YAMAHA NS-333 2-Way Bass Reflex Bookshelf Speakers (Pair) Black

Let me start off by admitting that I'm a Yamaha fan. I've owned Yamaha audio equipment in one form or another since the early 80s and for a while I sold Yamaha audio equipment in what used to be called a "stereo store". As part of my sales training, I was invited to the Yamaha west coast facility in Buena Park to see their entire home audio product line and to hear a little bit about Yamaha's history and focus. I was pretty impressed with Yamaha's dedication to their "Natural Sound" philosophy - in other words, their mission of reproducing sound without artifact or coloration by using hand-picked components in collaboration with superior manufacturing practices. It is a philosophy that is fully realized in these small speakers. How do they sound? They sound every bit as good as the material the are reproducing (they add or subtract nothing). Highs are bright and clean (not brittle), mids are warm and open (without muddle) and the staging is very good. Lows are tight and relatively deep - good enough for most music, but a subwoofer will definitely be needed if you're looking to use these in a home theater configuration. As noted elsewhere, these are relatively power hungry little boxes. You won't get the best that these have to offer at less than 60 watts per channel. I'm running mine at 100 watts per channel and they are performing beautifully. I detect no strain at high volume. It's very hard to imagine a better speaker in this size at this price. Their sound and performance is as good as it gets and the finish (piano black lacquer) is a work of art. I've owned mine for 6 years now and am as satisfied with them now as I was the day I unboxed them.

Love the clear sound they reproduce. Also, the price at Amazon was the best.

I recently upgraded my AV equipment, purchasing several items from Amazon ( Pioneer VSX-821-K 5.1 Home Theater Receiver, Glossy Black , and Yamaha NS-C444...

Let's just say these speakers are worth every penny. I had looked and sampled several speaker setups from many different manufacturers over the last several years (Basically everything in my local store) so i decided to go online. Anyway, I connected everything up and they sounded AWESOME from the the start. Most setups I have had to tweak the EQ to get things to sound right but these were great without any modifications. In fact after I ran them through the break-in period they sound better and better every time I use them. Most speakers you can hear where the sound is coming from but these project the sound into the room surrounding you with music. Did I mention they were AWESOME! No need to turn on the simulated surround or any other sound fields for that mater. Currently I'm using them as my mains but when I can save up some more cash I'll be swapping them to the rear speakers and get the NS-555's. If you simply need a set of bookshelf speakers for music these bad boys are all you will need. Some have reported the lack of bass but that isn't entirely true. Yes, these will not rattle your core (that's what a sub is for) but they do a very good job at reproducing the low end for music reproduction. In fact these speakers are very good at reproducing the entire frequency range. The reason I'm upgrading to the NS-555 for the main and setting these in the surround position is because the NS-555 are floor models and will look better with my setup but the NS-333 can handle it on their own. I would consider myself an audiophile. I'm always looking for the best and I run professional audio equipment at my church for live concerts (indoor and outdoor performances). I hope my review helps you in your decision.

This speaker system is really good for it's design. I do like to be able to use banana plugs, which this unit is designed for. Because of its size, I didn't expect to get a really full range out of it. I think it may sound better if Yamaha filled it with some kind of sound dampening material. Thus the rating of "4".

Im no audiohead but these speakers put out tremendous sound overall

My stereo system is set up in a 14x14 foot bedroom. My HP laptop is my music source. I run it through the Pyle PTA4 mini-amp, rated at 2x120 watts @ 4 ohms, into two Yamaha NS-333's, rated at 60 Hz to 35 kHz @ 6 ohms for L+R. I placed the Klipsch R-100 subwoofer at about front center and plugged it into the Pyle's L+R tape outs. I tuned the Klipsch crossover to slightly below 80 Hz and volume about a third of the way which gives everything a warm deep bottom. Any higher on the crossover was overkill. The laptop's master volume along with the Pyle's volume, bass and treble is all I need for tonal adjustment. Even though the laptop contains a 10-band EQ I don't really need it.

I originally had these on a wimpy amp. Once I beefed up the amp beautiful Yamaha sound. The finish is piano black high gloss and I love the white cones. One thing you will need is either sound isolation stands or rubber feet otherwise they will slide around.