Yamaha HS50M & Sub vs. Yamaha HS80M

  • Thread starter Thread starter JC Biffro
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JC Biffro

JC Biffro

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Sup ya'll,

So I've settled on purchasing either the Yamaha HS50m or the Yamaha HS80m as my first pair of studio monitors, but I'm after some advice if possible please.

My only concern with the Yamaha HS50m is the lowest frequency response is 55HZ which may not be low enough to accurately mix the sub-frequencies. The Yamaha HS80M's lowest frequencies however is 42HZ. The HS50m's are £225 and the 80m's are £400.

I guess my question is, would you either a) get the cheaper 50m's and buy a sub-woofer to make up for the missing frequency range, or b) pay a bit more and get an overall better set of speakers and not have to worry about the lower frequencies? or even C) get the cheaper 50m's and not even bother with a subwoofer.

I know I'm still missing 30ish-42 with the 80m's, but most of my 'boom' will be around the 45-55 mark, so should be accurate enough at least for a rough mix.


Cheers. :victory:




Specs of each:

Yamaha HS50M (Pair) main features include:

Pair of 2-way bass-reflex bi-amplified studio reference monitors
5 inch cone woofer and 3/4 inch dome high-frequency unit
70 watts dynamic bi-amplified power
XLR and TRS phone jack inputs accept balanced or unbalanced signals
Level control facilitates precise overall system level matching
MID EQ, ROOM CONTROL, and HIGH TRIM response control switches
LOW CUT switch
Full magnetic shielding
Crossover Frequency: 3 kHz
Overall Frequency Response: 55 Hz - 20 kHz (-10 dB)
Dimensions (WxHxD): 165 x 222 x 268 mm
Weight: 5.8 kg


The main features of the Yamaha HS80M include:

2-way bass-reflex bi-amplified near-field studio monitor
8" cone woofer and 1" dome high-frequency unit
42Hz - 20kHz frequency response.
120 watts dynamic bi-amplified power.
XLR and TRS phone jack inputs accept balanced or unbalanced signals.
Level control facilitates precise overall system level matching.
MID EQ, ROOM CONTROL, and HIGH TRIM response control switches.
LOW CUT switch.
Full magnetic shielding.
 
Well according to Yamaha's website the hs10w's frequency response covers 30hz-120hz so instead of getting the 80s (to my knowledge the only difference between the 50s and 80s is the extended response range) and the sub I'd just get the 50s and if you needed some extra low end get the sub. Hell leave the lows up to the sub instead of pushing it off on your monitors. Honestly though, if your planning to spend all this money on these flat monitors just make sure your room is treated first. You can spend ten grand on a sound system but if the acoustics of your room is coloring what you hear then it defeats the purpose of having flat monitors so you'd be better off getting some cheaper Krks in that case.

I'm not sure if your room is treated or not already but if that's not the case then I'd suggest you at least treat your room with bass traps to help with the low end since that is usually the biggest problem area. If your room is small a sub *might be overpowering.

At the crazy high price of treatment products today you might as well buy nice NON-FOAM solutions, well at least for your bass traps. I'd recommend Real Trap's products. http://www.realtraps.com/products.htm

Most stores will offer you some sort of financing on gear so instead of outright buying you can try each choice and see how it works for you.
 
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I have a pair of the HS80M and am quite happy with the bass response (dnb, house), sometimes I have to crank it up (mbox2mini) to get that sweet bass thump but generally bass wise its does pretty well.

I'd get the 80 over the 50, you can always get a sub after?
 
I have the hs 50 + the sub (hs 10), and i think its a good combination ( u can route the monitors thru the sub for better performance). i think I lot of people go with the hs80 when they don't want to pay for the sub. my 2 cents.
 
Thanks for the feedback chaps. I decided to go with the HS50m's for now, and then decide afterwards whether or not I need the sub.
 
Hey JC, keep in mind that 55hz is not like a cliff, but a gradual slope. Good idea holding off on the sub for now as well. I have found that in an untreated room, which already has a lot of issues in the bass response, a sub further muddies things up, and makes it more difficult to hear things. Use your 50's for a few weeks, take mixes and play them on different systems and you will start to learn their response. You may not need a sub. One thing I find helpful is using headphones that go nice and deep when i need to adjust the relationship between my kicks and subs. Everything else can be done on you speakers, and you with practice you will be able to get pretty good results.
 
JC_Biffro said:
Thanks for the feedback chaps. I decided to go with the HS50m's for now, and then decide afterwards whether or not I need the sub.
Click to expand...

if you haven't brought them already you may want to consider
buying the ZenPro Audio Modified HS80ms
I'm buying mines in about 30 days can't wait
Yamaha HS80M ZenPro Mod | Studio Monitors @ ZenProAudio.com
the reviews are showing that the monitors are much more improved
you can talk to the owner of ZenPro Audio over on gearslutz his name is Warren aka Warhead
Yamaha HS80M ZENPRO Mod Edition - Gearslutz.com


-Coach Antonio
 
Your worry is a legit one... I have the HS50's now and granted my mixes are coming out awesome and translatable... but i have to play guesswork on the sub bass stuff. It's stil translatable overall.. but I can't accracy judge how much "rumble" will come w/ the bass. I've only noticed the issues on bass heavy playback systems lik PA speakers and club stuff. Sounds great in the car.

However.. from an expectation standpoint, worry not.. b/c a 5" speaker shouldn't really be able to reproduce that lol... unless it's a very very expensive set from a company that has figured out how to do that and not break the laws of physics lol.

Lots of people prefer the 50's + Sub over the 80's, and also over the 80's + sub. That's my current gameplan. The 50's are said to be more accurate in the mid/highs to begin with by design. Also.. the 80's may not produce all of the sub frequency you would want and may leave u still wanting a sub to go with it. So... logically, it may be smarter to buy 50's + sub instead of 80's + possibility of a sub. You'd spend less money and have a very very good setup. (You'd have a good setup either way lol)

---------- Post added at 08:15 AM ---------- Previous post was at 08:14 AM ----------

But then again.. it's sexier to get the 80's lol. So I understand. But I had to seriously focus on just the logic of the purchase before I made my own decision. It kinda depends on what you wanna do. Can't really go wrong... both should help you pump out good mixes from top to bottom.
 
fataltone said:
if you haven't brought them already you may want to consider
buying the ZenPro Audio Modified HS80ms
I'm buying mines in about 30 days can't wait
Yamaha HS80M ZenPro Mod | Studio Monitors @ ZenProAudio.com
the reviews are showing that the monitors are much more improved
you can talk to the owner of ZenPro Audio over on gearslutz his name is Warren aka Warhead
Yamaha HS80M ZENPRO Mod Edition - Gearslutz.com


-Coach Antonio
Click to expand...

I AM ALSO WAITING ON THIS BUT FOR THE 50S mod im a little affraid of the shipping
 
OcasioMusic said:
I AM ALSO WAITING ON THIS BUT FOR THE 50S mod im a little affraid of the shipping
Click to expand...

yeah but Warren is a stand up guy contact him over on gearslutz
he runs a legit business

-Coach Antonio
 
My HS50m's have been delivered and are waiting for me at home, I just need to finish work and then I can start playing. Eeeeeee (highschool girl screech, lmao)
 
Man, I remember getting my first set of monitors in the mail. I was 15-16 and had been saving up like the whole year. It was one of the most exciting moments in my life up til that point...well at least until I heard them! Anyway, as excited as you are to plug em in and play some tunes, keep in mind that they will need to be broken in for a while. If you can, leave them playing at a moderate volume overnight, or over the day, that will get you a good start. I think using bass heavy music will speed up the process due to more excursion from the cones. I know each monitor I have ever bought noticeably improves once the cone surrounds loosen up a little, especially in bass response. It usually takes a week or two in my experience, but we all use our monitors for different lengths of time.

Good luck, and good listening!!
 
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zlaya said:
Man, I remember getting my first set of monitors in the mail. I was 15-16 and had been saving up like the whole year. It was one of the most exciting moments in my life up til that point...well at least until I heard them! Anyway, as excited as you are to plug em in and play some tunes, keep in mind that they will need to be broken in for a while. If you can, leave them playing at a moderate volume overnight, or over the day, that will get you a good start. I think using bass heavy music will speed up the process due to more excursion from the cones. I know each monitor I have ever bought noticeably improves once the cone surrounds loosen up a little, especially in bass response. It usually takes a week or two in my experience, but we all use our monitors for different lengths of time.

Good luck, and good listening!!
Click to expand...

right on man
1.breaking them in
and
2.setting them up right in the

3.asap acoustic treatment
stay away from all foam even professional stuff like auralex I wasted tons of money not knowing any better

UnderstandingStudioMonitors_Placement_1_big.webp

keep them about 2 1/2 feet 3 ft. from the wall
mines are 3 1/2 ft. from my front wall

JC Biffro you have any speaker stands???


-Coach Antonio
 
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