Yamaha HS8 Studio Monitor Review

[amirm]

For a near-field monitor, the predicted in-room response is not overly relevant.

While this is generally true, monitors with excellent directivity show up well here. The HS8 is not such so shows that it can have room dependency.

 

[RandomEar]

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.

Yeah, sorry. I mixed direct and in-room response in my head

It's a bit of everything: Slight dips between 100-300 Hz and 6-9 kHz, very slight bump between 300-900 Hz. For far field listening, you may be OK correcting it mostly using the dip switches. For near-field you need some fiddling with multiple EQ bands.

 

[amirm]

I suspect they used gated/smoothed measurements themselves so didn't see these slight variations. It is not far from being a better speaker.

 

[Linnie]

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

Found this measurement, probably by Yamaha themselves:

Notre moteur de recherche n'a pas pu répondre à votre demande.

www.son-video.com

 

[thewas]

Yes, also this exists

(source https://ask.video/article/audio-hardware/review-yamaha-hs7-studio-monitors )

but unfortunately they are only on-axis.

 

[heflys20]

The scaling on that would make a lot of speakers look neutral. Unfortunately, the MSP line has been discontinued for sometime, and (thanks to the fact that the HS line remains an immensely popular speaker), they probably won't replace them.

 

[Robbo99999]

That's not a bad speaker, but it's got it's limitations and it's probably a bit too expensive for what it is I'd say. JBL do better!

 

[PristineSound]

But why when this is available to be purchased with your hard earn money?

 

[jmtabernero]

I've used the previous model, the HS-80M, for more than 20 years. I bought them brand new for €250 each.
In comparison, the model I own has more EQ possibilities + HPF even though it doesn't seem to extend as low as the reviewed model.
I was thinking about swapping them for a the ADAM A7X that second hand you can buy them for €450. Is it worth the change?
I see the A5X model has been tested, anyone knows where to find measurements for the A7X model?

 

[staticV3]

But why when this is available to be purchased with your hard earn money?

View attachment 528274

15Hz deeper bass extension, much wider sweet spot

 

[SuicideSquid]

These are extremely popular in the home studio world. Glad to see they measure respectably. I'd still much prefer a set of Neumann KH120mk2s, but at almost half the price these are certainly going to get the job done for a home studio on a budget.

 

[Linnie]

I see the A5X model has been tested, anyone knows where to find measurements for the A7X model?

This is an anechoic measurement from Audio magazine. Don't know how reliable these are but maybe gives you an Idea:

https://www.adam-audio.com/content/uploads/2017/11/review_adam_audio_a7x_studio_reference_monitor_audio.pdf.pdf

EDIT:
Just noticed they measured several other speakers as well, including the HS8! Smoothing aside, their graph IMHO doesn't look completely different from Amir's.

 

[MZKM]

Reserved

 

[PristineSound]

15Hz deeper bass extension, much wider sweet spot

Yeah, the bass is probably the only thing since this Neuman is only a 4 inch woofer.

The wider sweet spot wouldn't be too much of an issue for a studio monitor; assuming one is actually using it as a studio monitor.

But on the other hand, the distortion on the Yamaha is out of control.

 

[DanielT]

Thanks for the test Amir.


Now that everyone has access to 3D printers and manufacturers of course really good ones, would it be so difficult to design ports that minimize port resonances? Curved slot ports for example.

It can't possibly that expensive to customize such ports and mass produce them, or?

 

[Matias]

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

Now that it is on spinorama.org it is even easier to compare the Yamaha HS8 (800 usd / pair) x Kali LP-6v2 (500 usd / pair).

Easily compare loudspeakers measurements

www.spinorama.org

And ranking filtered by active bookshelfs with f3<45 Hz and price per unit < 500 usd..

Ranking table of speaker's measurements

www.spinorama.org

 

[JIW]

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.

The HS3, HS 4, HS 5 and HS 7 are all ported. See the images below from Yamaha's website.

 

[crappypanther]

I always thought these monitors were pretty good and I was close to the truth

 

[Ajax]

I've used the previous model, the HS-80M, for more than 20 years. I bought them brand new for €250 each.
In comparison, the model I own has more EQ possibilities + HPF even though it doesn't seem to extend as low as the reviewed model.
I was thinking about swapping them for a the ADAM A7X that second hand you can buy them for €450. Is it worth the change?
I see the A5X model has been tested, anyone knows where to find measurements for the A7X model?

FWIW, I have owned the original Adam A7 speakers for about 15 years. They still sound great and obviously very reliable.

By chance my son is building a home studio and recently replaced the Yamaha HS8 with the Adam A7X and loves them. He is embarking on a career as a music producer and bought them after visiting the studio of a golfing mate of mine, Nick Didia, who records with the A7Xs.

Nick won a Grammy in 2001 for his work on Springsteen’s “The Rising”. Among the long list of successful artists to benefit from his expertise are Rage Against The Machine, Pearl Jam and Stone Temple Pilots.

ADAM Audio - Grammy-winning Producer And Engineer Nick DiDia

When producer Nick DiDia relocated from LA to Australia in 2010, he was already one of the world’s leading producers of rock and alternative rock.

www.adam-audio.com

If they are good enough for the professionals .........

 

[CB89]

If they are good enough for the professionals .........

Did he deliver that performance despite the speakers, or because of them? How the result would have been with different speakers.