Yamaha HS8 Studio Monitor Review

[heflys20]

This might have been a great pair of monitors 20 years ago, but nowadays it is just not competitive. Thanks for testing though, it is still a VERY popular model AFAIK.

Yep, they're still hot sellers. On Sweetwater, they're the most popular active monitors. This has always baffled me (particularly in the case of the HS5 and HS7), since they don't measure well and cost more than their superior competition...Obviously, it has to do with brand name and legacy (NS10 being in a lot of studios. Mostly for decoration it seems.). I can't recall how many times I've seen users convince themselves that the poor sound of the HS5 is due to their "analytical" nature, and that studio monitors aren't meant to sound "good". The HS5 have a massive mid-range hump...

 

[daniboun]

The question is: can we do better for the money, remembering that we need 2 speakers with amplification?

Yes you can and you have a few options, checkout with the right filter

A collection of loudspeakers measurements

www.spinorama.org

 

[Steve Dallas]

I bought a pair of these when they first came out and used them in my project studio for years. I liked their tonality, but not their size.

Setting the high shelf to -2dB mostly fixes the hot treble.

I never heard distortion, but I track and mix in the nearfield under 80dB, so I probably wouldn't.

I would not buy these again today, but I enjoyed my time with them.

 

[Matias]

The Adam has worse directivity control, the JBL has worse distortion, and the Kali has worse frequency response with many high-Q resonances.

Therefore I'd struggle to place the Yamaha in last.

We can't fix the HS8 directivity mismatch in the highs with EQ, while the LP-8v2 high Q peaks are not that bad imo. The HS8 port also seems to get a ton of garbage out.

JBL has distortion yes but the directivity mismatch is higher up around 15 kHz compared to HS8 at 10 kHz.

Adam's T8V directivity is not that bad +/- 50°.

I think I would get the Kali LP6v2 for that budget and save to get something better like Neumann KH 120 II later.

Kali Audio LP-6v2 (Second Wave) 2-Way Studio Monitor Review

Kali Audio LP-6v2 2-Way Studio Monitor Review

www.erinsaudiocorner.com

 

[Rettica]

These are awful. I remember having them in my home studio for a couple of years, I always hated them. Muddy bass, mids screaming at you, no soundstage depth at all

 

[amirm]

I had a closer look at Amir's settings, as that's the way he measured them.

The High Freq trim is at +2dB (?hard to see) and the Room Control trim is at -2dB.


View attachment 528023

These reflect exactly the deviations we see, it would be even smoother with both at 0dB.

Before testing, I made sure both were set to zero by toggling them. I usually do this as with these cheap switches, the position doesn't always line up with labels.

 

[EERecordist]

The original NS10 were sealed. Their current smaller HS are sealed.

I wonder what this one would sound like with the port plugged? The measured LF response with the port is good for that size speaker, but the distortion measured from the port is significant.

Thank you to the ASR member who sent the speaker for testing. There is a universe of this type near field monitors for home studios and they are not expensive. It would not be surprising for pro studios to have them on the console bridge to look like NS10s.

The measurements are a clue to translation for owners of these speakers.

 

[Linnie]

The HS series starts showing its age, although I expected it to measure worse being the largest model of the series, the loud highs due to the directivity mismatch above 2 kHz can be partially corrected also with the integrated shelving filter:

Manual says the high trim switch lowers the region above 2khz by 2 dB which should meet Amirs arrow pretty nicely.

 

[DrZingo]

View attachment 528163



Manual says the high trim switch lowers the region above 2khz by 2 dB which should meet Amirs arrow pretty nicely.

Yes, but I also wonder if the first (tweeter on-axis) measurement, which looks better, isn't more relevant for its intended use as a near-field monitor.

 

[LuckyNat]

I'm not sure what the comment about the NS series is about from Amir , unless he only is thinking of the NS-10, one particular model with the NS prefix?

The first NS model was from 1967 and used a flat polystyrene panel driver for bass .. the last NS model was in the in 2000s.

"NS" is not a series and was used as a prefix for most speakers they made from that polystyrene flat 1960s driver to pure beryllium domed midrange / tweeter /Kevlar woofer high end affairs .. to plastic outdoor speakers and 5.1 systems .

The NS speakers tend not to have much to do with each other unless the characters that come after 'NS' are similar and from the same bunch for manufacturing years..

 

[vornez]

Thank you so much for the measurements. This a was a most expected review that I knew would eventually be posted on asmr. Now hopefully the Presonus Eris E8 XT will eventually find its way to your hands as it is in direct competition with the HS8. (along with the JBL 308p and the Kali LP-8)

 

[Tio]

Thank you for the review.

This speaker is easy to find in my area and also has an authorized service center. The price for a pair of HS8 speakers in my area is around $440. It is the cheapest compared to ADAM, JBL, and KALI. The Kali LP8 costs around $550.

 

[DanTheMan]

The Adam has worse directivity control, the JBL has worse distortion, and the Kali has worse frequency response with many high-Q resonances.

Therefore I'd struggle to place the Yamaha in last.

We see the same thing. I'd actually put these on top overall particularly in the near field or an over damped studio setting. Their HF Trim is also well designed. The smaller versions are not very good, but these are still in the running for sure.

 

[Linnie]

We see the same thing. I'd actually put these on top overall particularly in the near field or an over damped studio setting.

A representative of PSI Audio told me, their "home speakers" emit less treble energy than their pro monitors because of the high damping in professional surroundigs.

 

[Waxx]

I never liked this series, none of them. They sounded harsh and distorted from start to me. And on the back (plate amp) there is a lot of air leakage that mess up the sound also on the models i used in the past in studio's that were not mine. I brough always my (now dead) old trusted Tannoy Reveals with me if i knew the studio had those Yamaha's. Those are also not perfect, but at least nice to listen to and i could mix on them as i knew them inside out.

 

[thewas]

What many don't know is that the HS is Yamaha's entry studio monitor series, they have also their top range which have are more expensive, have larger waveguides and probably also measure better:

https://usa.yamaha.com/products/proaudio/speakers/msp_studio_series/index.html

 

[574stereo]

I've used these on a few occasions and found them practically un-usable as studio monitors. Some DJs love them but I think that's more because of the looks than anything else...

NS10s on the other hand do have their uses in the studio. I don't like the way they sound but I do understand why they're used (I have a pair but never use them)...

 

[RandomEar]

I don't quite understand how there would be excess energy between 300-1000 Hz. The way I interpret the graphs, it shows a small deficiency between 100-300 Hz and then a treble shelf of about +1.5 to +2 dB past 2 kHz. The latter can be corrected using the dip switches on the unit. The small lack in the upper bass would be easy to EQ.

For a near-field monitor, the predicted in-room response is not overly relevant. And the direct response would be pretty good with the two mentioned corrections. This doesn't solve the bass distortion or resonances, but at probably 0.5 - 1 m listening distance, you will rarely need 95+ dB. So overall not a great speaker, but with two small corrections it seems to perform OK for the job it was designed for.

EDIT: You can mostly disregard this post, I looked at the wrong chart

 

[amirm]

then a treble shelf of about +1.5 to +2 dB past 2 kHz. The latter can be corrected using the dip switches on the unit.

I don't see how. This is the response again:

It is not an even lift above 2 kHz. There are two peaks and a valley between them. If you just pull them down with 2 dB, you will then have a hole from 5 kHz to 8 kHz.

 

[amirm]

I don't quite understand how there would be excess energy between 300-1000 Hz.

This is common interference from the port/cabinet:

They are 25 dB down so contribute a bit to overall response.