Yamaha NS-A635A Speakers- Any Good?

[JR DePlateau]

The cabinet build has an immense impact on the overall acoustic qualities. Just like the woods chosen to construct an acoustic guitar, each has it's own unique qualities. I'm learning just like you; nowhere near the others who've posted but, as AK has made me rethink how a speaker should be judged, one thing I've learned is that the resonant qualities of a given cabinet can make or break a given configuration.
I am just now delving into the world of modifying speakers to bring out the best in them, recaps, crossover modes, etc, and would like to hear what you've learned so far in your trials.
Cheers!

 

[Arthur Smith]

The cabinet build has an immense impact on the overall acoustic qualities. Just like the woods chosen to construct an acoustic guitar, each has it's own unique qualities. I'm learning just like you; nowhere near the others who've posted but, as AK has made me rethink how a speaker should be judged, one thing I've learned is that the resonant qualities of a given cabinet can make or break a given configuration.
I am just now delving into the world of modifying speakers to bring out the best in them, recaps, crossover modes, etc, and would like to hear what you've learned so far in your trials.
Cheers!

I have learned not to "follow" the thoughts and assumptions made by many on the Internet. The latest "trendy" must-own speaker on the Internet right now is the Realistic Minimus 7. As a result, you will see these little speakers, complete with their "mighty" 4 inch woofers, selling on everyone's favorite auction website for over $100/pair. I picked up a beautiful pair of Design Acoustics PS-CV's, with 5 1/4" drivers, ferofluid cooled tweeters, and wood cabinets, for 9 dollars/pair at my local Goodwill. Now, I have never heard a pair of Minimus 7's, but my guess is that the Design Acoustics would absolutely smoke them in every way imaginable. For 90 dollars less, simply because the "sheeple" online haven't heralded them as a hipster trendy item.

And yes, cabinetry, as well as any acoustic foam put inside them, in addition to ports and port size, adds to the acoustic signature a pair of speakers have.

 

[JR DePlateau]

I have learned not to "follow" the thoughts and assumptions made by many on the Internet. The latest "trendy" must-own speaker on the Internet right now is the Realistic Minimus 7. As a result, you will see these little speakers, complete with their "mighty" 4 inch woofers, selling on everyone's favorite auction website for over $100/pair. I picked up a beautiful pair of Design Acoustics PS-CV's, with 5 1/4" drivers, ferofluid cooled tweeters, and wood cabinets, for 9 dollars/pair at my local Goodwill. Now, I have never heard a pair of Minimus 7's, but my guess is that the Design Acoustics would absolutely smoke them in every way imaginable. For 90 dollars less, simply because the "sheeple" online haven't heralded them as a hipster trendy item.

And yes, cabinetry, as well as any acoustic foam put inside them, in addition to ports and port size, adds to the acoustic signature a pair of speakers have.

I'm amazed that, when people sell speakers locally (WPB), they refer to them often as " the old type that need wires and a receiver"
REALLY? C'mon now! Over the next decade, we'll see the waning of the a/v receiver in favor of sound bars, and the only new audio equipment will be priced for those who drop $5,800 on a 3m rca cable without thought. Part of what has me wanting to amass as much good equipment as possible is the thought of my 2 year old son having to choose between a Crosley pos and a 50k tt

 

[JR DePlateau]

You seriously don't have to justify liking them or how much you paid for them. If you like them and are happy with them, that's awesome! Stick with them.

Hey, find yourself a pair of $28 speakers (making an analogy, cost means little) and do some comparisons. It's a good way to identify WHAT it is about a speaker that you like

 

[pumablues]

I just got a set of these Y a yard sale for $30 bucks. They also had a set of Panasonic Thrusters, lmao.

I need more old speakers like I need a colonoscopy...but couldn't resist. 3 way accoustic suspension! I mean, c'mon. The parts alone for a set from PE would hit at least $100. 6 drivers, cabinet, etc. So, I'll look forward to refurbing them (surrounds looked solid), tweaking them, and then eventually finding bthem a new home sometimes the thrill of the find and the tinkering is worth the purchase price. I'll report back on this thread down the line when I get around bro checking them out.

 

[pumablues]

So, after hucking them into my workshop along with the rest of the growing collection, I hooked them up to my old CD shelf system.

Turns out I have the NS-A 635 models (no trailing letter 'a' on mine).

They are 3-way acoustic suspension. Vinyl wrapped, "black ash," with dark grey grille covers, and a little golden Yamaha badge on the bottom of the grilles. Cheesy spring clips for hook-up on the back.

I'm playing the The Presidents of the United States of America's (PUSA for short) little-known, and surely under-appreciated, 2004 release "Love Everybody" ( PUSA are a late 90s/2000s garage rock trio, if you've never heard of them.. famous songs are "Peaches" and "Lump," from their self-named debut album).

I'm happy to report, they sound nice certainly good enough, if not better than good enough, for most people. Audiophile? Probably not. But not bad, and worth the $35 I paid, for sure, and certainly worthy enough for the Yamaha badge on them.

I'll have to go find how much they originally retailed for, because I have difficulty believing they were sold for $100 a pair during their day.

My foams are in great shape. The vinyl covering is all marred up...maybe a future refurb, maybe not. Probably could do with some internal dampening, as suggested in earlier comments.

 

[pumablues]

I'm looking at giving these to a friend now, for a knock around basement system. I decided to open them up, since one speaker sounds a little muffled compared to the other. And I can see why these have a "cheap" reputation, after opening up.

From the looks of it, the "crossover" consists of one capacitor in line with the mid; and another cheap capacitor, in line with the tweeter. And that's it. Absolutely nothing else.

Additionally, there is some insulation... but, like, the bare minimum. There's a layer of poly batting along the back, the bottom, and one side. Nothing on the front baffle, or on the other side, or the top. Which explains why the cabinets sound rather echo-y when you knock on them.

I wish I knew more about designing crossovers, because I think these could be easily improved upon. My first order of business, though, will be to see if I can identify the cap values, and replace them both with something a little beefier.

 

[pumablues]

A quick update on my adventures in improving upon something considered to be "not very good," in case some other fool comes along as I did to this thread

My refurb on the Yamaha NS-A 635 speakers is complete. And I'm very happy with the out come.

In 2021, I bought these for about $35 at a yard sale (I offered 20, but no dice). They look nice, but as others have noticed, they are definitely consumer grade when bought new. However, I would still place them at higher consumer grade. These are decent speakers, but corners were definitely cut in their manufacture, to be sure.

I placed butyl "car deadening" mats inside the cabinets on the surfaces that did nto already have polyfill bats stapled in. My hope was that this would deaden the interior further, and bring down any resonances. And I think it did quite nicely. I bought "Noico" car deadening matts. In an effort to keep my investment low, I only bought about $14 worth, which turned out to be 1 sheet more than I needed to treat both speakers.

When I opened up the speakers, I found the crossover really only consisted of 2 parts -- a 1.5 uf cap in line with the tweeter; and a 4.7 uf cap in line with the mid-range. Both cheap electrolytics.

I replaced these with Jantzen Z-Standard poly caps, purchased from Parts Express.

After putting everything back together, I was quite happy with the outcome of a little money and some elbow grease. I'll be giving these to my friend, who is going to be using them in his basement.

Here's a little demo video I took with my phone. I have these running on a Technics SA-225 receiver. Not the greatest recording, so believe me, they sound MUCH better in person

This is my second "completed" speaker rehab. Thanks to everyone on this site for making my new skills possible

 

[Mumbles]

In 2021, I bought these for about $35 at a yard sale

Two hours ago, this clean looking pair of NS-A635A's was listed on my local Marketplace for $10.

By the time I lifted the photos and did some research on them, they were sold. Dang!