Yamaha NS-10M: The Iconic Studio Monitor That Shaped Modern Music

In this review we go over the objective performance of the Yamaha NS-10M Studio speaker which is a highly revered speaker in the production world. I also provide some sound clips so you can see just how much the speaker colors an original track thanks to its 7dB peak in the midrange!

Written review/data can be found here:
(coming soon)

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Timestamps:
0:00 - Intro
0:50 - Brief History
4:03 - Sound Clips & Objective Data
12:22 - Summary

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All of my tests are conducted using KLIPPEL Hardware and Software. KLIPPEL is an innovative leader in providing unique test equipment for electro-acoustical transducers and audio systems. Founded in 1997 by Dr. Wolfgang Klippel, the novel techniques developed for control and measurement systems of loudspeakers and other transducers are the result of over 30 years of fundamental research. This provides more accurate physical models of loudspeakers, micro-speakers and headphones valid for both small and large amplitudes. The focus is on revealing the root causes of signal distortion and defects and giving practical indications for improvements in design and manufacturing of audio products. For information on KLIPPEL products, please visit their site below:

[ErinsAudioCorner]

Some Additional Reading on the NS-10M:

[clarencehoover]

The pink noise comparison is valuable to understand the frequency response in a tangible way. Good approach. 👍

[MichaelGraves]

I was in school for recording engineering back in the 80s when they became popular. It's worth noting how they were used to establish some context. at the time, any serious studio had larger main monitors. I saw big JBL & Urei a lot back then. These were typically soffit mounted into the wall. The NS10s would be mounted on the console. They basically ushered in the era of "nearfield" monitoring. They were not supposed to be reference monitors. They were there to mimic a home hifi situation. And the smaller Aurotones were there to mimic AM radio. These different monitoring options would allow a product to adjust the mix to translate well into different listing situations.

It's very different today. Many people only have nearfield monitors. They don't invest in powerful mains or a seriously treated room.

[dinoalden]

I’ve been a recording engineer since the 1980’s and I NEVER liked the NS-10’s. I was ecstatic when the studio I worked at got a pair of Genelecs S30 in the mid 1980s or so!!
BTW, using pink noise is the best to compare “original” vs “speaker” convolution! Very well done, Erin!!😃👍

[jeffhedback]

a few important notes....the biggest asset of the NS-10m studio for mixing is the place the key vocal, guitar, snare drum (or equivalent per song arrangement). These were typically placed on the console meter bridge which enhanced the LF extension. The sealed box meant the LF transients were super quick. Engineers got used to blending the snap of a kick drum with the lower overtones of a bass guitar and these methods would translate to radio and common home listening systems. From your data Erin, and as these were console mounted, think how that vertical directivity would come into play as a positive as the engineer worked across the wide studio console. The desk reflections would be a very nice match to the on-axis.

[Chaudhrynaveed]

This hobby is a rabbit hole in every direction

[markburlingame]

My understanding was that the NS-10s were never used as primary monitors but as a secondary set to evaluate how a mix would sound on a cheaper stereo system? At least in better recording studios that used them...

[benjaminhenry]

What a great assessment! Right or wrong these monitors are ICONIC in the recording world. I love that you took the time to give them a going over!
Thank you, Sir!

[jeffm]

This is so awesome. There are a few classic standards, and it is so interesting to see how they stack up using modern measuring gear.

[themastroiannis]

fantastic review...and hilarious as well!! man...nuts it's such a popular monitor ...even 'iconic'... to this day.. as a musician/sound engineer who does a lot of mixing, this was very enjoyable to watch. love the linearity of my Neumann KH310... cheers!

[joentell]

Aurotones "horror tones" or Aventones next 🤭.

It's amazing that we got decent mixes from people using these, despite their frequency response. You'll hear people talking about how knowing how speakers "translate" to other systems is all that matters. But truthfully, without them knowing the response of other systems, they really don't know how it will translate. It makes much more sense to have an accurate reference system than an inaccurate one.

People also make claims that the odd response of these, and the other speakers I mentioned, let the mixer focus on vocals and the sensitive 2kHz range, but someone can easily bandwidth-limit the sound and boost mids to simulate the response of these speakers. It wouldn't be as easy for someone using these speakers to simulate the response of more accurate monitors.

[RennieAsh]

If you invert that response, you get a smiley EQ. Maybe that's what ended up happening and you get a non harsh sounding mix

[laurentkoehl]

As always, enlightening content that explores facts & believes with benevolence. Congrats Erin !
As said previously by many, these speakers became a reference for what was sacrificed, being played on average stereo system. Saying that what was sounding good on these speakers would sound good on any was abusive of course.
The fact is that making overquality can be seen as a waste of time and….money, as you can always improve your mix but for how many who will notice and enjoy ? In that regard, such reference was helpful making them a standard.
And yes, crap they were and will remain as such.
That was my experience as a student in sound engineering in the late 80’s while Genelec was rapidly becoming the new full-band monitoring speaker reference.
Interesting to notice that making these speakers horizontal in the studio version made them being used in the worse configuration scenario as speaker time alignment is critical. That explains why the vertical measurement is better without mentioning that our ears are more sensitive to horizontal than vertical phase inconsistencies. Some modern monitoring system might be used horizontally by design but the mid/high section remains vertically aligned (Genelec, Neumann, PMC… for instance).

[williampoynton]

I worked in a studio in the late 80’s early 90’s. It was common to have high quality main monitors and a second set of smaller harsh sounding speakers more representative of what the average person may listen to. While the high quality speakers were used for most of the monitoring and mixing it was to also important to check the recording sounded ok over the smaller speakers to ensure general acceptance of the recording. I understand the NS-10 was used in this secondary role.

[avnut]

I was always curious about these.
Thank you for testing them!

[davidfuller]

A few things to note:
- the midrange hump is due to the woofer's VC inductance. A zobel network will flatten that out with no other changes to the crossover.
- they were initially designed for flat power response, which was a mistake.
- placing these on a console's meter bridge produces a pretty sizeable ~200hz bump. It makes them sound much less horrid than they are.
- nobody (that I know) ever used them as the only speakers for mixing. IIRC Bob Clearmountain got them as a slightly better version of an Auratone 5C (appropriately called "horrortones" and "awfultones"), which are there as a worst-csse consumer system check.
- the mains back in the 70s-90s were mostly pretty poor, and tend to have the opposite kind of curve that these do. You had funhouse mirrors going in both directions - average them out and you might get somewhere.
- they were put on their sides not for sonic reasons, but rather solely for sightlines reasons. Can't see out into the live room if there are speakers in the way.
- the distortion is pretty remarkable for their size, all things considered.

[durrantmiller]

Erin have you heard about the new adam d3v? They are little desktops that are supposed to get down to 48 hz with a 3.5 woofer and passive radiator. They are $300. I would love to see your impressions

[phillipmorris]

wow i just noticed this channel is almost 100k subs, hell yea, cant wait for you to get it..your contribution to the community is priceless.
1 thing i just dont get is the compression data, if you have already covered it before maybe you could direct me to it ?
if not maybe when you need an idea for content you would. thank you for everything

[Voidoid]

As a musician for over 45 yrs., I know those speakers really well... I have never liked them. I was told on more than one occasion by a recording engineer, "If the track sounds good on these Yamaha monitors, then they'll sound good on pretty much anything, especially radio". Sorry, but to my ears, I hated them. Still do... I don't care about its measurements, Erin. I have heard so many tracks I've recorded through them in so many studios and I just... aaaarggghhh!

[Fix_It_Again_Tony]

This was a interesting video considering the history and the impact these speaker may have had to music production.

The blue was a lot easier on my eyes for the sound clips. Thanks.