Yamaha NS-10s.

[Atomisk]

Yamaha NS-10s. Are they worth it?

[Gruneau]

Nope,

I was thinking of buying them because "everyone praised them so much"..

I ended up listening to them and they are really shit, i liked my krk 5's more, the NS-10s were waay to "sharp" and over exagerated, its nothing you want to listen to all day long, (ear fatigue anyone?)


I think the KRK series is the way to go... I started out with krk 5's and now im on VXT 8's (which are a lot clearer in the mid highs)


at the end of the day its what you think sounds good.

[Daniel S]

For a recording studio, yes. For home use, no. They're a production tool mostly, although I know a guy who used to have a pair at home. They were great for watching movies, because they made the dialogue stand out.

[TheFrenchWay]

I have a friend that recently both the NS-10 and he regretted it after hearing what my KRK Rokit 6s can rip in a home setup.

KRK is the way to go.

[ezelkow1]

From some of the short listening tests I did and everything Ive read on them, they are definitely good for picking out things, but most people dont use them as their primary monitors for the obvious reasons many people have stated. However they are probably great as a secondary listening source

[1point5]

you won't usually find them in a studio as the main pair of monitors. They're used precisely for the reason that they don't sound very good and the idea is that a good mix on NS10s should sound good anywhere. Also a lot of people are used to how they sound so they are widespread for the same reason that SM57 mics and DT100 headphones are. They don't sound the best but most people have experience with them and know what to expect when they travel to different studios.

[mostapha]

You know those arguments I've gotten in on DJTT about how monitors aren't made for general listening? It's true for NS-10s. They sound like shit. They're made to emphasize things that sound bad, following the rule "what your monitors do well, your mix will do badly and vice versa." By bumping around 2kHz, having harsh highs, and having a fairly high LF rolloff, you EQ things to sound good on normal speakers.

If it sounds good on NS-10ms, it sounds good on anything.

But they're annoying as hell to listen to and while I'm not convinced that the difference is as big as some people say, the Bryston amps you're supposed to run them with are freaking expensive.

If I were building a big, commercial studio, I'd have a set in every room…mostly so it looked right. At home, no. The HS50M are actually pretty close to NS-10ms if you set the EQ switches on the back right (meaning: the opposite of what you want speakers to sound like), and I probably will get a set of them. But I don't think they should be your first/only set of monitors. They'll be my second or 3rd.

[Skeyelab]

Nope,

I was thinking of buying them because "everyone praised them so much"..

I ended up listening to them and they are really shit, i liked my krk 5's more, the NS-10s were waay to "sharp" and over exagerated, its nothing you want to listen to all day long, (ear fatigue anyone?)


They are supposed to "sound like shit" - they sound like the "average" home speaker, ie: tv, boombox, car stereo

they are not designed to sound awesome.

That’s the point.

[Skeyelab]

I have a friend that recently both the NS-10 and he regretted it after hearing what my KRK Rokit 6s can rip in a home setup.

KRK is the way to go.

would he sell them? are they vintage NS10s?

[mostapha]

Dito. Also, what amp is he running and what would he sell it for?

[Gruneau]

They are supposed to "sound like shit" - they sound like the "average" home speaker, ie: tv, boombox, car stereo

they are not designed to sound awesome.

That’s the point.


Yes, of course, but there are much better alternatives out there, besides I heard they gave them out to a lot of studios for free to promote them in the beginning and thus they became a "studio" standard - just because all the big studios had got a pair, which doesn't mean they sound "good" studiowise either.

I think the NS-10s are only used in bigger studios today to clear up the mids if theres any trouble with them, just as a reference monitor and nothing else..

From my experience I would never ever want to use them as "main" monitors pounding into my ears for hours / day.

I even heard a common "studio-fix" was to hang a thin piece of cloth over the tweeter to reduce the sharpness of them.

[mostapha]

Toilet paper works too.

And they really are good at what they do. Hearing a mix going from "crap" to "that sounds like music" on NS-10s and then hearing it on main monitors…is kind of an awesome experience.

I really do think they have their place, and that place is right next to a pair of Events or Genelecs on top of a console with big-budget mains built into the wall in a well-tuned room with a guy sitting in front of a board who knows when to use each.

There's no reason to use them as your only monitors. I think they should be your second set, and your first set should be something like Events or Genelecs…or something like KRK on a realistic, hobbyist budget…but if you're on that kind of a budget, don't bother with NS-10s, because you won't have tuned your room anyway…just pay someone to do your mastering and listen to versions of your mixdown in as many places as you can.

[Manu]

^^^^ heheheh, the old school toilet paper trick :lol:


The thing with yamahas: if your mix sounds right on them, it will sound good everywhere else... I wouldn't recommend KRK monitors, they do color (bottom mids) and "flatter" the sound instead of being perfectly neutral like a monitor should be.

[mostapha]

Agreed.

But they're fairly close considering the price. Maybe I just haven't heard enough in good rooms (guitar center's showroom is the worst place to try out speakers) but to my ears, the next step up is Genelecs that cost 5 to 10 times as much. I'm sure there's something in-between, but I haven't heard them.

I'd love to if you have some suggestions.

[Manu]

behringer truths are still good value for money. Beyond that it's fairly expensive, I'd splash the money on Adam monitors... http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/dec08/articles/adama5.htm

A5 combined with a Sub 7, yum...

[Skeyelab]

Yes, of course, but there are much better alternatives out there, besides I heard they gave them out to a lot of studios for free to promote them in the beginning and thus they became a "studio" standard - just because all the big studios had got a pair, which doesn't mean they sound "good" studiowise either.

I think the NS-10s are only used in bigger studios today to clear up the mids if theres any trouble with them, just as a reference monitor and nothing else..

From my experience I would never ever want to use them as "main" monitors pounding into my ears for hours / day.

I even heard a common "studio-fix" was to hang a thin piece of cloth over the tweeter to reduce the sharpness of them.

thank you for agreeing with all of the points I made.