What to buy Adam a7x or focal alpha 80

To tell the truth...I've looked for a set of well kept NS10's quite a few times...even after getting the Focal Twins.
Not because the Twins are lacking in any way and I need to second-guess my mixes on other monitors...but because the NS10's are good for just checking how things sound on frequency "challenged" speakers. I just can't find a well kept pair where they are not asking some ridiculous price for them.
I've also considered a set of the Auratones/Avantones for that same reason.

I mean...it beats going out to the car or to another room where there might be a low-grade home stereo system...etc. :D

I know they use to actually mix on the NS10's...but I would just want to use them for checking, not really for mixing.
That said...these Twin's mixes really do seem to translate well to other playback systems...so I don't really have a need to check on other systems. :)
 
I also have a set of Auratones, or should I say Horrortones. LOL, don't use them that much now.

The Yamaha HS series may be a good substitute for the NS10.
 
You talking the old vintage Auratones...or the reissues?

I don't know...it's always there, when I'm just window shopping for audio gear that I don't really need... :facepalm: :laughings: ...I'll still occasionally look what's out there in NS10's or similar, but I never pull the trigger.
 
You talking the old vintage Auratones...or the reissues?

I don't know...it's always there, when I'm just window shopping for audio gear that I don't really need... :facepalm: :laughings: ...I'll still occasionally look what's out there in NS10's or similar, but I never pull the trigger.

Seen a few sets of vintage Auratones with rotten surrounds and super dried out cones.
They're a crapshoot.

As far as the ns10s, two things make them shine. Superfast transient response and. this is kind of hard to explain, but they have air.
There's an airy-ness quality to them that is quite nice to me. I think that because of the lack of bottom end you can focus more on the mid/high areas that are so crucial.
You do however learn how to work the bass. You get used to how a good bass from commercial mixes sounds on them. The lack of bass certainly helps with a non optimum room too. But...I still check my bottom end on other sets as well.

Overall , despite all the Yamaha haters out there, I love em. I've listened to so, so many records, cds, mp3s, flack files etc. that I've actually come to enjoy the way they sound.
I know, sick huh.
:D
 
Overall , despite all the Yamaha haters out there, I love em. I've listened to so, so many records, cds, mp3s, flack files etc. that I've actually come to enjoy the way they sound.
I know, sick huh.
:D

I love Yamaha as an audio company...everything from their DAWs to their consoles to their pianos to their drums. I also really like the HS series monitors...them and the Adam AX7's are my first recommendations to people monitor shopping in the < $1k range. I was dogging on the NS10's earlier in this thread, but I love working with just about everything else they make.

As far as the ns10s... You do however learn how to work the bass. You get used to how a good bass from commercial mixes sounds on them. The lack of bass certainly helps with a non optimum room too. But...I still check my bottom end on other sets as well.

I know monitors are an intensely personal/preferential/subjective thing. The first time I really sat down with a pair of NS10's I was thrown by the amount of time I was sure it would take to learn them. Sort of like a guitar and amp, some people just connect and vibe with certain instruments more than others....I had to ask myself why re-learn a new set of monitors when I can just go buy a pair that fits me better? I tried a vintage or original pair of NS10's (Not NS10m's) later on, and I thought they were just awful, and that's when I completely gave up on them and said 'not for me'. I couldn't get over how cluttered and smeared they made everything seemed (to me). Kind of had the feeling of wanting them to be something very different (I pretty much expected them to sound like a Genelec) than what they are. I was caught off guard by how opposite of an extreme they were on the audio spectrum! :)
 
I know they use to actually mix on the NS10's...but I would just want to use them for checking, not really for mixing.

I ripped a pair of macbook speakers out of a laptop and patched them to my Crane Song monitor controller. It works nicely! I've found that what you hear out of there is pretty close to what you get out of an iPhone or android speaker.
 

Attachments

  • 20160831_233415.jpg
    20160831_233415.jpg
    448 KB · Views: 15
...and that little fucker sits right up on top of the center section, saving me shit load of bouncing MP3's then sending them over the a cloud
 

Attachments

  • 20160831_233112.jpg
    20160831_233112.jpg
    143.3 KB · Views: 12
As far as the ns10s, two things make them shine. Superfast transient response...

Yes, regardless of what folks think of their "sound"...their imaging is supposed to be very good.

For me it's mostly a curiosity to hear what they would sound like in my current studio space. I've heard them elsewhere, and way back, I was looking to buy a new set, but the music store didn't carry Yamaha, and they talked me into some Tannoy monitors, which I never liked. They were small and dark sounding, and right up until I stopped using them, I regretted not getting the NS10's...but that was a long time ago, and I moved on.
 
I ripped a pair of macbook speakers out of a laptop and patched them to my Crane Song monitor controller. It works nicely! I've found that what you hear out of there is pretty close to what you get out of an iPhone or android speaker.

I saw a guy who took two iPhone spks and put them into tiny plexiglass sealed boxes for reference. Looked cool and funny at the same time. :D
Your setup looks hardcore homemade. :D But hey, if it works, cool.

[MENTION=94267]miroslav[/MENTION]. Getting some 10s just to try out is an expensive proposition. :)
 
[MENTION=94267]miroslav[/MENTION]. Getting some 10s just to try out is an expensive proposition. :)

I've seen some decent ones in the $500 range...which isn't too crazy.
I know they would be pretty easy to resell. :)

I've seen some in great condition...but from Japan...and I just don't want to chance the shipping.

Like I said...it's just an occasional thought. I'm not compelled to buy a pair.
 
Back
Top