was odd that the serial numbers on the speakers matched with the exception of the L and R designation but after reading I found that seems to be correct. These are in the 47xxx range. At the end of the day they sounded great. I have an awesome pair of NS-690s and the mids were a lot more accurate on the 1000's. I'm driving them with a Fisher 400 right now. So far I like the combination.

I also want to thank everyone for their help and time with this. You guys are awesome. This was my first post in this group. After having spent a lot of time reading the content of the group I hope I will be able to add some value.

Thanks again