Yamaha - C-5000 Preamplifier

Yamaha’s flagship preamplifier: a dual-mono, fully floating balanced design with four XLR inputs including a balanced phono stage, independent toroidal transformers per channel, and a copper-plated chassis.

The C-5000 is built as two mirror-image monophonic preamplifiers in one case. Each channel has its own toroidal transformer dedicated to audio, separate from the control power supply. Yamaha describes the signal path as Class A operation with full-stage, full-floating balanced transmission from input to output, with the phono equalisation, input amplifier and line amplifier stages all built on a patented floating design — meaning those stages are electrically isolated from chassis ground so ground-borne noise has no path into them.

The phono stage is the part worth dwelling on. It is available balanced as well as unbalanced, handles both moving-magnet and moving-coil cartridges, and gives moving-coil users four selectable loading options at 300, 100, 30 and 10 ohms — genuine cartridge matching rather than a single fixed value. RIAA accuracy is ±0.5 dB and there is a subsonic filter at −3 dB at 15 Hz to keep warp energy out of the amplifier. The phono transformer sits in its own copper-plated case to contain its magnetic field.

Chassis construction follows Yamaha’s stable mechanical grounding approach: the whole chassis is copper-plated, heavy components are rigidly mounted, and the unit stands on newly designed brass spiked feet that can be used as bare spikes or on the supplied scratch guards. Volume is handled by what Yamaha calls a proprietary parallel volume system — a trade name for which no separate tracking or channel-balance specification is published.

Features

• Dual-mono construction with an independent toroidal transformer per channel dedicated to audio
• Class A, full-floating balanced signal transmission from input to output
• Four balanced XLR inputs including a balanced phono input, plus six RCA inputs
• Moving-magnet and moving-coil phono with four selectable MC loadings: 300, 100, 30 and 10 ohms
• ±0.5 dB RIAA accuracy and a subsonic filter at −3 dB / 15 Hz
• Phono transformer housed in its own copper-plated case to contain magnetic flux
• Copper-plated chassis and stable mechanical grounding construction
• Signal-to-noise ratio of 110 dB or better on the balanced and line outputs, with 3 µV residual noise
• Bass and treble controls, ±9 dB, with a headphone output rated 35 mW per channel
• Brass spiked feet, usable bare or with scratch guards
• Five-year US parts and labour warranty

Specifications

• Type: Two-channel preamplifier, dual mono, fully balanced
• Inputs (RCA): Six: PHONO, TUNER, CD, LINE 1, LINE 2, EXT IN
• Inputs (balanced XLR): Four: PHONO, BAL 1, BAL 2, EXT IN
• Outputs (RCA): Three: LINE 1, LINE 2, LINE 2 REC OUT
• Outputs (balanced XLR): One
• Control connections: Trigger in ×1, trigger out ×2 (master mode), remote in ×1, remote out ×1
• Rated output voltage: Balanced bypass 2 Vrms / 150 ohms; balanced attenuator 1 Vrms / 150 ohms; Line 1 and Line 2 1 Vrms / 150 ohms; Line 2 rec out 200 mVrms / 1.2 kilohms
• Maximum output voltage: Balanced 6 Vrms; Line 1 and Line 2 3 Vrms; Line 2 rec out 3 Vrms
• Input sensitivity, phono MC: 100 µVrms, loading selectable at 300, 100, 30 or 10 ohms
• Input sensitivity, phono MM: 2.5 mVrms / 52 kilohms (balanced) or 47 kilohms (unbalanced)
• Input sensitivity, balanced and line: 200 mVrms / 52 kilohms balanced; 200 mVrms / 47 kilohms line
• Input sensitivity, EXT IN: 1 Vrms / 20 kilohms
• Frequency response: 10 Hz – 100 kHz, +0 / −3 dB; 20 Hz – 20 kHz, +0 / −0.3 dB
• Total harmonic distortion plus noise: 0.0100% balanced in to balanced line out, 20 Hz – 20 kHz; 0.0200% phono MM or MC to Line 2 rec out
• Signal-to-noise ratio: Balanced and line out 110 dB or better; phono MM 98 dB or better; phono MC (300 ohms) 80 dB or better
• Residual noise: 3 µV, balanced and line out
• Channel separation: Balanced and line 110 dB or better; phono MM 98 dB or better; phono MC 80 dB or better
• RIAA deviation: ±0.5 dB, MM and MC, balanced and unbalanced
• Subsonic filter: −3 dB at 15 Hz, MM and MC, balanced and unbalanced
• Tone control: Bass ±9 dB at 30 Hz (350 Hz turnover); treble ±9 dB at 20 kHz (3.5 kHz turnover)
• Headphone output: 35 mW + 35 mW (CD, 1 kHz, 32 ohms, 0.2% THD)
• Volume control: Yamaha’s proprietary parallel volume system. No separate tracking or channel-balance figure is published for the control itself
• Transformers: Two independent toroidal transformers, one per channel, dedicated to audio and separate from the control supply
• Chassis: Copper-plated, with stable mechanical grounding construction. Phono transformer in its own copper-plated case
• Internal wiring: Thick wire with screw-type connections. Yamaha names no copper purity grade for this model
• Feet: Brass spikes, usable bare or with the supplied scratch guards
• Dimensions (W×H×D): 17-1/8″ × 5-5/8″ × 17-3/4″ (435 × 142 × 451 mm)
• Weight: 42.1 lb (19.1 kg)
• Power consumption: 60 W. Standby 0.2 W, off 0.1 W
• Finishes: Black, or silver with piano black wood side panels
• Country of manufacture: Not published. Yamaha prints no country-of-manufacture statement on this model’s US product pages, specification tables or owner’s manual. The only geographic reference in Yamaha’s own documentation is the corporate head-office address in Hamamatsu, Japan, which is a company address and not a manufacturing statement. Third-party retailers and reviewers often assert “made in Japan” for this model — Yamaha does not.
• Warranty: Five years, parts and labour. This model is named individually in Yamaha’s Limited Warranty on Premium Hi-Fi Products, which supersedes the general two-year A/V Products term that covers the rest of the range. Registration is not mentioned in the document and coverage is not conditioned on it. Cover is limited to the original owner and is not transferable.