Hey guys,

Recently I was recording some electric guitar at home and monitoring through a pair of Yamaha HS80m's, and I noticed that the tweeters (particularly the one in the left speaker) were buzzing/distorting quite badly, especially on higher notes.

At first I thought it couldn't be a problem with the speakers themselves as it was happening in both speakers, so I replaced literally everything in my set up (tried a different interface, took my laptop out of the equation, even tried powering the speakers through a power conditioner), but the problem is still there. The problem is only really noticeable on electric guitars for some reason - it happens even with an electric guitar plugged straight into one of the monitors.


I took the speakers to an audio repair place and they couldn't seem to find any problem with them.

Does anyone know what the problem might be?

Thanks.

If the problem is only occurring with the guitars. The speakers are probably fine.
What is your guitar recording chain? Which guitar?
When you say "guitar plugged strait into the monitor" how are you doing that, direct box?
What is your guitar chain. Pedals? EQ?
Need more info.

Hey Cavern, thanks heaps for your reply!

I've tried a number of different things - at first I was using a stratocaster running through my pedalboard and then into an AC30. I then tried the same thing but with a Blues Jr instead of the AC30. I've tried running straight into the amp without any pedals, as well as straight into the interface's (Fireface 800) instrument input.

Although this probably wasn't a great idea, I tried plugging the guitar straight into one of the monitors itself. I've also tried a couple of different guitars - a Maton Mastersound and a Fender Marauder.

Hope that helps!

I have had that problem with the Yamahas. The solution was to turn up the speaker amplifier and turn down the output to the speakers. It is not the tweeter, but rather an overload on the amplifier input. See if that helps.

Yeah, that's what I'm thinking too. Lower the input signal. Whether your miking the amps or using line out.
Your probably coming in too hot. -10 dbfs max coming into your daws. -18 even better. Then send -3/-5 from your daws monitor/master output to the speakers. Gain structure is key.
That should clear things up.
I also own HS-80's by the way. No issues with any of my guitars.

Thanks heaps for your advice!

I tried doing this - I set the Fireface's output setting to -10 and turned down the master output fader. It definitely helped a bit but the distortion/buzzing sound is still there a little bit. Not sure what it might be!

All my guitars were recorded in at -18, so it shouldn't be that there coming in too hot... I've turned down the output of my interface going into the monitors - it's helped a bit but hasn't gotten rid of the problem all together. Not quite sure what it might be! Thanks again for your reply.

Hey quick update - I've noticed that the distortion is the same volume no matter how loud the track is. The louder I turn up my track, the less I notice the distortion because it gets drowned out by the track. The distortion is only really noticeable at low volumes. Does anyone know why this might be?

If you mean the master fader; that is not the place to control the volume of your speakers.
You do this with some contol room knob or a monitor controller.
The master faders are commonly set at the '0' position.


Have you made sure that the level settings at the back of the monitors match the output level of your interface?
If the interface is set to -10dB, then the level setting on the Yamahas should be fully clockwise; with an interface setting of +4dBu, then the Yamahas should be at the +4dB position.
The higher the output of the interface, the further couterclockwise the level setting knob on the Yamaha should be
If not properly matched, you'll end up ampifying otherwise inaudible low level noises and artifacts, due to poor gain structure.

Futhermore, have you checked/tried:
1. If the distortion also exists on a different set of speakers or through your headphones?
2. Using the TRS inputs of the Yamahas instead of the XLR, or vice versa?
3. Using the Yamahas with a different interface to verify if it is not the Fireface.

But anyway, start first by matching the input level on the Yamahas to the Fireface's output setting.

Success.

Has anyone found the solution to this issue? Im having the same problem with distorting in one of the tweeters, it's one particular organ sound that really triggers the distorting and strangely its only apparent at a low/medium volume otherwise it disappears completely. I've tested both monitors many times and it seems that only one of the monitors is affected by this.

Hey! I'm also dealing with this sort of tweeter distortion on my brand new HS8's. ¿Did you guys find a way to fix it? Also, if anyone has tried replacing the tweeters, ¿did that sort it out?

Cheers

2017, 2019, 2023 if this is a number sequence, this thread will be bumped again in 2026.

This is gain staging 101. Without knowing every detail of your chain, it is hard to determine where the problem is. HS8s have the reputation of being fairly robust, but any monitors can be damaged by overdriving them.

Hello, I apologize for the delayed response. I encountered an issue with the left tweeter of my HS8 speakers producing a buzzing noise. Despite trying various solutions, the problem persisted until I attempted an unconventional method. I disconnected the cable linked to the audio interface and physically touched it with my hands, which resulted in a brief burst of loud noise. Surprisingly, upon reconnecting the cable, the buzzing had completely ceased. While I'm not an expert in this field, this simple intervention seemed to have resolved the issue for me.