While Yamaha’s history with high-end headphones dates back to the 1970s-released HP-1, a subsequent five-decade dormancy in that market implied that the Japanese company’s head-fi journey might well be destined to both begin and end with that iconic model. Fortunately, that hasn’t played out.
The AV legend crawled out of that particular woodwork in 2023 to introduce its first audiophile headphones in decades, launching its ‘special edition’ open-back YH-5000SE (and a partnering HA-L7A headphone DAC/amplifier) to industry-wide acclaim, and putting itself back on the personal listening map.
