If you’re looking for a new pair of powered studio monitors, you’re essentially balancing your budget against the desire for the most accurate sound reproduction possible. With the HS5 active studio monitors, Yamaha pushes this cost-to-benefit ratio for you further than ever before. The HS5s offer fantastic flat tonal response, while presenting dynamic ranges clearly. They employ a bi-amplified design for undistorted signal across the entire audible spectrum, and precision adjustment controls that let your HS5s shine wherever you install them.

Build Strong Joints!

Much of the innovation in the HS5 series lies in the cabinet design. For inspiration in rethinking the HS5’s housing, Yamaha drew on their 100 justly celebrated years of piano design. And from their pianos, they developed a three-way mitered-joint technique for these cabinets. This makes them not only minimally cross-resonant, but extremely durable as well.

Please Speak Clearly

Along with good cabinet design, the quality of any monitor comes down to the speakers that it employs, and how they are mounted. The attractive white 5-inch cone woofer and 1-inch black dome tweeter in each HS5 sits in a uniquely redesigned mounting ring, eliminating the unwanted vibrations that make lesser monitors harder to trust. Each monitor also employs an extra-large magnet, creating a more uniform flux field. This yields a smooth response and greater dynamic capability over a wider frequency range. The magnets themselves are selected to provide the greater possible fidelity in the low-end frequencies, which is typically the hardest range to manage when mixing audio. The tweeter frames in turn are built extra-thick, minimizing interference in the high end.

True Bi-amp Power

The HS5’s 2-way bi-amplified design means that the woofer and tweeter are powered by separate amps. This eliminates undesirable interaction between the units, and any signal distortion resulting from phase difference.

Perfect For Surround Sound Mixing

5.1 and 7.1 surround sound system are continuing to become more commonplace in public and private music listening settings. But a little obvious arithmetic points out that building a surround system for mixing is at least 2 1/2 times more expensive than a stereo setup! And here’s where the HS5’s price point proves so seductive. With these monitors you can be up and running on a totally balanced surround setup for a more manageable price. If you combine five or more HS5s with a 120 watt subwoofer (like the Yamaha HS10W) you’ll have a professional-grade surround sound mixing station on your hands.

Work the Room: Tweakable Lows, Mids, and Highs

Apart from the design of a monitor, the single greatest factor influencing accuracy is the room where they’re located. Room size, shape, and surface materials all affect what you’re hearing during playback. The HS5 gives you Room Control, Mid EQ, and High Trim controls for good room-matching. You’ll tweak the Room Control setting to compensate for the unnaturally exaggerated sounding low-end. Then you’ll use Mid EQ and High Trim switches to get to you get your mids and highs in the right place.