Yamaha 'Ear' speakers

[JohnVF]

You disregard AK Rule #4---Never admit that anything you bought, built, found or "scored" sounded bad.

If pressed you can always fall back on the "it just needed new caps" gambit.

Fully 75% (at least) of the vintage gear I've owned was incredibly mediocre. I'm not saying these Yamaha speakers are..I've never heard them and almost bought a pair on CL once just to hear them...as I sometimes like playing with things that go about it all differently, even if they don't sound all that great. From what I read up on these when I was thinking about a pair, they fall into that category. Maybe not the greatest but certainly interesting. There's a lot of very average stuff, though, that isn't even interesting in the way these Yamaha speakers are. That's the stuff that I really don't care if it ends up in the dump or not.

And yes...getting rid of things, even in Bartertown, is often more work than anybody realizes. We talk up the worth of all this stuff and then you go try to sell it and you realize that the 'score!' price is not a score..its the actual going rate.

 

[rcspkramp]

They were a current product in 1972. Yamaha had a couple of odd products in the line that year. The "Ear" speakers and a clock radio that you had to unlock with a key. Not long after that, the CA/CT/CR products showed up and the quirky products were quickly forgotten. I'd hold on to them just for curiosity's sake even if it turns out that you don't care for the sound.

 

[Urizen]

I put them in the trash.

They were yours to do with as you saw fit.

I don't understand this.

If folks didn't trash speakers, there would be no dumpster diver threads.

Let's stay on topic, and help the OP.

 

[Nat]

I'm all cranked up for anything with weirdo drivers, and so the ear speakers are a long term goal of mine. So I don't like to think of them being trashed. But I'm with Tom -- if the only way to avoid the dumpster is to drive three hours to give it away, into the dumpster it goes. As the wise man said, how else will us dumpster divers find anything good?
Sooner or later, everything ends up decomposing, and if you don't want someone to trash something, its your responsibility to make the effort to save it. Doesn't always work out.

 

[xargos]

And just who would that have been?

Once I was criticized here for trashing laser discs; I was chided and told I should give them away if nothing else. As it turned out I had to get in the car and travel 75 miles one way to give the things to a fella AKer. Screw that.

That attitude hardly sounds like good karma to me. Always sad to see that.

 

[willhowl]

That attitude hardly sounds like good karma to me. Always sad to see that.

I'm questioning whether to post here, but I agree strongly with the above.....Can't say what I want to................I'll just let go..............willhowl:tears:

 

[theebadone]

It's not very often i have to throw speakers away. I have a 17 year old kid across the street, that will take all the speakers i can give him. He has 4, 15" woofers in his trunk, and thinks it is terrific. I'm always happy to help him out, lmao.:yes:

 

[barkerd]

this thread seems to be being hijacked into an area the OP didnt intend : in regards to the "speaker" ...early 70's (as already mentioned) I remember being perplexed and dissappointed in Yamaha at the time (although, in retrospect, it was probably the marketing crew) for outright charlatanism ; I distinctly remember them being advertised as being superior to anything else because they were shaped like a human ear ...the ad hype claimed that a driver had to be shaped like a human ear since it was a human ear that would listen to it ........ very surprising , at the time, since I always had regarded Yamaha as being above such smoke and mirrors ....... and as far as I followed Yamaha it was the only such advertising that I witnessed them try. The irony is the build quality was way above average for it's intended market.

 

[Pio1980]

Incredible to think that these ludicrously conceived things gave way to the superb NS-1000 and 690. It was a pair of 690-MkII that made me realize the Japanese could produce a speaker with true high-end aspirations after being mainly exposed to the multi-driver Kabuki shriek-and-boom horror boxes that the Military PX audio clubs offered.

 

[Nat]

I suspect the references to the ear did Yamaha more harm than good sales wise. If they had simply focused on the shapes diminishing standing waves in the cone (for lack of a better word), they might have had some converts.

 

[Arkay]

I had NS-18s. I thought the midrange was pretty bad; cloudy, muddy--indistinct. The speakers had serious competition for room in the house; at the time I four hi-fis in the house going using Altec 19s, Heath AS-21s, Altec 890C Boleros and JBL Pro CS 3115s. And in the garage Bozak coaxials.

Well, if we all agreed we'd have little to talk about.

You disregard AK Rule #4---Never admit that anything you bought, built, found or "scored" sounded bad.

If pressed you can always fall back on the "it just needed new caps" gambit.

Maybe his speakers DID need new caps? Maybe that is why they didn't sound good? [Actually, I've heard those Ear speakers sound pretty bad, and also heard them sound quite decent. Not sure what caused the differences, since they were in entirely different systems and environments in each case, but bad caps in a crossover could easily have been the explanation.]

I suspect the references to the ear did Yamaha more harm than good sales wise. If they had simply focused on the shapes diminishing standing waves in the cone (for lack of a better word), they might have had some converts.

Definitely. The "ear-shaped" explanation was such blatant malarkey, I'm surprised they even tried to get away with it.

It has been my understanding that the "ear" speakers were often used in Yamaha organ speakers. Perhaps they are best suited for that sort of use?

 

[Tom Brennan]

That attitude hardly sounds like good karma to me. Always sad to see that.

Your meaning is unclear to me.

Sad to see that I had to drive 150 miles at my own expense to give stuff away or sad that I'm subsequently unwilling to do so?

 

[Urizen]

Since this has veered far off-topic, thread closed pending forum moderator review.

 

[Dan ʕ•ᴥ•ʔ]

Yeah, the thread's derailed and there are survivors strewn all about. Move along folks, 'cause this one's staying closed.