The studio monitors you choose for your home recording studio setup is a very important decision. The great mixes you hear on your favorite albums were all created through a pair of studio monitors.
If you want excellent mix results then you are going to need a great pair of studio monitors.
Today we are going to do a Yamaha HS8 Studio Monitor Review.
What Is The Yamaha HS8 Studio Monitor?
The Yamaha HS8 Powered Studio Monitor is a speaker designed for sound engineers and mix enthusiast to properly play back the mix you are working on with a flat frequency response.
A flat frequency response is the key to being able to produce excellent quality mixes. If you are new to studio monitors and are wondering what all the fuss is over studio monitors vs. regular speakers.. It’s the flat frequency response. In other words, there are no extra bass or extra high end enhancements built into good studio monitor speakers.
A good studio monitor speaker gives you a true flat frequency response so you can hear exactly what is going on in your mix. The Yamaha HS8 Studio Monitor really delivers here.
Yamaha HS8 Specs
| Dimensions: | 9.8″ Wide x 15.4″ Height x 13.1″ Depth |
| Weight: | 22.5 lbs. |
| Enclosure Type: | Rear Ported |
| Low Frequency Driver: | 8 Inch Woofer |
| Hi Frequency Driver: | 1 Inch Tweeter |
| Frequency Response: | 38Hz – 30kHz |
| Output Power: | 120 Watts |
| Input Connectors: | XLR – TRS |
| Acoustic Space Control: | Yes |
Yamaha HS8 Studio Monitor Features
High Performance Speakers
Yamaha keeps the tradition of the white cone speakers going in the HS8 Studio Monitor. First designed by Akira Nakamura for the famous Yamaha NS-10, the Yamaha HS8 use the same design principles with newer technology to create a superb studio monitor speaker.
A large magnet is used on the 8 inch woofer cone to produce accurate and tight low end response. With advanced magnetic circuit design the HS8’s magnet provides exceptional smooth and even low end.
The one inch dome tweeter is specially mounted and powered to provide clear and clean mids and high end frequencies.
Built In Power Bi-Amplification
No need to buy an additional power amplifier to power the Yamaha HS8 studio monitors because they have built in bi-amplifiers. This means you have matched power amplifiers built in for the low 8-inch woofer cone and the 1-inch tweeter cone.
The benefit here is that you have dedicated power for low end and dedicated power for the high end and this maximizes the speaker efficiency. The built in crossover sends the frequencies to their proper speaker cone so both speaker cones can function at optimum performance levels for high overall sonic quality.
Room Control and High Trim Response
On the back of the Yamaha HS8 studio monitor there are two switches labeled; Room Control and High Trim.
The Room Control Switch is to help you balance the low end frequencies in your room. If you have to place your speakers close to a wall or in a corner you can set the room control switch to either 0db, -2db, or -4db. This way you can dial in the perfect amount of low end for the room you are mixing in.
The High Trim Switch is to help you balance the high end frequencies in your room. You have the option to set this switch at +2db, 0db, and -2db. This allows you to set your HS8 studio monitors at the perfect level for the room you are mixing in.
Don’t be afraid to experiment with the room control and high trim response settings on your HS8 studio monitors. This is a great feature to help you get your studio monitors dialed in just right.
Superior Cabinet Design
A great cabinet design goes a long way in producing superior sounding studio monitors. Yamaha drew on their 100 years of piano design to create the HS Series speaker cabinet. The Yamaha HS8 have a 3-way mitered joint developed by Yamaha to help give the cabinets extra strength and minimal cross- resonant frequency response.
How Does The Yamaha HS8 Studio Monitor Work?
The Yamaha HS8 Active Studio Monitor is a powered studio monitor. This means the speakers have built in power amplifiers to drive the speakers. This is a good thing because you do not need to buy an additional amplifier to power the Yamaha HS8 speakers.
To properly listen in a stereo field you will need two Yamaha HS8 studio monitors. Set up the speakers in a Equilateral Triangle for proper listening. This simply means put an equal distance between the left and right speaker and the same equal distance between you and the speakers to form a perfect triangle.
You will want the tweeter cone on the Yamaha HS8 to be the same height as your ears for proper listening.
Plug in the audio outputs from your audio interface to the XLR or TRS inputs and you are all connected. It’s super simple.
Can You Make Good Mixes With Yamaha HS8 Powered Studio Monitors?
There are many components that go into a good mix. It takes good musicians to play the music, it takes good amplifiers and microphones to capture the tones, and good vocalist to sing and harmonize the lyrics.
Let’s assume you get all these parts right. You still need to do the mix down. Well, you are going to need a good set of studio monitors to listen to your tracks and masterfully blend everything together.
This is where the Yamaha HS8 Studio Monitors are going to shine. We already talked all about the speakers, the cabinet design, room control, and the built in bi-amplification. But, how do the Yamaha HS8 speakers sound?
They sound excellent! Hands down, this is a superb set of studio monitors that will not let you down. The flat frequency response on the Yamaha HS8 is very good so you are going to be able to hear all that is wrong in your mix so you can fix the problems. This will allow you to create true mixes that will sound good on any system you play your music on.
The Yamaha HS8 studio monitors give you accurate deep bass, smooth mid frequency, and crispy high frequency response so you can hear every instrument, every vocal nuance, and every reverb trail in your mixes. You will not be disappointed with the Yamaha HS8 active studio monitors.
Yamaha HS8 Pros
Great Flat Frequency Response – The Yamaha HS8 studio monitors have an excellent flat frequency response that will give you the true sound of your mixes so that you can make good mixing decisions. If you can hear your mixes as they truly are then you can create excellent mixes.
Excellent Build Quality – The Yamaha HS8 active studio monitors are built to last. Excellent cabinet design with 3-way mitered joints, large magnets with advanced magnetic circuit design, Bi-amplification design so each speaker is working in it’s frequency range with dedicated amplifier, built in room control, mid eq, and high trim controls to set up the Yamaha HS8 monitors for any room.
Great Sound – With a frequency response of 38Hz to 30kHz you have a wide range of listening capabilities. Tight punchy low end, crisp mid range, and smooth highs will give you hours of mixing pleasure without fatigue.
Yamaha HS8 Cons
Power Switch Is On The Back – Maybe not really a con but, I like to turn off my studio monitors when I’m not using them. I think it would be better if the power switch was on the front of the speakers. Just for easier access.
On the flip side I do like how clean the front of the Yamaha HS8 studio monitor looks. So I can live with the power button on the back.
The Yamaha HS8 Speakers Are Sold As A Single Speaker Or As A Pair
If you decide to get yourself a set of Yamaha HS8 studio monitors you should be aware they are sold as a single speaker or you can buy them as a pair. I just thought this was worthy of mentioning so you can get a correct order placed and not have trouble later.
The Yamaha HS8 active studio monitors come in black, white, and sometimes you can find it in grey. Also, you can now get the HS8I which is a mountable speaker option if you want to hang your HS8I monitor from the ceiling or wall.
Final Thoughts
To sum things up, I love the Yamaha HS8 Studio Monitors. They are a very good choice for excellent studio monitors in this price range. You can spend over $1000 dollars on just one studio monitor or you can get a set of Yamaha HS8’s and have everything you need to start making great mixes in your home recording studio.
These speakers will give you very good frequency response, are very pleasant to listen to and will not break the bank. Give them a try. You will not be disappointed.
If you want to learn more about the Yamaha HS8 Studio Monitors check out my article: Yamaha HS8 Powered Studio Monitor.
I hope this review was helpful to you.
Yamaha HS8 Studio Monitor
$375
Pros
- Great Flat Response
- Excellent Build Quality
- Great Sound
Cons
- Power Button On The Back
I am looking forward to buy two Yamaha HS8 studio monitors. I have been reading reviews and the general opinion is that they are excellent. One of the things I like the most about them are that they have built in power amplifiers. I was worried that I had to also buy an additional amplifier to power the Yamaha HS8 speakers, but that’s not the case.
Two will get you up and running in stereo. The Yamaha HS8 studio monitors are also great for 5.1 surround sound mixing.
The built in power amps are great and save you from having to buy an additional amp to power your studio monitors. The Yamaha HS8 studio monitors sound great. You won’t be disappointed.
Check out my article The Best Budget Studio Monitors For Home Studios. You may find this article helpful.
You have an amazing blog, I haven’t seen a column like that since I was a kid, you are a professional if you don’t know already, but I believe you had a lot of work to do to get to that conclusion.
I hope you are harvesting some fruit from this tree, you did a very well organized and elaborate job, congratulations.
Thank you Vladimir, I really enjoy what I do. Thank you for your kind words. So what do you think about the Yamaha HS8 Studio Monitors?
If you are a studio enthusiast you might also like my article The Best Budget Studio Monitors For Home Studios. Be sure and check it out!
What I like the most about the pair of these Yamaha HS8 speakers is that they pack a punch in a relatively small size and that they are extremely super bang for the buck. I don’t have the biggest living space so the Room Control and High Trim Response are features that I greatly appreciate along with the fact that they can be wall-mounted. And with no need for additional power amplification, these speakers are really a standout. Super review. One which has me reconsidering my purchase of a pair of Bose.
Bose makes some great consumer or home entertainment speakers. The big difference you will find between a pair of Bose entertainment speakers and a pair of Yamaha HS8 Studio Monitors will be the flat frequency response.
If you can truly hear what’s going on in your mix, then you can create a super clean mix. If you want to take a look at some studio monitor comparisons you might like my article The Best Budget Studio Monitors For Home Studios.
Thanks for taking time to leave some comments and let me know if you have any questions.