Studio Monitors

[fullbirdmusic]

but the Yamaha HS80M speakers are supposed to be damn close to the NS-10s

I thought Yamaha made a new version of their "necessary evil" speakers.

Rob

I think that's what the HS series is supposed to be, just with a built-in amplifier and a subwoofer as part of the series.

[waltzmastering]

I think the NS 10's take quite a bit of time to get used to if you are not familiar with their tendencies.

They have a 5 dB bump at 2K and fall off sharply at 60 Hz.

Ever since Bob Clearmountain was seen photographed with a pair way back, everyone and their brother has bought a pair.

Imho, Speakers are very personal. What works for one person might not work nearly as good for someone else.

I think the best bet , if possible, is to narrow down the field based on recommendations and price and then try to demo a pair of the top 3 or so pairs in your room.

[fullbirdmusic]

I think the NS 10's take quite a bit of time to get used to if you are not familiar with their tendencies.

They have a 5 dB bump at 2K and fall off sharply at 60 Hz.

Yeah man, right where the ear is most sensitive!

Imho, Speakers are very personal. What works for one person might not work nearly as good for someone else.

I think the best bet , if possible, is to narrow down the field based on recommendations and price and then try to demo a pair of the top 3 or so pairs in your room.

+1 - try and find a dealer who might let you take them home for a weekend to try them out in your space. Listen to some of your own familiar mixes on them and get a feel for what's going on.

[jparker]

Thanks for all the additional info. At this point, any of them will be better than the buzz and rattle I'm hearing out of my BX5s. Funny I didn't actually hear the sounds until I treated the room with Auralex. I've got a local Guitar Center about 3 miles from my house (dangerous when coupled with the GC Preferred Credit Card and 12 months no interest). Maybe they'll let me borrow a set to listen.

Thanks again all, and I've enjoyed being a new member in the forums.

[mazz]

GC used to have a 30 day return policy but I don't know what it is anymore or if it applies to speakers. If they have a GC Pro at your location, they might be willing to bring some speakers over and let you try them out. In any case, make sure you listen to music you're very familiar with when auditioning and make sure the speakers all play back at the same volume. The ear tends to think that the louder speaker sounds better, which may or may not be the case when comparing speakers. You want the most "neutral" comparison possible, at least try to get that in the probably not ideal listening situation at GC. At least try to get away from the "Stairway" plunkers!! (I love the sign in Ray's music in the Blues Brothers "No Stairway!!")

Have fun, I just took advantage of the 12 mos no interest. Retail Therapy, Baby!!!

Mazz

[ernstinen]

Hey All,

Here's an expert review of WHY NS-10s are still used extensively:

"Thanks to its time-domain accuracy and mid-heavy balance, the NS10 is an extremely revealing speaker that takes no prisoners. In other words, if the recording is poor, the NS10 will tell you in no uncertain terms. You have to work harder to make things sound good on the NS10 not because it sounds bad but because recorded music, even today, is often a poor approximation of the real thing, and the NS10 reveals it. I found a familiar comment on the SOS Forum that reads: "If it sounds good on NS10s then it'll sound good on anything." Again, that's not because the NS10 is inherently poor, but because it is effective at revealing the fundamental compromises inherent in recorded music. If you've worked hard on NS10s at a mix and overcome those compromises, or perhaps cleverly disguised them, the mix will translate well to other systems because it is a good mix. Put another way, the NS10 better enables you to get to the nub of a mix by more accurately reproducing its fundamental time-domain information — and it is this which can make the task of mixing seem more challenging."

The full review, with frequency graphs:

http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/sep08/a ... hans10.htm

HTH,

Ern

[elser]

I love my Mackie HR824s. When I switched to them my mixes immediately got much better. Same thing happened when I added the ARC system.