Your speakers are wrong
Comments on this video
You can comment on this video at YouTube
You can comment on this video at YouTube
Thursday May 4, 2023
David Mellor
David Mellor is CEO and Course Director of Audio Masterclass. David has designed courses in audio education and training since 1986 and is the publisher and principal writer of Adventures In Audio.
Back in the day. 🙈🙉🙊
Eric Quasney: Tuned room with strings subject
At point where meet. Single point. You have 2 ears. 🙉
David Z: I love mine. Had them since new.
Loustaunau: Wise man, wise words.
Michael Carty: MY very first monitors were the NS10"s I loved them, I gave them to my brother then my nephew poked a hole in the cone. very sad!!
Les G: NS10 in whatever flavour with or without the tweeter covered with tissue paper, if good enough for Bob Clearmountain then should be good enough for the rest of us as a reference. Great video as always.
Alex B.: I enjoy your videos very much. What’s your opinion about coaxial drivers?
Alex B. replies to Alex B.: @Audio Masterclass Have you ever built one? Would you like to make a video about it comparing with your other builds?
Audio Masterclass replies to Alex B.: Possibly it might raise a flurry but I might say they should all be this way. But a proper HF driver not a whizzer cone. DM
DJTBS1: You are just... awesome. Enjoy your content for it's analytical side, humor, and education points. Your video where you show the DAW noise floor doesn't exist was excellent as well.
B.A. Fletcher: I have it placed the same as you did - since 15 years - never got a problem :)
Carl: I love how people think your system should sound and be set up, not!!!
The only person my system needs to make happy is me.
Neel: You are Paul McCartney.. nice try
Lee Jackson: You are funny!!! 😂
Lee Jackson: Oh by the way I love detailing my sound as well Love it love it love it using my Yamaha studio monitors! 😂
Lee Jackson: My dear sir listen to whatever you want to listen to on whatever speaker you want to listen to it on who are these people I own some of Yamaha studio monitors myself I enjoy my music daily! Enjoy your life who cares what other people think... really!!!
Mr Boat: I listen to my old budget JBL monitors vertical. They even made it to where you could twist the JBL logo 90 degrees in which to accommodate this. I have 9 pairs of speakers that I use in rotation, or set up in multiple systems in my home at times, all of which are wrong. Been listening near field for 50+ years by now, starting with the suitcase Victrola arranged on the floor when I was a lad, with 45s scattered allover the rug. That close-up listening habit followed me throughout life, even when the equipment became much larger.
Audio Masterclass replies to Mr Boat: I certainly like the detail I hear when listening close-to. DM
Michael Chavez: My Bose 301 IIs are designed to bounce off the walls. It’s in their name. http://products.bose.com/pdf/customer_service/owners/301ii_guide.pdf
Surroundrive: Yes, but you can't deny being Pat Condell's doppelganger
Cat Fart: No, its not really as simple as "that" - The reason monitors are mounted horizontally vs. vertically is time alignment. So there is an actual reason that you dismiss at the very end because of "room acoustics" - but seeing as they're near-fields - not mid- or far-fields, they're suppose to be listened close with you in the middle of a triangle. Room acoustics don't really come into that much play if you have everything set up proper... and are listening at a low volume. I actually MUCH prefer coaxial speakers to mix with, but at the end of the day, most people, including you and I will never bat an eyelash over any time phase discrepancy. You can see it on a scope, but no one on this earth is going to notice if you mix with them vertical or horizontal.. So, you are correct - no one really cares how you lay your monitors, or your wife.
EDIT: I will also clarify, yes, I know NS-10s aren't designed to be time aligned monitors, and going down the "time align" rabbit hole with full range speakers / monitors using passive crossovers inside the speaker boxes is likely an exercise in futility... I was trying to say there does exist an actual reason for monitors to be placed horizontally, but not for these Yamahas. Carry on.
Wojciech Czupta: ATC studio monitors have two places to mount high freq driver, so that it remains above mid range regardless of vertical or horizontal placement. I guess they may sound different to some extent or maybe it is to keep left and right drivers more separated from each other in near field?
Audio Masterclass replies to Wojciech Czupta: If the midrange and tweeter are mounted horizontally then small side to side movements of the head will affect the sound. If vertically, then up and down movements. For most purposes I believe vertical is best, although there's no real solution other than dual concentric. DM
Peter TImp: Haha…don’t forget baffle reflection for the tweeter.😊
EggShell SkullRule: My speakers are not wrongly positioned. They're JBL 4320. With tube or SS amps., placed on the floor with the treble lenses facing upwards, they sound good with any sources and let me hear all the nuances in a recording, even on bad recordings.
Kevin Harrison: Good evening Mr Mellor. I am blessed with a pair of stacked Quad ESLs (aka ESL 57s.) A friend once told me that the bass response on these was totally crap. I know these speakers have their limitations, but the frequency response from the lower mid-range to the mid high range on these speakers is phenomenal. And that is what I want to hear. Thumping bass has its place, but not in my lounge. I have suspended wooden floors, and pressed steel ceilings and this is definitely not an "audiofoolery good room." But I don't care, because I am hearing the music the way I prefer it. The vocal reproduction is quite incredible albeit female, male, choral pieces et al. Listening to classical music is quite sublime on these speakers, as well as jazz, blues, folk and so on. The lovely deep bass and trilling highs of a pipe organ I will go and listen to in a cathedral, church, auditorium or similar location. Plus, and this is the most important point, I do not have "golden ears" anymore - I have been blighted with permanent tinnitus since 2001. However, I still enjoy my music - from LPs (many of the older ones are not available in a digital format,) CDs and SACDs. I have not had the opportunity to move to high quality streaming.
In closing - I really enjoy the way you cut to the chase and call the BS exactly what it is. I do have some slightly more expensive speaker cables in my system than just normal types, but that is because of the change between my Bedini amp and the speakers. The Quads do present a rather different load (capacitive) than normal speakers do, but my cables are no more than studio level Mogami 3082 co-axial which are roughly $5 per metre, and I have a total of 2 x 4m per channel. People will say this is unnecasary but I will refer them to this article (http://sound-au.com/cablewhitepaper.htm) that explains the reasons for using this cable with the ESLs.
Thank you for always interesting topics. All the best from a chilly South Africa. My speakers are wonderful. Wrong for most but good for me.
Kevin Harrison replies to Kevin Harrison: @Audio Masterclass Indeed space is needed, and my lounge is fortunately just large enough for them. I used the word "blessed" because my best audio/music friend gave me these in 1997 at the then giveaway price of £630.
Audio Masterclass replies to Kevin Harrison: I used to yearn to have stacked Quads but of course I couldn't afford them. Now I could, but I realise how much space is needed to get them to sound at their best. I guess I'll have to stick with my B&Ws. DM
Mitsch76: For many years I used a pair of Canton Quinto510 Loudspeakers....and they did the job very well. Combined with my AKG K240 Studio headphones I think I was pretty good prepared to mix and record audio. I used my monitors so long and so intensive that I imediately identified any mistake in mix or recording. I knew exactly what I should be hearing.
Since 3 years I changed to a pair of Yamaha HS 7 studio monitors and still I don't feel as secure and confident as I did on my (very old) Cantons. I guess it has to be some more years of matching my ears to the new monitors..... To conclude: I think you just need to KNOW WHAT YOU HEAR. And be able to make the right decisions from that knowledge.
Great video, as always! Thank you very much!
Bert Smorenburg: I use my (upright) NS10s (hooked up to an old Alesis amp) for two reasons: in mono for balancing (theyre ruthless when balance is wrong or when wide sounds are not in phase), and to check if my bass is still there on smaller speakers (if not, I usually add a bit of distortion to bass in parallel to bring it up on smaller speakersets). Double checking on NS10's has saved me numerous times
Michael Irons: Another brilliant video :)
Misunderstanding tends to breed misinformation, which is often disseminated by well-meaning amateurs: those whose knowledge of a subject is sketchy are always prey to the intuitively plausible but utterly wrong explanation for one phenomenon or another.
You can place it however you want. Why?
Because NS10 began its life as a domestic hi-fi speaker in '78, but it was relatively poorly received and quickly faded towards obscurity.
Later on, in the mid '80's after few mixing engineers used it, Yamaha decided to re-brand it 'NS10M Studio'.
That's it. Nothing "magic". Use it, do mixes and be happy🙂
Michal Lašan: You sound quite smart for a guy who does not even adhere to instructions of the manufacturer regarding how to place the monitors - min distance from the wall.
Marcelo Arenas: hahahahaha..> Eric Idle's lost brother in deed!!!
Timmypeck: NS 10s were originally designed as an inexpensive bookshelf speaker. I bought a pair in 1979 for the backyard...I think I paid $125 for them if that. I was just starting to experiment with recording and had a set of Auratone C5 sound cubes given to me by my uncle who was an engineer at a local radio station....still have them. The Yamahas sounded like crud so they stayed out in the yard until their demise. Sometime around 1984 I was in Wally Heider's in SF and on the desk was a pair of them....I was shocked. We did our tracks and then I asked the engineer about them and he gave me the lowdown. Now my kid is an engineer...he has a pair....they still sound lackluster to me. But hey that's just me I guess.....
F H: Detailed and neutral is my preference. I don't like to listen to speakers, I like to listen to the recording
Nate D.: I thought you WERE Paul McCartney.
1974UTuber: Just because you mentioned my comment about looking like Paul McCartney I will subscribe.
That and the great content.
Its OK. Your secret is safe with us Paul 😂
Polo: The real Paul Mc Cartney😂!❤ you subconsciously perhaps, did a mc Cartney eyebrow gesture as you said 'Paul mc Cartney' 😂 Anyhow serioisly your videos are very informative educational and entertaining!
Brian F.: I have a unique situation where my speakers are sitting directly on a tile floor upside down with the super tweeters and tweeters in my 4-way Sansui speakers are only inches from the floor. I had to do this because I have a 150" pulldown theater screen and it blocks the speakers except for the bottom 8" which is unobstructed. So they still sound good during movies as the fronts, I have compensated for the strange layout with my 30 band EQ's so I get great sound even with screen down.
Bill Crane: You are cocky.
Bill Crane replies to Bill Crane: @Audio Masterclass LOL!
Audio Masterclass replies to Bill Crane: I would say realistic and full of facts. DM
Jim Settecase: I JUST got through telling a friend about your channel and how you could have been separated at birth from either Paul McCartney or Eric Idle. LOL! Love your channel. Very informative.
tijgerhaai3: I used to work at a local radio station. For that I once had a workshop making jingles at the NOB. working in the studios of the public broadcaster. Equipment that makes you salivate as a local radio station technician. Made super cool jingles, you know how those things sound. But the tip of the NOB technician was that you can make a very nice final mix on this equipment. But if you can't follow it on a transistor radio, it makes no sense. So a speaker from an old cheap radio was literally connected to the mono bus. "If it sounds good on that, and can be followed, it's good"
Rodrigo Garcia: Having worked myself with a couple of NS10, I wouldn´t overlook the problem with frequency response as if it was a minor issue. Those dips and bumps in the highs may become a challenge when looking for a tonal balance. It´s not only a question of having the mix sounding "good" in the yamahas, it´s also about mixin while you are aware of which frequencies are boosted by this response, and which are atennuated. A complete mess of perception, in my opinion. I never got to feel comfortable with these.
I have enjoyed some of the latest Genelec models, and my final choice for mixing has been Neumann KH120 + Kh750dsp- Measuring my mixing room and getting an "almost flat" response, at least in terms of tonal balance perception, adding an extended bass response down to 16Hz, finally got me having my mixes translate in many other places with much less struggle.
The Neumanns offer a rather boring sound when you use them simply for listening to other music, but are surprisingly revealing in showing hidden details in records I had listened to a thousand times. The kind of tool that helps you to take decisions and achieve your goal sooner, and more confident.
Ed Dents: Interesting. Speakers that reveal warts and all. Better to mix on speakers that behave like an old, well established relationship, versus a brand new one, where everything is presented as fresh and absolutely perfect, with no loss of showroom shine.
Mik S: ...from a particular bass sensitive listener, bass is part of the details and you're missing part of them. 😊 (my main system doesn't have a subwoofer, just to discard the boom boom box listener you might believe I could be). ...and the good thing about it, is that we, teenagers from times long gone, can still hear and feel them at our age. 😊
But I'm pulling your leg. I appreciate your videos and although I dislike hearing music from 'in your face' sound kits, I'm perfectly ok with those who prefer it.
SingularityMedia: Damn those NS10 grot boxes. I`m glad they are no longer a standard.
That being said, your ears get used to what they get used to, so I`m not going to yuck your yum. Many a solid mix has been done with NS10`s as part of the process.
KampFire: NS10's are the most critical speakers in my experience and was pleasantly surprised to hear him say what I learned 20+ years ago: If you can make your mix sound good on NS10's, then your mix will sound good on anything. This is why you'll notice most major recording studios had a pair of NS10's in them...
Rock And Roll replies to KampFire: @ShabbyBroom I am not a newbie but a engineer. Where did I mention any use of large speakers only? NS10's are not critical to use. There are a bunch of speakers on the market you can use along with larger speakers to check your mixes.
Cheers from a Mastering engineer whom like to be anonymous.
ShabbyBroom replies to KampFire: @Rock And Roll Hi, you seem to be misunderstanding my remark. NS10's are not just popular, they are critical in the sense that instead of pumping your mix through large JBLs, portable boom boxes, and running outside to your car to check your mix, if you get NS10's to sound good (obviously using your skills/ear because it's not easy), there's not much need to check the other monitors.
Rock And Roll replies to KampFire: "If you can make your mix sound good on NS10's, then your mix will sound good on anything"
This is a myth created just because they were kind of standard in studios. It is the skills of the person that matters, not the speakers. Room and environment is the most critical, then the skills....
paul davies replies to KampFire: it creates a "standard " sound but not the best available
The KILLOGIC EFFECT: Sounds just like what someone who is related tp Paul McCartney would say 😜
laika25: Is that your wife on back (poster)? Haha 😉
Audio Masterclass replies to laika25: That's Betty, my technical assistant. She appears in many of my videos. DM
Donald Bundy: I prefer reference monitors to be positioned or mounted vertically like yours. That puts the time alignment at the speaker's crossover point to be more in alignment. No I do not raise my wiring off the floor.
Chris Harris: My Focals havs passive radiators on the side, so I'm stuck with vertical. But you've got me wondering whether there's money to be made in making bespoke angled stands for the Yamahas to put the tweeter directly above the main driver...
Lee Kumiega: If you don't like the sound changing when you move your head then you need to give a listen to Ohm Walsh 2000 speakers. They do not have a sweet spot they have what the manufacturer calls a sweet sweep that encompasses the entire room due to their unique design. They are semi-omnidirectional and break all the rules , they like reflective surfaces and work best only 12-18 inches from the wall. They provide a deep and wide sound field with reach out and touch it realism. Watch Z reviews Ohm Walsh "best speaker ever".
Lee Kumiega replies to Lee Kumiega: @Audio Masterclass Near field or anywhere in the room they sound great , Zeos does the best review of these speakers and explains how they do their magic. www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y_8xUDYBgZQ&t=11s
Audio Masterclass replies to Lee Kumiega: I guess semi-omnidirectional means a wider spread of sound, which would bring the far field closer. The problem is in the near field and if there isn't much of a near field then there won't be much of a problem. DM
Marcus Orme: …on so many levels 😁
Marcus Orme replies to Marcus Orme: @Audio Masterclass Haha, I hadn’t noticed tbh 😁 Great channel btw, have only recently discovered but have been binge watching many of the videos lately. Thank you for creating 😊
Audio Masterclass replies to Marcus Orme: One level I missed out is that in the thumbnail for this video it looks as though the speakers are much lower than my ears. It's a green screen shot I made to save me having to tidy my desk every time and clearly the perspective could be better. But I'll probably leave it as it is if and when I use it in future, see how many people notice. DM
alan perry: Good for you ,it is amazing how all these people are experts and don't have their own speaker companies.
Federico Novo: There’s a hot chick’s ghost behind you.
Audio Masterclass replies to Federico Novo: That's Betty, my technical assistant. DM
-Doggy-: I orient my speaker's so my neighbor's can hear them,they sound great👍
Aha Really: I guess this clears up my confusion about a setup I recently saw in a video (by Andrew Masters) of Tim Pierce's home studio, where he has his Adam Audio S3a monitors placed vertically. Besides the manual mentioning they are supposed to be placed horizontally due to the position of the "woofer-midrange units" - I assume - it's not THAT big of a deal (at least how he uses them).
Great channel - superb content!
Cheers :)
Audio Masterclass replies to Aha Really: I don't know of any speakers that look more intentionally horizontal but if there was any reason to mount them vertically I'd certainly give it a try. DM
Dad4: Speakers are best placed, such that the tweeter is as close to ear level as possible.
Dad4 replies to Dad4: @Audio Masterclass i worked on hundreds of major label album mix projects. Very often we’d have up to three pairs of near fields and the mains. Positioning the near fields was an art and woe to any night tech or assistant who broke the tape (often used to define edges, etc., as a memory aid.) it was a big detail, the precise location and orientation.
Audio Masterclass replies to Dad4: This is correct, except that the best place might be a little higher depending on the speaker. My speakers in the thumbnail look a lot lower than they actually are, which is with the tweeters at ear level. DM
Dad4: The NS10 had a subwoofer one could purchase. Very few people know this. Mixer/Producer/Engineer JJP (Jack Joseph Puig) had one under his console that was dialed in. Thus, when folks heard mixes in his room they had this edge of a full range. I bought one…. It absolutely filled out the low end like it should.
Dad4 replies to Dad4: @Audio Masterclass i sold mine years ago.
Audio Masterclass replies to Dad4: This is true. They occasionally come up on eBay for a price that is a lot lower than it will be when word gets out. DM
Nicolai Madsen: Speakers, on which everything sounds bad. Isnt that somekind of quality indicator? Really. You have cheap BT speakers today, that "somehow" are able to play every pop top track and be rich in sound AND bass. Its clever engineering OR the audio master is designed to cheap 10 euro speakers = its crap. We have a portable Sony SRS-X3 (i believe) in the kitchen, and Im amazed how that tiny speaker, when placed the right spot, can play this loud, this clearly and with that much bass for its size!
Got 2x DALI Opticon 6 myself mixed with a surround setuo for the living room, and while they are able to sound absolute phenomenal. They can however, also sound like utter shit. Like, streaming movies with a low bitrate audiotrack, bad masters on ex TIDAL... a good master however, and it sounds like an entirely different system.
incargeek: KEF Concertos here…sitting vertically, directly on the floor :0
Audio Masterclass replies to incargeek: Not bad. I'd have desired them myself back in the day. DM
Bob T: Would be interested to know your opinion of coaxial loudspeakers, e.g. the Tannoy VX series in the light of your comments on tweeter v. woofer alignment. I'd have thought it a no-brainer in favor of coaxial but there must be some drawback other than greater manufacturing cost.
Bob T replies to Bob T: @Audio Masterclass Yes, I'm talking about true dual concentrics although I have seen some speakers which carry a tweeter on a bridge mounted in front of and aligned with the cone's coil which may offer some advantages.
Audio Masterclass replies to Bob T: I don't know why they're not more of a thing. It's important to remember that there should be two drivers, not just a passive 'whizzer cone' in the centre which may offer some benefit but is not the same as a true dual concentric. DM
Papa Nick's Music: I’ve recently come across your videos (and subscribed!), and I am heartened by your willingness and ability to examine the fine details of sound reproduction while still reminding us that all of this—ALL of this—is subjective. If I mount my studio monitors in the attic pointing down through air vents into my studio because I like the way it sounds, that is good enough. If I like the way it sounds, it’s good. If I don’t, it’s bad. Far too many people throw around the word “objectively” in these discussions. You don’t, and I love that.
Audio Masterclass replies to Papa Nick's Music: Your comment reminds me of years ago when I saw someone's reasonably decent speakers placed tightly into the corners of their room. All wrong in theory as they excite more standing waves. Except it sounded really good, the main point being that you could be anywhere in the room and it sounded good, rather than just one 'sweet spot' listening position. I wouldn't say this is good for monitoring, but for enjoying music it's an option. DM
Alvaro Sundfeld: I thought I was the only one to think you look like Paul McCartney and Eric Idle 😅
UCS0608: I agree with the fact that you should have speakers that you can use to hear if your mix sounds ok on "any" speaker, but I absolutely want to have a real good set of speakers to check the soundbalance of the mix. So, not too much low, mids or highs etc. However, the levels (with a little focussing on vocals) I usually decide on speakers like this, on a rather low volume, because almost every mix sounds good on high volume... 😏
But I really think there are good alternatives for the, imho, way too expensive (occasion) Yamaha's. I used to have them, but sold them a long time ago, for a good price. Nowadays I use a set of Adam ANF10s and they are more than ok and you can find them used for a nice price.
I still have two mid 70s Auratones somewhereShould start using them again. 😄
Btw, I love your videos! 👍
Daniel Wylie: Mastering engineers can spot an Y-NS10 mix easily as they are often wooly sounding due to the speakers being so bright...mixing engineers over compensate for the brightness and when you get the mix home it's muffled. too many studio engineers don't get around to hearing music on normal home speakers...too busy working on music in the studio. What sounds great at the studio sounds shit at home. Mastering engineers have to try to save the day.
Mark Fischer: Your speakers, in fact your entire sound system is right or wrong depending on what your goals are and how well the system meets them.
If the goal is to achieve highly marketable recordings then sales volume could be your measure.
If your goal is to simply enjoy recordings then only you are the judge.
If your goal is high fidelity to live music then depending on your experience and memory that could be well beyond the current state of the art.
Vladdy Van Savage: fascinating stuff, been using Yamaha HS5 vertically for couple of years and they're clean and detailed sounding but very fatiguing to listen to so got Pioneer Andy James bookshelf speakers and tried mixing on them with varying results still gotta check my song mixes often on open headphones like DT990, Shp9500 and on the ole Iphone, and since i'm in Oz we do things upside down here, and break the audio recording rules.
Alley Cat Beats 🎹 replies to Vladdy Van Savage: Because its not a NS10
TWEAKER01: Time alignment (tweeters & woofers to your ears) is a HUGE factor to hearing detail objectively, as you alluded to towards the end. And the more drivers in a speaker cabinet, the more difficult that can be. We're subconsciously actually more sensitive to phase response than to pitch.
Allan Moorhead: If speakers have their own "flattering" or "pleasant" sound, they aren't accurately reproducing the original signal. Shouldn't studio monitor speakers be accurate? Also, if you adjust a mix to sound good on poor speakers, isn't that compensating in a way which will actually sound bad on accurate speakers?
Audio Masterclass replies to Allan Moorhead: This is my opinion. Although the frequency response of the NS-10M Studio isn't great, the sound is very detailed. For myself, I prefer a detailed sound and for that I'm prepared to tolerate the frequency response. Of course, one should also listen on other speakers, high-quality headphones, and checking on earbuds is also good seeing is that is how many people consume their audio. DM
Ricardo Bussey: Agree
HomeTheatre101: I honestly enjoy watching your videos and listening to your take.
David Morgen: L like yammis! There smaller models are quite Good given the reason there being used..I rarely see them used any more.ill keep looking!!
Carl Sitler: I loved listening to my mom's albums in the '70s and she had a wide ranging taste in music. She had Led Zepplin next to Arlow Guthrie... Nate King Cole... Johnny Cash... Fifth Dimension... Donavan, etc. She had an all in one consul (speakers, turn table, 8-track, radio).
Alex Net: Если коротко: "Вам не нравится Лонг Джон? Попробуйте Бурбон !"
Audio Masterclass replies to Alex Net: Google translates this as "In short: "You don't like Long John? Try Bourbon!" DM
Bermud: can you recommend cheap medium quality amplifier that can i use with the Yamaha NS-10`s ?
Audio Masterclass replies to Bermud: I use an old Quad 306 and have no problems with that. So anything similar should be OK. https://www.google.com/search?q=quad+306 DM
JAFO-PTY: I like turning my bookshelf upside down... I love the look.
Scott Mac: personally, i find people get so uptight about sound and their rules or methods as being so rigid. this often is an obstacle they have from getting the best results, due to being so rigid.
Audio Masterclass replies to Scott Mac: Indeed, there is a lot more leeway than people appreciate. Anyone who can't have a good day out unless the sun shines is going to have a lot of unhappiness in life. DM
Thomas Jorgensen: Great video, but at some point it could have mentioned Bob Clearmountain—the person who pretty much made these speakers iconic. He was that person in the early 80s going from studio to studio using these speakers for reference. With so many hit mixes under Clearmountain’s belt, everyone started copying what he was doing; figuring they would achieve the same results.
Audio Masterclass replies to Thomas Jorgensen: Indeed, but then I'd also have to mention Bill Scheniman and Nigel Jopson. Oh, I've just done that. DM
Edwin Draaijer: Yes, vertically... like a line array!
Audio Masterclass replies to Edwin Draaijer: The point of a line array is that a narrow source disperses sound widely, a wide source disperses it narrowly. So the line arrays I heard just today at the Coronation big screen in Hyde park did their job and spread the sound widely across the crowd, while not wasting sound going up into the air. DM
Steve Johnson: The woofers are in a bad spot for mid-bass suckout. The first three room surfaces should be maximally different.
Daniel Startek: My speakers can converse in three languages and they are nice people!
LÁZARO•L-Noble• SDA. 🔳🔉〰️•AUDIO •VIDEO •WISDOM〰️: If you lay back and close your eyes you fall asleep and forget about your speaker problems😂
Grim wriggler: I have this issue with quad els 57s , they have to be positioned high way more those little legs they came with. mine are now placed on wooden bar stools . i have found that unconventional placing and positioning of speakers often yields dramatic improvements. your room your speakers, your ears so experiment
Jai Brown: But you may be related to Phillip Drummond, great video.
Barry Steinhart: I always thought about the combing effect of large boards with the monitors sat on top, but what can you do really. You'll never see a large reflective surface in front of the mastering engineer will you? In my home studio I don't have a reflective surface in front of me for that reason. I also use an old set of Mackie HR824 monitors because I think I get the best of both worlds, flatness and a Hi-Fi like power when I want it. But they get a bad rap too.
Barry Steinhart replies to Barry Steinhart: @Audio Masterclass A combing filtering effect between the two sound paths of board top monitors to the ears is just a fact. You might have to isolate upper mid to high end freqs and then move about a bit to really hear it, but it's there. Reflections are everywhere. Once I heard a wavering sound in my audio that I just couldn't isolate where it came from. It would come and go from day to day. Then I noticed it was coming from the spinning ceiling fan blades 15 feet above me where I sat. The sound from my near field mons were reflecting off the blades and back to my ears creating a wavering modulation in the audio. You wouldn't have believed it but it was distinct. :)
Audio Masterclass replies to Barry Steinhart: It has been said that the surface of the console is a corrective factor in the sound of the NS-10M. I might investigate in future but for the moment I'd have thought that equalizing the signal to the speaker would be a better solution. DM
Simon Hodgetts: It always amused me that hi fi enthusiasts should adopt studio monitors as home hi fi speakers - of course they won’t sound good in your living room - they’re not meant for that application! Also, a recording engineer’s ears are trained and used to hearing fine detail in a recording - they’re not listening to a recording for enjoyment - it’s their job! Music is heard on all sorts of rubbish equipment - it used to be transistor radios, nowadays compressed audio files on phones, therefore the mixing monitors need to be capable of emulating those conditions!
scrapethebottom: Apparently for a lot of people the orientation of your speakers was wrong solely based on the direction of the writing on them - funny and sad at the same time... hopefully your explanation will shut them up, and have them read into h/v dispersion, crossover frequencies and so on!
mauro marion bizzotto: Paul McCartney!!
Lovely!
Rick Salt: Speakers with no port is the best place to start a mix ... of course with a reasonably
designed 2 way speaker .
I was testing my NS10 on the right against a 2-way speaker on the left with a front port .
Using , Egypt Station , Paul McCartney , mute the NS10 and there was this weird thing happening
with the vocal that wasn't there on the NS10 .... and then I realized there was content around 300HZ
coming out of the port . I plugged it up and the issue was solved . I plugged the ports with a disc
of MDF and glued very well . I've put my NS10s away for the past 3 years and have enjoyed my
fully sealed Spirit Soundcraft Absolute 2's . I use Genelec 8040 with subwoofer after I'm happy with the
mix . An abundance of bass fools your ears into thinking your mix is amazing ....... ya sure it is in your bubble .
Audio Masterclass replies to Rick Salt: As I mature in years and experience, the more I come to dislike the port. DM
Gunther Mampaey: You stated it right, they are reference speakers, I have different types on my desk, even small pc speakers. Because the music that you master must sound "great" on smaller devices too, and if I want to test the material wonderful, then I go to my car, that's also a reference. With the years you learn these techniques.
JN N replies to Gunther Mampaey: Wasn't it Phil Spector who always played the final mix through a cheap 3-inch speaker, to make sure the song worked on the speaker most people would first hear it on (the car or a handheld transistor radio)? Or am I mixing him up with some other producer from that era?
Jeremiah Chamberlin: It is interesting to hear your take on this issue. I have a pair of KLH Model 17 speakers, they really didn’t do much for me until I turned them horizontal. Holy Shitake, Batman, did they come alive, with especially dynamic bass. Suddenly, I loved a speaker I was sorry I paid $60.00 for. 🙂
Jeremiah Chamberlin replies to Jeremiah Chamberlin: @Audio Masterclass You say you prefer your NS-10M’s vertical, and state your reasons why; I say I prefer my KLH Model 17’s horizontal, and state my reasons why. I fail to see why my issue is different than yours. I will say that the condescension in your response to my comment was palpable. I will also admit that I misinterpreted your video’s title in a classic fashion, I ‘heard’ that you were saying MY speakers were bad, which is why I clicked on it. As Jack Benny testified to Johnny Carson a few weeks before he died, “I think I have experience success because I talk up to people, not down.” It is a demeanor I am trying to master, and you, sir, would be well served to emulate Jack, in my [not so] humble opinion.
Audio Masterclass replies to Jeremiah Chamberlin: I think this might be a different issue, but there's always value in the trying alternative placements. DM
Matt Allen: do you like waffles?
Yasunaka Ikumi: as a Auratone user, i feel offended
Audio Masterclass replies to Yasunaka Ikumi: IMHO it's possible to enjoy listening to NS-10M Studios. Auratones on the other hand are just a tool. Opinions may differ. DM
TheFRiNgEguitars: correct !!!
gregalee: Oh gawds! People just don't understand studio monitors. The strength of the Yamaha NS-10s and their powered HS series is that they are incredibly changeable. If you understand how to apply corrective EQ and have an analyzer capable of the resolution needed, you can both zero out the room and make the speakers' response curves match whatever you want. Other speakers have a limited amount of flexibility when it comes to accepting EQ. Distortion will result. I have a 7.1 setup with a theater processor using older HS-80m powered monitors. I've removed their bass limiting circuitry to make them midfield instead of near field and EQ'd them to the JBL 'ideal' curve at the listening position. The imaging is otherworldly and the timbre is completely natural sounding. It's the next best thing to being there!
The people who think studio monitors sound like garbage are using them 'naked' without any modification to their sound. That's not the way to go. They're designed by professionals for whom the steps I took above are trivial.
linandy1: Vertical is correct. The tweeter should always be vertical to the woofer.
Sal LoPiccolo: I have the same speakers as you and I love them.
Esther S: I have a question for you Audio Master: can you talk about which speakers maybe suitable to keep hackers from controlling your speakers without your authorization? Please! Thank you
Audio Masterclass replies to Esther S: AFAIK it isn't possible to hack a normal passive loudspeaker, nor an active loudspeaker with an internal amplifier and no computing capability. But if one thing is certain, hackers will try. DM
Lyn & Ted Rockley: Al good points, especially about Eric and Paul.
But why did Yamaha make these with a left and right orientation? Why is the tweeter offset anyway. If both units were on a central axis to the box it wouldn't matter which was left or right.
Two identical speakers would be made symmetrical by turning one upside down.
Audio Masterclass replies to Lyn & Ted Rockley: My guess regarding the tweeter offset, and it is just a guess, is that if the speakers are placed horizontally the tweeter will be higher. Bear in mind that the purpose of placing them horizontally professionally is so as not to obscure the main monitors. Having done this, it makes sense for the pair to be symmetric. DM
Blaine Munro: I agree fully! The room dictates everything! Cheers
Steve Clark: and if you did mount them horizontally , there is good chance that the Yamaha logos would be upside down , this would make them more difficult to read. ( not to mention that the music would sound upside down ) carry on, steve
Brad Rapp: We know it’s because you listen with your head tilted all the way to one side or the other. 😅
lindsay weir: i expected the worst from this title, but very reasonable takes! i’ll check out some more of your content
Rock And Roll: Become deaf. Problem solved.
Rock And Roll: I just use two paper cups, connect a wool-wire to the XLRs out of my mixer. Just make s(h)ure the mixer outs are set to mic. Voila, free NS10s.