Not so sure about my new Yamaha HS8s

[CakeEater]

Maybe not the best forum for this but I'll try anyway.

I recently bought a pair of Yamaha HS8s to have a good pair of monitors at home. I actually have a great pair of speakers in my living-room a pair of Bowers & Wilkins 805Ss, powered my a small digital NAD amp that's a bit under-powered. I've been playing my Helix though this via S/PDIF and it sounds great, but ultimately this is a HiFi set-up and probably not ideal.

So I bought the HS8s, and I can't say I'm overly impressed, they have crisper highs and deeper lows, but the mids feel very thin and anemic, almost as though some frequencies are reduced and other have been pushed up. Maybe this is more accurate than my 805Ss, but when listening to vocals and music I'm just not so sure.

Does anyone have experience with this? Are 805Ss just that much better and I made a mistake purchasing the HS8s? All thoughts and opinions welcome.
Thanks!

 

[Warmart]

Studio monitors are going to sound different, for sure. You may adapt and end up liking them better and/or you may need to adjust your Helix and patches.

 

[Boudoir Guitar]

Maybe not the best forum for this but I'll try anyway.

I recently bought a pair of Yamaha HS8s to have a good pair of monitors at home. I actually have a great pair of speakers in my living-room a pair of Bowers & Wilkins 805Ss, powered my a small digital NAD amp that's a bit under-powered. I've been playing my Helix though this via S/PDIF and it sounds great, but ultimately this is a HiFi set-up and probably not ideal.

So I bought the HS8s, and I can't say I'm overly impressed, they have crisper highs and deeper lows, but the mids feel very thin and anemic, almost as though some frequencies are reduced and other have been pushed up. Maybe this is more accurate than my 805Ss, but when listening to vocals and music I'm just not so sure.

Does anyone have experience with this? Are 805Ss just that much better and I made a mistake purchasing the HS8s? All thoughts and opinions welcome.
Thanks!

This "Studio monitors are different than hi fi speakers" is...I dunno. A remnant of the past that we should forget. At the end of the day, what you are comparing is a pair of two way speakers costing, what, $2.5k? to a pair of two way speakers costing, what $400? Where the amp is probably kinda comparable, except the cost of the amp is included in the $400 pair of speakers and not in the $2.5k speakers.

Of course the B&Ws sound better, more real, more accurate, etc.

 

[CakeEater]

This "Studio monitors are different than hi fi speakers" is...I dunno. A remnant of the past that we should forget. At the end of the day, what you are comparing is a pair of two way speakers costing, what, $2.5k? to a pair of two way speakers costing, what $400? Where the amp is probably kinda comparable, except the cost of the amp is included in the $400 pair of speakers and not in the $2.5k speakers.

Of course the B&Ws sound better, more real, more accurate, etc.

Well that's it, if the B&Ws are more faithful then I suppose I'll just return the HS8s, if HS8s are more faithful even if they don't sound as good then there's merit to keeping them. I'm not sure if I have a good way of determining that.

 

[madmarcus1960]

Can't compare Studio monitors to HiFi speakers IMHO. I have the HS8s and use them with an AXE3 and any VSTs on my studio PC. I think they sound great. Certainly better than the JBL L308s they replaced. I have 2 hifi systems, my home theater(set of older Mission 77 series and a SVS sub) and a bedroom one (Definitive Tech D9s and a small flat Jamo sub under the bed). They both sound better for general music listening.
My presets and VSTs(including keyboard synths, piano, etc) sound great. I've Eq'd the HS8 for music using a 31 band add on in Fubar2000. It made a huge difference.

 

[Boudoir Guitar]

Well that's it, if the B&Ws are more faithful then I suppose I'll just return the HS8s, if HS8s are more faithful even if they don't sound as good then there's merit to keeping them. I'm not sure if I have a good way of determining that.

Maybe budget "hi-fi" speakers are scooped, etc., but a good pair of hi-fi speakers has very similar goals as a good pair of studio monitors. Mastering studios are very often using "hi-fi" speakers (first image is Abbey Road):

 

[CakeEater]

Can't compare Studio monitors to HiFi speakers IMHO. I have the HS8s and use them with an AXE3 and any VSTs on my studio PC. I think they sound great. Certainly better than the JBL L308s they replaced. I have 2 hifi systems, my home theater(set of older Mission 77 series and a SVS sub) and a bedroom one (Definitive Tech D9s and a small flat Jamo sub under the bed). They both sound better for general music listening.
My presets and VSTs(including keyboard synths, piano, etc) sound great. I've Eq'd the HS8 for music using a 31 band add on in Fubar2000. It made a huge difference.

Is the EQ compensating for the speakers themselves for e flatter output, or creating a more pleasant listening experience?

 

[three_eyed_otter]

Playing presets set up for the B&W & expecting them to sound the same on the HS8 is not the way to go…You’ve essentially switched out the speaker & cabinet of your guitar rig, they’re not going to sound the same. Your presets need to be setup for the HS8 to get the best out of the speakers.

Have a good one,

3EO

 

[Jarick]

I also have HS8's, so here's my thoughts.

I went from JBL 305's (5" drivers, $300 for the pair) to Genelec 8020's (4" drivers, $1100 for the pair). Wasn't too impressed as they sounded boxy and lifeless for guitar. Bought a pair of HS8's (8" drivers, $800 for the pair).

Going from JBL and Genelec to Yamaha, I definitely noticed there was more high and low end content. Of course the size is a huge factor, they are monsters. But they are much fuller overall. Not sure which was better between Genelec and Yamaha.

Still wasn't in love with them, and I got the IK Multimedia ARC box last month. That uses a reference mic to measure the accuracy in your room and then create DSP correction. I found the sound to be a significant improvement with both speakers. The Yamahas smoothed out a bit in the midrange abut the lows really got cleaned up. The Genelecs didn't change a ton in the mids and highs but the boxiness got fixed and they play bass twice as deep as before.

All that to say, your room may be more important than the monitors you picked. To an extent you can manage this with EQ, rolling off some highs and lows to focus on the midrange.

What I would recommend is if you have ~ $100 to spare, get a measurement mic like the MiniDSP USB mic and download Room EQ Wizard which is free. You can measure your speakers in your room to see exactly what's happening. That would tell you if the B&W are more accurate or if you have some funky room nodes.

Lastly, for home use I would do what you enjoy most. If the B&W sound better, stick with those and save some money and space!

 

[DrewJD82]

Don’t forget about the attenuation switches on the back for the hi’s and lo’s, those go a LONG way in how the midrange ends up coming out of those speakers and if you’re not noticing a big change, there’s most likely a frequency build-up going on somewhere in your room cancelling things out.

I was a little unsure of the HS8’s when I first got them, upgrading from HS5’s, but I love them at this point. Just had to get used to how they work in my room.

 

[madmarcus1960]

I used that MiniDSP mic to DIRAC my home theater. My Onkyo receiver came with a license. Best sounding home theater experience that I've owned.

 

[CakeEater]

I also have HS8's, so here's my thoughts.

I went from JBL 305's (5" drivers, $300 for the pair) to Genelec 8020's (4" drivers, $1100 for the pair). Wasn't too impressed as they sounded boxy and lifeless for guitar. Bought a pair of HS8's (8" drivers, $800 for the pair).

Going from JBL and Genelec to Yamaha, I definitely noticed there was more high and low end content. Of course the size is a huge factor, they are monsters. But they are much fuller overall. Not sure which was better between Genelec and Yamaha.

Still wasn't in love with them, and I got the IK Multimedia ARC box last month. That uses a reference mic to measure the accuracy in your room and then create DSP correction. I found the sound to be a significant improvement with both speakers. The Yamahas smoothed out a bit in the midrange abut the lows really got cleaned up. The Genelecs didn't change a ton in the mids and highs but the boxiness got fixed and they play bass twice as deep as before.

All that to say, your room may be more important than the monitors you picked. To an extent you can manage this with EQ, rolling off some highs and lows to focus on the midrange.

What I would recommend is if you have ~ $100 to spare, get a measurement mic like the MiniDSP USB mic and download Room EQ Wizard which is free. You can measure your speakers in your room to see exactly what's happening. That would tell you if the B&W are more accurate or if you have some funky room nodes.

Lastly, for home use I would do what you enjoy most. If the B&W sound better, stick with those and save some money and space!

Thanks, this is good advice. I've definitely noticed more high and low end content, I spent a while determining if that was tricking me into thinking that the mids were thinner, but with the right tracks I'm quite sure that the B&Ws do indeed have better mids, voices sound more natural as an example.

I have a friend who would be able to help with the room EQ, I'll reach out to him.

 

[ian_dissonance]

Are the speakers all in the same space? Room makes a huge difference as does placement, furniture, etc. Those B&Ws probably do sound great.

 

[CakeEater]

They are, they’re side by side with a wide LR spread and the room is big enough.

 

[pipelineaudio]

Midrange light is about exactly the opposite of what I’d describe all of the HS series. I’d be sweeping the room and guess there’s some massive bass buildup (especially from an 8) that is making the mids seem light in relation.

 

[Sleezy E]

How many hours do you have on them?

My focals took a week or 2 to settle in

 

[ian_dissonance]

They are, they’re side by side with a wide LR spread and the room is big enough.

How far back are you sitting? Near fields aren’t really meant to be used more than 5-6’ away.

 

[AFKAEjay]

hifi speakers are build to give you pleasant listening experience.
Reference monitors are build to give you the most average representation, and the most detailed/accurate/ neutral….so you can adjust what you are making for pleasant playback on hifi speakers.
Pleasant is something different then neutral / accurate.

I only know the hs8 half ass…not the most pleasing speakers…but if I’m correct meant as follow up of ns10s…which where very much appreciated for their “if it sounds good on those….it will sound good on anything” character,

 

[CakeEater]

How many hours do you have on them?

My focals took a week or 2 to settle in

That might be it. I'll put a few more hours into them and see how they go.

 

[Sascha Franck]

Of course the B&Ws sound better, more real, more accurate, etc.

Especially given that since quite some time by now, at least more serious HiFi systems aren't made to sort of enhance whatever frequencies (aka built in loudness "effect") anymore, so at least frequency-wise, they should be pretty much doing the same as studio monitors in a comparable league.
The only thing I'm not sure about is dynamics. I have never done any serious A/B comparisons (alternatively, it wasn't exactly apples to apples, as in two pairs of speakers not playing in the same league), but overall, I always thought that dedicated studio monitors would have a somewhat more "accurate" or "noticeable" dynamic impact. But I might be totally off the mark here, as said, never made any serious A/B comparisons.