Yamaha NX-E100 - NS Greatness on a Budget

SoCal Sam

Lunatic Member
If you are looking for a bookshelf speaker, allow me to recommend the Yamaha NX-E100 bookshelf speaker which was bundled with the E100 mini-system. These speakers are not cheap throwaway consumer crap, Yamaha put some effort into them. They have the same family sound as classic NS from the Seventies and Eighties which is crystal clear clarity and transparency. Like the great NS speakers of yore, the NX-E100 thrives with fast, objectively accurate amps but unlike some NS, does not punish receivers. The best news is they are common, relatively cheap on ebay, and sometimes dirt cheap at the thrifts.

The NX-E100 has a cloth dome tweeter so I would place the sound close to the NS-670 and NS-200M. I am not a fan of three way speakers which to me sound a little incoherent, something the two way NX-E100 avoids. Balance is excellent. The Beryllium dome NS-500M and 1000M are different animals and with the right amp and recording, are in a different league. However, they do not suffer fools which is where the NX-E100 scores. Cloth dome tweeters are much more forgiving which means a wider variety of gear and recordings can be played. Cloth domes are almost as transparent as Be domes perhaps giving up a little with metal strings and horns. My older ears use to crave the edginess of Be but no more, cloth domes hit the sweet spot.
 
I've seen these, they look nice. In fact I very nearly bought a pair a few days ago to go with my little NAD setup in my bedroom. I may give them a second look now.
 
Interesting info. There is a complete 150 system for sale cheap locally. The speakers seem identical to the 100 and the CD/Receiver has discrete outputs. Tempting, but I really don't need it!
 
Interesting info. There is a complete 150 system for sale cheap locally. The speakers seem identical to the 100 and the CD/Receiver has discrete outputs. Tempting, but I really don't need it!

The mini system is pretty good but the speakers by themselves are worthy enough to stand alone with full size separates. I think there are a whole series of NX-E speakers including the 150, and others. They look to be the same speaker but with different model number to match the mini system.

Still interested? If you dig a little deeper in google images, you will find photos of the crossover network. It is well made in the NS speaker tradition.
 
The NX-E200 is the same size and has exactly the same drivers etc, just the cabinet is different. It has the gloss black acrylic finish to all sides. I have owned the 200 and still have a pair of the 100. The acrylic cleans up nicely with a bit of elbow grease and the right cutting compound and polish.
 
I've been wondering about these and their NS-BP line for a while. Seem to make fun speakers for a less serious type system. The NS-BP are supposed to be voiced with boosted bass based on reviews. I wonder if the NX-E line is like that or perhaps more 'natural sound'

NX-E100:


NS-BP200:

 
Last edited:
I love reading about nice sounding speakers from mini-systems. It's true, some are very, very good. I have some JVC and Sony speakers from "executive" micro systems, and they both sound WAY better than they have the right to. I'll be on the lookout for these Yamahas.
 
Well, after reading this post, I hunted down a pair of Yamaha NX-E800. Believe me, I have traveled the road to obtain the best speakers fulfilling my sonic pleasures. Just like you guys, I was amazed how great these little gems sound. But yesterday, I was able to grab a pair of Yamaha NX-E700 with a white finish for eur. 7.50. I wasn't sure if I would pull the trigger on these, since I already own the 800's that I like so much, and bringing home another pair of speakers would put me in trouble with the misses, LOL! I decided to ignore the problems I might get, and brought them home. When I hooked them up, left the room for an hour, then returned to become even more amazed then I had been since my first encounter with the NX-EX. series. These speakers sounded even better then my 800's! They seem to produce even more bass and a bigger soundstage, although they are smaller then my 800's. There seems to be a lot more going on with this series of speakers then I thought. Even when they might look the same on paper, there is quite a difference in sound between the various versions that were produced. Yamaha has done so much right in the development of the speakers, and thanx to the original poster, I was able to add maybe one of the best bookshelfspeakers ever made in their pricerange to my collection. The only thing I regret is not knowing sooner, would have saved me a lot of money, LOL! But hey, that's why it is called a hobby, or is it more an addiction, LOL?
 
Well, after reading this post, I hunted down a pair of Yamaha NX-E800. Believe me, I have traveled the road to obtain the best speakers fulfilling my sonic pleasures. Just like you guys, I was amazed how great these little gems sound. But yesterday, I was able to grab a pair of Yamaha NX-E700 with a white finish for eur. 7.50. I wasn't sure if I would pull the trigger on these, since I already own the 800's that I like so much, and bringing home another pair of speakers would put me in trouble with the misses, LOL! I decided to ignore the problems I might get, and brought them home. When I hooked them up, left the room for an hour, then returned to become even more amazed then I had been since my first encounter with the NX-EX. series. These speakers sounded even better then my 800's! They seem to produce even more bass and a bigger soundstage, although they are smaller then my 800's. There seems to be a lot more going on with this series of speakers then I thought. Even when they might look the same on paper, there is quite a difference in sound between the various versions that were produced. Yamaha has done so much right in the development of the speakers, and thanx to the original poster, I was able to add maybe one of the best bookshelfspeakers ever made in their pricerange to my collection. The only thing I regret is not knowing sooner, would have saved me a lot of money, LOL! But hey, that's why it is called a hobby, or is it more an addiction, LOL?

Based on your experience with the NX-E700 i bought a set aswell. Going to hook them up to the Yammy C-4 / M-4 set paired with a Peerless XLS10 based powered subwoofer. Think that will match very nicely.
 
@Amplifierz:
I hope you will like them as much as I do. Really looking forward to your thoughts/opinion.

The seller has confirmed shipment today, if all goes as planned they will arrive tomorrow. Pics will be posted asap upon arrival. Sound wise i am really excited aswell, cheap speakers tend to surprise me more then 'highend' expensive speakers.
 
The speakers have arrived. After a few days of listening to multiple kinds of music i must say that i am very impressed what these little speakers can do. The clarity of the highs is insane for speakers in this price bracket. I have paid 30 euro's for them, imho they are well worth every penny and then some. Paired with a good musical subwoofer these make for a sweet compact music system. I always like AR for their "laid back" sound, but now with these Yamaha's i get a sense of more neutral mids and sparkling high's. Well,enough talking. Let the pics speak for themselves.



 
Back
Top Bottom