Yamaha HS10W User Guide

HS80M/HS50M/HS10W  Owner’s Manual

Unlike most other audio and production gear, the way speakers are set up in a 
room has a dramatic effect on the final sound. This short tutorial provides a basic 
guide to help you maximize the performance of your Yamaha HS-series monitor 
speakers.

You’d think that the requirements for “listening” and 

“monitoring” would be the same, but that is not always 

the case. A great listening system can be a great 

monitoring system, and vice-versa, but in most cases you’ll 

miss details that are essential to producing the best 

possible mix on a system that’s set up purely for musical 

enjoyment. The difference is somewhat similar to the 

difference between a retouched glamour portrait and the 

original in which every blemish is clearly visible. The model 

looks a lot better in the retouched photo, but the reality is 

in the original un-enhanced version. As mixing engineer, 

or producer, or sonic artist, you’ll want to hear the details 

so that you can create a perfectly balanced mix that will 

sound good on the widest possible range of audio systems 

— and that can mean anything from high-ticket boutique 

audio components in a properly-designed listening room 

right down to the boom box on top of the fridge in the 

kitchen. You don’t want problems hidden by poor monitor 

performance to sabotage your sound on other systems.

The legendary Yamaha NS10M became a standard 

monitor in the music and sound industry (and is still in use 

in many studios throughout the world) for precisely that 

reason: it offered flat response and excellent resolution that 

allowed engineers and producers to hear subtle details that 

make the difference between good and great sound. The 

HS-series monitors carry on the tradition with accuracy and 

detail that can help you make great mixes, while letting 

you monitor for long stretches with minimum fatigue.

Powered monitors offer many sonic and practical 

advantages over passive types, but since they’re driven by 

line-level signals you need to exercise the same care in 

choosing cables and connectors as for the other line-level 

connections in your studio. Always use high quality cables 

and connectors, and keep cable runs as short as possible.

Unbalanced lines are fine for relatively short cables runs 

unless you happen to be in a location that is plagued by 

high levels of electrical and radio-frequency noise. Of 

course if you’re using equipment that only has unbalanced 

outputs you have no choice, and will need to set up your 

system so that everything can be connected with the 

shortest possible unbalanced cables. If your mixer and 

monitors are located on the same desktop or tabletop, for 

example, there should be no problem. But if you need to 

run line-level cables longer than about three meters 

(longer than about 10 feet), you might be better off using 

balanced connections for maximum noise resistance. 

The HS-series studio monitors provide two types of 

connectors for input, so you can choose the type that best 

matches your system requirements.