Introduction of the Yamaha HiFi Player.
Our debut product demonstrated sure sound and durability, finding a home in broadcast studios and elsewhere. Functional styling by the fledgling GK Design Group added to its value.
1954
HiFi began with Yamaha
The History of HiFi Audio Began with Yamaha.
It has been 60 years since the Yamaha HiFi Player, the world’s first audio component bearing the “HiFi" name, was released. As a comprehensive musical instrument maker, as a materials and semiconductor manufacturer, and as experts in architectural acoustics and music promotion, Yamaha has always applied its accumulated technology base and experience to the task of producing ever improving audio equipment. In this section we will present the representative products and technologies that formed the sound of each era of Yamaha’s history of innovation from the birth of the Yamaha HiFi player in 1954 to the present.
Bringing the principles of musical instruments to audio.
A JA5002 woofer unit was used in the first Natural Sound speaker, the NS-20. The design attempted to incorporate the principles of the grand piano soundboard to produce a greater sound dispersion.
1958
The now-familiar pure Class A amplifier.
While it had excellent sound quality, the low efficiency of the power amplifier unit made commercialization difficult. This problem was resolved by making pure Class A operation switchable with general Class B operation. The difference in sound could now be compared with ease.
1973
Introduction of the beryllium vacuum deposition method.
By applying an original vacuum deposition method used in the LSI manufacturing process, the difficulty of manufacturing the ideal beryllium material was overcome to enable completion of the beryllium diaphragm used in the NS-1000M and other products.
1974
Practical application of the dream semiconductor, the SIT.
The world’s first practical application of the SIT (V-FET), ideal for audio with operating characteristics that overcame the sound quality flaws of the transistor. It was used in the B-1.
1974
The world’s best FM tuner.
Yamaha earned top-class ratings even for tuners demanding high frequency technology. The CT-7000, completed within four years of the development of a dedicated measuring instrument, was its symbol.
1975
Aiming to become an outstanding tool.
The cassette deck market in this era was divided into two parts, portable and stationary. Yamaha sought to integrate the two by hiring the world-class industrial designer Mario Bellini.
1976
A light and efficient design that cut down on waste.
Our unique orthodynamic headphones featured a voice coil embedded in the diaphragm. Following the style of the TC-800GL, the light and efficient design by Mario Bellini cut down on waste.
1976
Introduction of the definitive small monitor speaker.
An orthodox 2-way with a 16cm white paper cone woofer and 3.5cm soft dome tweeter. Long-loved for its exquisite total balance.
1978
The symmetrical linear arm.
Development of the electronic control linear system reduced the previously inevitable tracking error of the record to zero and achieved high sensitivity even in a short arm of low mass.
1978
Going back to the basics of audio with the GT concept.
Release of the GT-2000 record player, embodying the GT (Gigantic & Tremendous) concept of achieving high rigidity and resonance-free play through absolute mass.
1982
The key high performance, low cost CD player.
The original LSI, which took the formerly complicated CD player and collected the control system and signal processing system circuits into just two groups. Widely supplied to other makers, it significantly contributed to the spread of the CD.
1983
DSP*, the world’s first sound field creation technology, made commercially available.
The addition of four processing speakers to the existing stereo speaker arrangement enhanced the realism of live music. The predecessor of multi-channel playback.
* Digital Sound field Processing
1986
The Yamaha 10000 Series of products celebrating Yamaha’s 100th anniversary.
A monumental series lineup including digital processing control amplifiers and superior phono EQ to meet the demands of all media, past, present and future.
1987
Active Servo Technology
The development of the Air Woofer, using the air within the cabinet as a diaphragm, allowed practical use of the AST* method. Sold as a set of two speakers with dedicated amplifier.
* Now called YST (Yamaha Active Servo Technology)
1988
The ultimate gold evaporation casting beryllium diaphragm.
The beryllium diaphragm that took the world by storm continued to evolve, adding gold evaporation to the high density, high purity casting beryllium diaphragm to produce ideal tone. Used on the GF-1.
1991
