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Setting up for superior monitor sound, Listening vs. monitoring, Getting connected – Yamaha HS 50M User Manual

Page 5: English

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English

HS80M/HS50M/HS10W Owner’s Manual

5

Setting Up for Superior
Monitor Sound

Setting Up for Superior
Monitor Sound

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.

Listening vs. Monitoring

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.

Getting Connected

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.

This manual is related to the following products: