[Nevi]

I agree about the Yamahas.
I too have a couple of modded Yamahas HS 7s. I am very satisfied with my little set up. They have a pair of XLR outs that go down into the usual mini jack. When I wanted to buy them I was ready to buy a sub too. But after hearing them in my livingroom, I have forgotten about the sub. Especially after I have used a red Dragonfly infront, I am surpriced how good they sound for the money. As far as I remember they almost reach 40 hz. Thats good enough for me, and especially to the price. They are dirt cheap, also if you decide to get the sub HS 8s. But try them without first. They surpriced me thats for sure.
There are alot of good advice in this thread. I´m sure you find a great set of speakers.

 

[Pharmaboy]

I agree about the Yamahas.
I too have a couple of modded Yamahas HS 7s. I am very satisfied with my little set up. They have a pair of XLR outs that go down into the usual mini jack. When I wanted to buy them I was ready to buy a sub too. But after hearing them in my livingroom, I have forgotten about the sub. Especially after I have used a red Dragonfly infront, I am surpriced how good they sound for the money. As far as I remember they almost reach 40 hz. Thats good enough for me, and especially to the price. They are dirt cheap, also if you decide to get the sub HS 8s. But try them without first. They surpriced me thats for sure.
There are alot of good advice in this thread. I´m sure you find a great set of speakers.

How were your HS7s modded, if you don't mind my asking?

As for putting them in the living room--based on my experience burning mine in the garage, I found they sound their absolute best when set up in a more spacious environment than my 13' X 13' home office:

• In the garage, the HS7s were ~3 feet from the back wall, radiating outward into a large space (3 car garage w/just 1 car parked).
• It was easy to tell they're designed for nearfield listening, by the way the soundfield "locked in" when I approached & got w/in ~4 feet of the speakers
• Nevertheless, they sounded very good even farther away
• The treble sounded somewhat softer & less incisive in the garage--and that was before I dropped the treble control to -2dB
• The bass also sounded rather excellent, as you note. They do go down to the low 40's. The sound is expansive, not especially hard-hitting (no chest thuds), just a nice, realistic wave-front of lower- and mid-bass coming from this 6.5 inch speaker. If these were in a normal sized living room, I could live w/o a sub, for sure.

The cost is relatively cheap, considering the quality you get. And the HS7s are very handsome IMO. I'm sitting 3 ft from them right now...they're quiet as a tomb (zero "self-noise" that I can detect--run from XLR cables as inputs). They are incredibly accurate and good-sounding even at the lowest volumes (I listen to classical music streamed from EU ~12 hrs day, always low volume; only crank them up 2-3X/wk).

They actually don't sound quite as good in my home office as in garage. Part of the reason is no doubt that they're only ~9-10" from back wall (actually a large picture window); and even w/Auralex "Mopads" under them, they're probably reflecting upper midrange energy off my smooth desktop.

Little sonic issues aside, they're obviously keepers.

 

[theveterans]

^ I thought I heard my Stock HS7's down to 30 Hz when I watched dvds and blu-rays @ 90+ dB loudness. When driven heard it does cause a tiny bit of chest thuds at least on my bedroom.

 

[Nevi]

How were your HS7s modded, if you don't mind my asking?

As for putting them in the living room--based on my experience burning mine in the garage, I found they sound their absolute best when set up in a more spacious environment than my 13' X 13' home office:

• In the garage, the HS7s were ~3 feet from the back wall, radiating outward into a large space (3 car garage w/just 1 car parked).
• It was easy to tell they're designed for nearfield listening, by the way the soundfield "locked in" when I approached & got w/in ~4 feet of the speakers
• Nevertheless, they sounded very good even farther away
• The treble sounded somewhat softer & less incisive in the garage--and that was before I dropped the treble control to -2dB
• The bass also sounded rather excellent, as you note. They do go down to the low 40's. The sound is expansive, not especially hard-hitting (no chest thuds), just a nice, realistic wave-front of lower- and mid-bass coming from this 6.5 inch speaker. If these were in a normal sized living room, I could live w/o a sub, for sure.

The cost is relatively cheap, considering the quality you get. And the HS7s are very handsome IMO. I'm sitting 3 ft from them right now...they're quiet as a tomb (zero "self-noise" that I can detect--run from XLR cables as inputs). They are incredibly accurate and good-sounding even at the lowest volumes (I listen to classical music streamed from EU ~12 hrs day, always low volume; only crank them up 2-3X/wk).

They actually don't sound quite as good in my home office as in garage. Part of the reason is no doubt that they're only ~9-10" from back wall (actually a large picture window); and even w/Auralex "Mopads" under them, they're probably reflecting upper midrange energy off my smooth desktop.

Little sonic issues aside, they're obviously keepers.

I had the Zen modification too. I heard a pair one of my friends had with the mod, and I think they were more clear, especially in the mid register. But I´m an old audio freak, so I couldnt resist to make them better if possible. I heard many good things about that mod, so I simply had to do it. I have the same experience with the size of the room they are in as you. My livingroom have a nize size, and they sounded awesome from the first day, but better after 14 days or so. I have all my settings at zero. Both room control and high trim. I use a B&W sub in my bedroom with a NAD 748v2 and some B&W/Dali speakers, but funny enough (maybe because I sit so close to the Yamahas) I dont think its necesarry with more low end. The Yamahas do a very nice job indeed, and especially considering the price. I remember when I opened the new Yamahas, I could almost see they would sound good the way they were build and the weight. Mine are standing on a computer table that have a thick insulation "carpet" on top. No resonances there. I keep mine too.

 

[Watzzup]

I am planning to upgrade my CPU speaker from four point surround FPS1800 to a better system. Mainly for 70% music and 30% movie. My bedroom is 4m x 3m and it is untreated. I am thinking of getting Yamaha HS8 or HS5 + HS8S or JBL305 + JBL310s. Or is there any other recommendation? Budget around S$500-1000+

 

[theveterans]

HS7 + HS8S is what I use and covers any music and movies you throw at it minus the tactile transducer effect of course

 

[Nevi]

I can subscribe to the Yamaha solution. If you pick HS8, try without a sub. Maybe its not necesarry with the dimensions your room have. Only you can say. IMO the HS8 are quiet potent in the lows.

 

[Watzzup]

There is also promotion at mass drop..Don't think getting sub because it will be way over my budget and my room untreated..So I guess I will get the HS8 and see how...By the way how does it perform for movie without Sub?

 

[Pharmaboy]

I am planning to upgrade my CPU speaker from four point surround FPS1800 to a better system. Mainly for 70% music and 30% movie. My bedroom is 4m x 3m and it is untreated. I am thinking of getting Yamaha HS8 or HS5 + HS8S or JBL305 + JBL310s. Or is there any other recommendation? Budget around S$500-1000+

Your budget barely cover either option you describe: 2 X Yamaha HS8 or HS5 + HS8S sub; or 2 X JBL305s + JBL sub. My vote would be Yamaha, as the monitors seem to have zero, or very low self-noise when driven by XLR cables, and I've heard otherwise about the JBLs, which a lot of people love (but still).

If it were me, I'd get stock HS7s ($699) + a better sub, the SVS SB-1000 (12" driver; $499). You could save a little $$ by buying the HS7s used (they're out there); and buying the sub at the SVS outlet. The Yamaha sub has a different I/O design than the SVS: the Yamaha has unbalanced + balanced input pairs; and 1 balanced output pair. There's no crossover, so you could connect your monitors via XLR cables from the sub, the only drawback being that the monitors are full range + sub. By contrast, the SVS sub has only unbalanced inputs & outputs--but the output pair comes off a 12 dB/octave crossover that cuts out bass frequencies below 80Hz. It works well, but you're limited to unbalanced cables...

I have these monitors + sub, and it's a LOT of good sound for not a lot of money

 

[theveterans]

You can turn off the LFE to the full range speakers with HS8S via the low pass filter. That way, all of the bass goes to the sub. And yes, there is crossover that you can set between 80-120 Hz. You can turn it (crossover) ON or OFF via low pass filter switch on the back. If you will use the speakers on a living room setting, a more powerful sub like the SVS will be a better buy. For a bedroom setting like I do, HS8S is plenty good.

 

[Watzzup]

My budget is actually under SGD..So basically Yamaha HS 8 already $780

 

[Pharmaboy]

My budget is actually under SGD..So basically Yamaha HS 8 already $780

SGD = Singapore Dollar?

Either way, if you go w/HS8s, I kinda doubt you really need a sub. They have been described as bassy, which appeals to me. Wish I could have fit them on this desktop, but those 8" drivers would overload my room, more than likely.

 

[Watzzup]

SGD = Singapore Dollar?

Either way, if you go w/HS8s, I kinda doubt you really need a sub. They have been described as bassy, which appeals to me. Wish I could have fit them on this desktop, but those 8" drivers would overload my room, more than likely.

Yeah...The size is kind of big...Planning to get 150cm long table for my setup.
Getting audio interface.. Scarlett 2i2..Or is there any better recommendation?

 

[Pharmaboy]

Yeah...The size is kind of big...Planning to get 150cm long table for my setup.
Getting audio interface.. Scarlett 2i2..Or is there any better recommendation?

I have no personal experience w/this audio interface--any audio interface. I never even considered one (even though I needed conversion from unbalanced cables to XLR cables)--because I have separate DAC units that I love the sound of (and audio interfaces typically embed a DAC, which may or may not be bypassable).

So I got a separate unbalanced-to-XLR (and reverse) convertor that studio guys praised for its good sound: the Aphex 124A. Found a cherry/used one on ebay for ~$50 USD shipped.

Just search ebay for Aphex 124A. I got multiple hits on it just now, though I didn't drill down to see which were off-shore vs US.

One consideration you may have if not in US is voltage. All the ones I've seen are 120V.

 

[MisterMudd]

One of the main reason that I didn't consider bigger sized Airmotive 5,6 were due to their physical size which will dominate my desktop space. I didn't want my desktop space totally dominated by sheer size of these speakers. Yamaha HS7 seems very popular for computer speaker duty and I was seriously considered Audioengine A5+ but I saw the "for sale" Airmotive 4 and I took the chance and it turned out to be very good fit for my need. It gets plenty loud enough with clean sound for nearfield listening for sure and it has balanced input which I like.

S4 is an excellent speaker. I bought mine 2 years ago at the bargain price of $239 and have never looked back. I have listened to other desktop speakers during this time but none seem to compare for me. They originally sold for $399 and the whole line was recently discontinued. They have the larger ones but the S4 is now sold out. I don't see myself ever letting them go. Lucky me!