Flat / True Sound 
by Matt from Uniontown, Pa, August 2008
Music Background:  Home Recorder, Musician

I picked up a pair of these the other day and am quite pleased with what I've heard. These monitors have a very flat/true sound. It was very easy to eq my instruments/vocals and get the sound I wanted. Sure these aren't Genelacs but they get the job done for your small time Project Studio. They also aren't just your beginners monitor. They can get the job done also. The only complaint I have is when not listening to a Mix you can get a nasty little hissy/feedback sound. That isn't too amusing but other than that these puppies are great.

  simply amazing 
by Azikiwe kellar from Trinidad, westindies, April 2008
Music Background:  Recording Engineer,Pro Musician

i own genelec 1030a`s tannoy ams12 and krk v8`s and yamaha ns-10`s and thease new Yamaha HS50M monitos blow away all of them you can mix for longer periods and not get tired and they are as true and flat as they get in the industry i also hear things in my mixes now that i never did before plus they do not compress or color your sound just buy them a.s.a.p if you want to improve your mixes 5 stars for sure

  All Dat & Then Some! 
by Preach (aka.Buckwheat Jones) from Hyattsville, Maryland, February 2008
Music Background:  Producer/Bassist

was in the market for a new set of near-fields and chose these over the Mackie HR624s. I heard some good reviews about them and wondered if they'd measure up to the NS10's ........................Boy! DO THEY! I mean the clarity
and imaging radiating from these monitors is nothing short of amazing.
I re-mixed some tracks previously done on some Event ASP6's and the difference was like night and day. The top end was crystal clear and the mids were right in your face. the bass was very cool coming from these little things.
Even more cool when I turned on the sub. I do a lot of smooth and funk jazz
where the bass isn't bottom heavy but has to be clean and articulate and these
give me that!.....................big ups to Yamaha for keepin up the tadition!

  The Truth For Hip Hop 
by Rock BANANAZ from East Stroudsburg, PA., February 2008
Music Background:  Hip Hop Producer

When I was read to graduate from bookshelf speakers to studio monitors, I spent 2 hours at a store comparing EVERY monitor they had. Of course the high end $1000 plus monitors sounded great, but when it came to the ones in my modest budget, the HS50M's were hands down the best sounding. Alot of the other brands tend to sound muddy and sometimes boomy but these speakers are crystal clear. Even if I could afford more expensive models today, I would still have these monitors right by there side.

  The new NS10m! 
by Jonathan Grand from Los Angeles, November 2007
Music Background:  Composer, Producer, Multi-instrumentalist, Singer, Radio Announcer

Sorry to whoever says they are the opposite of NS10s, I totally disagree. I think they sound even more similar to NS10s than the previous MSP5. Specially if you switch the Mid EQ (2K switch) to +2! ;) In -2 you get a more hi-fi sound, flatter in response.

Because of that, I just love them! You need to have your ears used to NS10 (if you're spoiled by Genelecs and you hate NS10, forget it, you're a different breed of engineer). And you need to know how to really use them.
These are different speakers in 1 when you learn to use the EQ controls in the back. The mid EQ is genius - Yamaha engineers definitely gave you the control to have a full NS10 sound, a more home hi-fi sound, or something in between.

It's amazing how they show all the harshness in my mix, and the mid/high section with such detail. It's easier to mix with these, no wonder NS10 became a standard. For low frequencies, you need to A/B commercial records a lot, or use headphones (I usually double check the lows on headphones to make sure).

Warning: these are speakers for mixing, and a great NS10 active replacement. They're not Hi-Fi speakers to listen to Jazz with your girlfriend in the living room. Unless it's a REALLY good jazz mix... ;)

  PERFECT! 
by Mario Fischetti from Sao Paulo, SP, Brasil, November 2007
Music Background:  Dj & Producer

Perfect!
I just have to say this about HS50M...
Clear and awesome sound for a incredible
price!

  Wider Than Rosie O'Donnell's Mid Section 
by Mike Davies from Whitby, Ontario, Canada, August 2007
Music Background:  Just a 17 year old home studio owner

These things have amazing stereo imaging. I A/B tested these to Event ALP5s, the KRK series, some Adams and some M-Audio and the Yamahas blew the competion away. It might not have the low end support your looking for but the mid range is fuller and the top end is much briter; a very good flat response for those looking for a "true" speaker.

  Amazing clarity 
by Mike from Newark, NJ., August 2007
Music Background:  Recording Engineer/Producer, Drummer.

I just received my new pair of Yamaha HS50M's and have to say they sound amazing. The clarity is breathtaking and the mids are perfectly balanced. There is way more bottom end than I would have thought for a five inch woofer. If you have limited space or a tight budget, you will find these monitors a perfect solution.

  Fantastic monitors 
by Viktor from Prague, May 2007
Music Background:  Home studio musician

I have just bought the HS50s and I have to say the sound is impressive.
Smooth, crystal and cutting edge design. I highly reccommend them to any home studio owner. My rating is 4 out of 5.
Great power monitors for an affordable price.

  Very transparent monitors 
by Henry Ughami from New York, NY USA, March 2007
Music Background:  Producer

This year’s Technical GRAMMY Award was presented to Yamaha Corporation in recognition of the company’s long tradition of highly-successful recording products, including the legendary NS-10M studio reference monitors and recently launched HS monitors.

I am mixing rap and hiphop on my HS50Ms. They can handle all the bass you can throw at them and still sound tunefull. In my opinion current CD or Vinyl standards are not good enough for HS50Ms, I think Yamaha designed them to withstand future devolepments in audio reproduction in the next 30 years.

  Fantastic Monitors 
by Walker from Los Angeles, CA, March 2007
Music Background:  Multi-Instrumentalist/Songwriter/Producer/Engineer

I was in the market for monitors, and was trying to decide between the M-Audio BX5as and the KRK Rokit 5s. After listening to both sets in the store, and reading online reviews, I decided to go with the KRKs.

I took them home, and was initially pleased, but after a few hours I noticed just how bass heavy (muddy) they were.

I talked to a friend, and he recommended the HS50s. They were a bit more expensive, but definitely worth the extra cash, he said. So, I returned the KRKs and got the Yamahas.

Good lord, am I pleased with my decision. I tell you, these things sound SO clear and flat... I've never heard my mixes in such detail before. I went back and listened to some old mixes I'd done, and laughed at how foolish I'd been. I remixed them, and sure enough, these songs sound SO much better - on every system I listen to them on.

These speakers have actually become my main listening speakers, just because I LOVE the detail and clarity. And, unless you're mixing dance music or hip hop, they have PLENTY of bass.

Just fantastic.

  Need better quality control? 
by David Asher from Los Angeles CA, February 2007
Music Background:  Producer, Musician

Someone here said that "my right one has a rattle in it that makes playing piano sounds annoying". Funny because Yamaha sells them as single speakers so there is no right or left one. I would suggest him to try switching his left speaker with his right one to see if it also rattles. If it does it means there is something wrong elsewhere in the signal chain. But if the right(!) speaker continues to rattle when connected to the left channel, it means that speaker needs to be checked carefully. He should contact Yamaha to get it serviced under waranty.

He also says that "you have to break them in for a while to notice". My pair didn't need any break in, they sounded right out of the box.

"Maybe you other folk don't use the spectrum of frequencies that a piano can give in recordings to really test these out, or I just got a dud."

OK this sentence doesn't make any sense at all. I am playing rock or dance music on them where there is heavy drum beats and bass guitar. Frequency spectrum doesn't get any wider than this. I play the piano as well but I have no complaints regarding the quality of these affordable giant killers. Very dynamic, transparent sound; I am completely satisfied with them.

  Nice, Need Better Quality Control 
by db9091 from Holly Springs, February 2007
Music Background:  Hobbyist

Very Flat Indeed. But my right one has a rattle in it that makes playing piano sounds annoying. I have to set the volume low in order to do that. Thing is, you have to break them in for a while to notice. And by then, yeah, try returning them for replacement, good luck.

I want to like them more, but for 300 a piece, I expect better quality control and steady componants. Maybe you other folk don't use the spectrum of frequencies that a piano can give in recordings to really test these out, or I just got a dud.

  wicked 
by jluv from guildford uk, December 2006
Music Background:  engineer

there monitors rock ... i've been after a decent pair of fair priced actives for a while ,i a-b'd them against the tannoys / mackie and gelelec and these are the kiddies for thye price ...chrysal tops and subtle bass gave them the edge ...well done yamaha !!

  Amazing! 
by Alex Borgei from Santa Monica Ca USA, November 2006
Music Background:  Arranger, composer

I've been using a pair since August 2006. In my experince HS50Ms are very interesting speakers. I can say they have the most realistic sounding bass I've ever heard, period! The timber of the bass instruments are so real there is nothing to touch them in Hi-Fi or pro-audio market in this respect. Bass intruments also sound very tunefull. I had a chance to hear HS80Ms as well. Their bass reproduction even go deeper and they have a bigger sound. But they are also more expensive. I can imagine HS50Ms sounding great on speaker stands such as Atacama with signals fed through a warm sounding pre-amp( maybe a valve pre-amp). My only critism would be that acustic piano (and sometimes vocal)recordings sound bright and thin on HS50s. But for the price one can easily forgive these flaws.

  Nice! 
by SmokeyHaze from USA, November 2006
Music Background:  Musician,Recording Engineer

What more can I say? I would echo the rest here.They are truly awesome monitors.I am blown away by how sweet and transparent these babies are,and will be ordering three more and the sub for surround mixing.Man!I think I will be getting a pair of the HS80's as well...outstanding job,Yamaha!!!

  Best performance and value in their price range 
by David Tames from Boston, MA, November 2006
Music Background:  Filmmaker, Producer, and Editor

I've been shopping for active monitors for my editing system for quite some time, always listening to other people's setups and asking their opinions, with the plan of eventually upgrading my small passive monitors to something with more life, and wow, these puppies sound really good and do not betray their low price even after extended listening. It was very hard to decide between these and competitive offerings from KRK and Event which I've also used in video postproduction settings, but the HS50M speakers slightly edged out the competition in the categories of price, performance, and aesthetics. One minor flaw is that they are not 100% quiet, they do have baseline noise even with nothing connected to them that you can hear in a quiet room. But in the $400/pair price range, something has to give as designers make their trade off decisions.

  Yamaha HS50M rocks 
by Billy Coskun from Los Angeles, September 2006
Music Background:  Composer and keyboardist

I just bought a pair of these little babies. In its price range there was not a big competion, so they were the obvious choice. After hooking them and firing them up first thing I noticed was the tunefulness of its bass instruments reproduction. The tweeters are also very sweet sounding and never tiring. I will use them to mix my music, but recognising its quality I have decided to use them as my main music listening monitors. They are that good! But they are also very revealing so only the best recorded meterials will sound great on them. It's no problem for me because they also sound decent with less then perfect program materials, especially with the volume turned down. But with quality program they just rock, with any kind of music of course. Bravo Yamaha for producing such a great product for a reasonable price. These babies will be classic!

  Flat As A Pancake 
by Professional , June 2006

Ok, so we all now the NS10m's infamous reputation. When a company claims to have it's replacement, especially Yamaha, you listen. I bought these blind and this is my opinion. They sound almost nothing like NS10s. The high/mids are impressive and definately crystal clear (sometimes harsh, much like NS10s), the bass is improved and not a flabby nonexistent region (like NS10s), and the stereo imaging is comparable. I would venture to say that these might be an improvement over the NS10s, as the dynamic range "seems" much wider.

The proof is always in the pudding, and for our work, the mix. Mixes done on the HS50s translate well but I must say that for whatever "odd" reason, not as well as NS10s. This could be due to the mixer not being as familiar with the HS50s. I found mixes to be a little "shy" on the high-end, perhaps due to the slight "bump" these monitors seem to give those frequencies. A quick adjustment on the back of the unit fixed this problem.

Here's my final take. 4 stars out of 5. These speakers sound PHENOMENAL for the price. You almost forget you're listening to $400 monitors when mixing with these. These things look like toys but sound like $1000 near-fields. I actually prefer them to anything I've heard under $500 and for my taste, like them better than the new-standard HR824s which always sound boomy to me. If you want flat, these speaks are flatter than a pancake. Almost too flat at times, if that makes any sense. It could get fatiguing but cutting the high frequencies with the switches in the back seems to correct that problem.

If you're looking for serious quality, crystal clear flat audio, great imaging on a budget, I would highly recommend the HS50s. When I was researching these speakers, I couldn't find much but I did notice they were selling. I would expect to see these units to become more popular in the next couple years.

These Monitor Speakers Are Very Nice... 
by Anonymous from Myerstown, PA, April 2006

These monitor speakers are very nice for small home studio setups, and the documentation is complete for setup. Used in conjunction with a good, quiet board (mackie, here) these provide a nice clean, flat sound that allows production of a very high quality. For a small monitor, the bass surprisingly packs a nice punch. I will enjoy these for a long time.

great flat response monitors 
by ian from vt., February 2006

great flat response monitors! i bought these about two weeks ago; awesome quality! the manual included tells you everything you need to know about these monitors including how to get the best sound out of the area you're working with. great monitors! if you're using flat response monitors for the first time, you will need to listen to them extensivly to actually "tune" your ear to the different freq. response, etc. obviously, these are powered monitors, and they pump out 70w of power. great monitors with very low fatigue while mixing/mastering. highly recommended for small home studio setups; great bass response, great looks, VERY tough! great buy.

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