Yamaha HS Studio Monitor Comparison

You can not discuss the new second generation of the Yamaha HS range of powered nearfield monitors without doffing your hat to their history and heritage. The look of the HS range comes directly from Yamahas first studio monitors the NS-10s released in 1978. Thousands of albums in the 80s and 90s were mixed on the black monitors with the recognisable white cone.

The NS-10s were brutal at highlighting problems in the mix due to their mid-heavy balance and little bass extension. They made producers work hard to make things sound right and it was often said that "if it sounded good on those monitors, then it was going to sound good on most things".  Continuing the family lineage the HS5's feature the stylish white cone and share many of the sonic characteristics of the NS-10's but with notable improvements including a deeper bass response and a more spacious quality in the higher frequencies.

There is no disputing that the HS range look great, but how do they sound? When choosing studio reference monitors for mixing and music production you should be looking for one thing - accuracy.  Consumer speakers such as HiFi systems or computer speakers are designed to enhance the sound to make the music and speakers sound more impressive.  This is great when listening to music but a recipe for disaster if you are making your own music.  

When creating and mixing music you need to be making decisions about the frequencies in the original source, not based on whats coming out of speakers that colour the sound. The engineers at Yamaha built the HS monitors with the philosophy of delivering a concise sound image, high resolution, and flat response to increase the accuracy of sound reproduction to their extreme limit.

The HS Series features newly developed transducers that achieve astonishingly smooth response over a wide range of bandwidth.

Tweeter - The HS Series features a highly efficient 1" dome tweeter that extends the usable frequency range considerably. Designed to minimize vibration the tweeter is able to deliver distortion-free, smooth high end up to 30 kHz.

Woofer - Ultra-responsive woofers produces low distortion sound with a well-defined bottom end at any output level. All of the components in these high-power woofers produce stunning bass while providing clear, accurate mids.

HS Series speakers feature a bi-amp design with a separate dedicated amp for both the woofer and the tweeter, this amplifier unit ensures that each HS Series speaker consistently delivers high-resolution sound with a flat response across the sound spectrum.

The cabinets are designed to eliminate unwanted resonance which in turn increases the accuracy of sound reproduction. The cabinets are constructed from a very dense and resilient MDF with a damped acoustic response. Incorporating a three-way mitered-joint technique common to architectural design, this construction firmly anchors the corners of the enclosure to dramatically improve durability and eliminate unwanted resonance.