Yamaha HS Series monitors

Reviews | Yamaha HS Series monitors
90
Y
amaha have revamped their
studio monitor series
recently with the release of
the second generation of the
HS range – the HS5, HS7 and HS8
powered nearfi eld monitors, any of
which can be partnered with the new
HS8S subwoofer. Whereas the HS5 and
HS8 appear to be direct replacements
for the HS50M and HS80M – the 5s
and 8s referring to the size of their LF
drivers in inches – the HS7 is
positioned between the two, being
equipped with a 6.5-inch LF driver (we
guess H7 sounds sexier than H6.5).
Smart design
Like the rest of the series, the HS7s are
bi-amped. You get 65 watts driving that
low frequency speaker while there are
30 watts available for the 1-inch dome
high frequency driver, which has been
newly designed in collaboration with
Yamaha’s hi-fi designers to allow
frequencies of up to 30kHz.
The smart looking MDF cabinet with
rear bass port also has reduced cabinet
resonances courtesy of a new three-way
mitre joint construction feature, this
time a joint effort with Yamaha’s piano
designers. As far as we know, there’s
been no input from Yamaha’s motorbike
designers which is probably a good
thing… As it is you do get some nicely
thought out rear-panel adjustment
switches. As well as the volume knob,
there’s a choice of a 2dB cut or boost to
tailor the top end to suit your taste and
a ‘Room Control’ switch to adjust the
bottom end response to compensate for
corner and close-to-the-wall placement.
Familiar faces?
Now, to many of us, the HS series look
is overly familiar – that white LF driver
being highly reminiscent of the passive
NS-10 family, discontinued some time
ago and ubiquitous in professional
studios since they were fi rst launched
back in the 1980s. That look is no
coincidence, the original NS-10
designer was involved here and Yamaha
are keen to promote the idea of a family
lineage, saying that the HS series share
the same design philosophy. They seem
to have got it spot on… In a side by side
test with our NS10M Studios we found
that the newcomers had an extremely
similar character but exhibited a little
more airiness in the top end and a
deeper bass response, as might be
expected comparing the specifi cations,
and no bad thing as bottom end wasn’t
the NS-10’s strongest asset.
Reproducing a wide variety of music
and various individual instruments, the
HS7s offer plenty of clarity, nice depth
of fi eld and a good sense of stereo
positioning. The frequency response
seems well-balanced with nothing
missing and nothing overtly hyped and,
for a small nearfi eld, the bottom end is
defi ned in a way that should give you a
decent reading of the foundations of
your track. If you want more emphasis
on the bottom end, or are looking to put
together a 5.1 surround system, you can
add the HS8S subwoofer to the set-up
with a further 150 watts of low-end
power. Plugging the H8S in gives a
powerful system for music playback but
we still consider that the HS7s have
enough sonic range, in themselves, to
give an accurate impression of low end
for most studio scenarios, and would be
happy to undertake mixing on them
without the subwoofer.
The HS7 shows that Yamaha have
refi ned the HS series to provide a small
powered nearfi eld that you can use with
confi dence, especially if you are used to
working with NS10s.
WHAT IS IT?
Powered 2-way
nearfi eld monitors and
separate subwoofer
CONTACT
Who: Yamaha
Tel: [phone]
Web: http://uk.yamaha.com
HIGHLIGHTS
1 Good balance of
frequencies
2 Voiced like an NS10M but
with more bass
3 Switchable EQ
adjustment
SPECS
HS7 | £398 pair
Type: 2-way bi-amped
nearfi eld monitors
Frequency response: 43 Hz
– 30kHz
Power: 95W (LF 65W, HF
30W)
LF Driver: 6.5-inch cone
speaker
HF Driver: 1-inch dome
Controls: Level, Hi-Trim
(+/- 2dB), Room Control (0/
-2/ -4 under 500Hz)
Connections: XLR input,
TRS jack input
Dimensions:
210 x 332 x 284mm
Weight:
8.2kg
HS8S | £458
Type: Powered subwoofer
Frequency response: 22 Hz
– 160Hz
Power: 150W
LF Driver: 8-inch speaker
Controls: Level, Phase
(normal/Reverse), High Cut
(80-120Hz), Low Cut
(80-120Hz), Low Cut switch
Connections: XLR input x 2,
TRS jack input x 2 , XLR
output x 2
Dimensions:
300 x 350 x 389mm
Weight:
12.5kg
Yamaha HS Series
monitors | from £398
Trevor Curwen wonders if Yamaha’s HS7 could
possibly supplant his 25 year old NS10Ms and
what’s the big black box for?
VERDICT
BUILD
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VALUE
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EASE OF USE
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VERSATILITY
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RESULTS
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A classic Yamaha look but
with improved performance for
today’s studios.
FMU271.rev_yamaha.indd 90 9/11/13 4:10 PM