Recording - November 2013 - 36

BY LORENZ RYCHNER

Yamaha HS7 Monitors and HS8S Subwoofer
A familiar white cone graces an all-new series of studio speakers
The HS series of Yamaha studio monitors has been given a
makeover. It comes in three models, the HS5, HS7, and HS8—
we received the HS7 and the companion subwoofer HS8S, the
only sub in the series.
A passing tinge of nostalgia creeps in whenever the white
cone appears in a black cabinet with the Yamaha logo.
Remember the NS10M? That’s another story—one you can read
about in our June 2007 Fade Out and in many of our articles
about the history of monitoring—but the family resemblance is
touching, even if the new arrivals sound nothing like the infamously “difficult” NS10.
HS7—black and white
The rear-ported HS7 has a white 6.5" woofer and a 1" dome
tweeter. The black cabinet measures 131/16" x 113/16" x 81/4"
and weighs 18.1 lbs. There is no speaker grille. The tweeter sits
just slightly recessed in a circular waveguide, the woofer has an
elevated ring around its perimeter.
The cabinet is bi-amped, the crossover is set at 2 kHz, and the
parallel inputs on the rear are 1/4" TRS and XLR, both balanced.
Also around back is a volume
knob and a pair of three-position
sliding switches. One is labelled
Room Control, showing positions
for 0, –2 dB, and –4 dB, this
being an optional attenuation of
frequencies below 500 Hz. The
other is labelled High Trim, with
markings for +2 dB, 0, and –2
dB, invoking either a boost or
attenuation of highs above the
crossover frequency of 2 kHz. A
substantial heat sink, the rear port
hole, the IEC power connector
and the power on/off switch
complete the rear.
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RECORDING November 2013

Sound
By themselves these monitors sound full, forward, ready to reveal
clearly what’s in your tracks. The bass is commensurate with the
size of the woofer and the cabinet, reaching down smoothly to its
lower limit that is stated as being 55 Hz (–3 dB). The bass is ample
to support a midrange that is well focussed, with clear delineation
of instruments of similar colors, and with sufficient subtlety to project fine nuances—especially in acoustic instruments.
Vocals project rather boldly, a good thing when you’re doing
critical processing work, and as always, a crosscheck is warranted to see how the voice projects on other speakers in other locations. The tweeter doesn’t exaggerate; I perceived no hyped top,
it seems well matched to the woofer and cabinet, and it displays
good directionality.
The HS7 can hold its own in any project studio, producing sufficient SPLs before sounding strained, to satisfy all but those who
must have everything turned up beyond eleven.
The HS8S Subwoofer
The HS8S is designed to match up with the three HS monitor
models, and proved to be a
good match for the HS7 we had
to evaluate.
It weighs 27.6 lbs and measures not quite 12" x 14" x 16",
standing on its own four 2" feet.
The downfiring 8" speaker element is protected by a rigid
grille. The front has a substantial
porthole. Frequency range is listed as 33 Hz–124 Hz (–3 dB).
Around back are inputs for L
and R channels, on 1/4" TRS and
XLR, both balanced. Signals get
summed to mono before reaching
the high-cut control, which the user

Recording - November 2013

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