For those that have NS10's, would it be beneficial to have a pair even if I already have HS80m's and rockit 5's. Found a pair for $400.
Benefit of adding NS-10's
- Thread starter Sloan
- Start date
JakeAC5253
Frozen Sun Audio
- Nov 19, 2010
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I've never owned a pair, but I've heard that they have an almost bandpassed sound to them where they blast one area in the frequency range. It's supposed to be an easy to screw up zone in a lot of mixes, so I would think having them at least as a reference would be useful in that regard.
Jarkko Mattheiszen
The FU guy.
Beneficial? Probably, to some extent. Worth it? Totally up to you. They can give you a nice perspective on how your mixes will translate, especially in the mid-region, but in my opinion they are quite over hyped, mostly by people who are stuck to them for whatever nostalgic reasons and people who have never actually worked on them. If you sold your HS80's and Rokits and added the $400 on top, you could grab a great pair of nearfields.
Some people always pull out the age-old "tons of hit records were mixed on NS10's" argument. Yeah, so were tons and tons of utterly crap albums.
Some people always pull out the age-old "tons of hit records were mixed on NS10's" argument. Yeah, so were tons and tons of utterly crap albums.
I just got the HS80M's a few months ago and haven't sold the Rokit 5's because I wouldn't get that much out of them anyway. They are the 1st gen rokit's and I figure they would be good to hold on to for maybe using on another pc for casual listening.
Aaron Smith
Envisage Audio
I've owned a pair of NS-10s for about four years now. Prior to that, I had no experience with them; I bought them mostly because I knew they were respected and popular, and I figured that my work would probably be able to benefit in some way from owning a pair (also knowing of course that if I came to the opposite conclusion, I could just sell them). I would say it definitely took me some time to appreciate them, although a good part of it was probably just my own critical listening skills developing further, as there are an awful lot of small details that I've become much more attuned to within the last four years of working with audio.
For $400? ...I would say just go for it. Work with them regularly, listen to lots of mixes through them that you know you like, and see if you're able to appreciate the way they sound. It probably won't be instantaneous, and you might just conclude one day that you don't like them or don't care to work with them further, and that's fine. All I can say is that in my case, I went from feeling fairly unexcited about them, to eventually really trusting and appreciating them. The best way that I can articulate why I like them today, is that they just seem to have a cool energy and punch about them that's only perceptible when a mix is dialed and glued together nicely. It's obviously easiest to get excited about a mix when the speakers you're listening on have a lot of bass, bright highs, and a big full-spectrum kind of sound, but full-spectrum sound is not necessarily the ideal thing at all times during mixing. NS-10s are definitely not full-spectrum, but when I'm working on a mix and my reaction to hearing the mix through them is "Man, this hits hard!" instead of "These speakers are boring", then I know I'm close
For $400? ...I would say just go for it. Work with them regularly, listen to lots of mixes through them that you know you like, and see if you're able to appreciate the way they sound. It probably won't be instantaneous, and you might just conclude one day that you don't like them or don't care to work with them further, and that's fine. All I can say is that in my case, I went from feeling fairly unexcited about them, to eventually really trusting and appreciating them. The best way that I can articulate why I like them today, is that they just seem to have a cool energy and punch about them that's only perceptible when a mix is dialed and glued together nicely. It's obviously easiest to get excited about a mix when the speakers you're listening on have a lot of bass, bright highs, and a big full-spectrum kind of sound, but full-spectrum sound is not necessarily the ideal thing at all times during mixing. NS-10s are definitely not full-spectrum, but when I'm working on a mix and my reaction to hearing the mix through them is "Man, this hits hard!" instead of "These speakers are boring", then I know I'm close
Do you have an amp for them? From what I gather, most spend more on the amp than the speakers and feel that it is a critical part of an NS10 system.
+1 - I find they are a mid range microscope so I only ever use mine as a secondary set of monitors to clear up the mids. If it sounds good through the NS-10s its going to Just make sure you add fuses to them to protect the tweeters especially (I know people say they alter the sound, but at $100 per tweeter it's worth it). At $400 it's a no brainer if you can find a decent amp to drive them for not much extra - and as much as people say you need a highend amp to drive them, I say they are nuts. They are hifi speakers so you don't need a hifi amp to drive them, I find my Yamaha P2250 is more than enough amp.
Yeh one of the best purchases I ever made. I'd say a decent amp is worthwhile too. I'm using a really powerful Hafler amp. Do some searching on here and gearslutz and you'll find all the info you need - the consensus is to use powerful Hafler, Bryston or some Crown amps.
I'm using Adam A8Xs too - its a great combo! HS80s will probably complement NS10s in a similar way.
I'm using Adam A8Xs too - its a great combo! HS80s will probably complement NS10s in a similar way.
Brett - K A L I S I A
Dreaded Moderator
Peterson Goodwyn
New Metal Member
I have a Crown Power Base 3 amp that works; and a Yamaha P4500 that I've been trying to repair one side of.
Do the NS10 tweeters not have protection like a bulb or something?
Do the NS10 tweeters not have protection like a bulb or something?
aramism
Member
the power base 3 is 540w into 8ohms, so i would definitely need to be careful, but at least i don't have to worry about lack of power.
I just want to make sure these would be a worthwhile investment or not, I don't make that much money, sold a van for $500 and these popped up or else I wouldn't have made the thread!
