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andreaeffe · 4th July 2011

Now here's a nice little load of misinformation starting to build up...

To the OP - the Yamaha NS10s are PASSIVE monitors (i.e. depending on a power amp - which does have some bearing on their sound and transient response!), with transducers (speakers) designed decades ago, in a CLOSED cabinet (almost HALF the physical size of the HS80), originally designed for home hifi and nowhere near "studio/flat/professional/etc", that by a series of chances and bold engineer experimentation in the past began to get used in the studio sitting ON TOP OF A LARGE ANALOGUE CONSOLE'S METERBRIDGE (don't underestimate the importance of large console surface reflections on the sound & the way these got used - there are plenty of papers & articles written through the years that have well researched the NS10 phenomenon) without the original cloth/fabric speaker protection and with some toilet tissue paper across the tweeters to make them less unbalanced/harsh (talk about "precision"...) - so in their later incarnations, Yamaha tamed the tweeters and put some metal grill mesh on them for protection and started making the NS10M STUDIO (as that had become by far their main use & target - virtually nobody was using them as hifi speakers at home, because they sounded pretty dreadful and very rough in that situation).
Through the years, in THAT on-top-of-a-big-console's-meterbridge situation, they de facto became a "mixing reference" - but very definitely NOT because they "sounded great", had "great low end" or were universally pretty in any way - it's because the superexposed harsh-ish but defined midrange and rather dark top end and quite dramatic lack of real low end bass (also aided by some phase/time alignment issues between tweeter and woofer, another well researched & written about topic on the NS10 and part of their legendary sound) would highlight things like vocal positioning in the mix, vocal intellegibility, stereo pan settings, guitars balance, kick/snare balance, and you could sort of "guess" (quite accurately) if there was enough bass being felt or enough snare & cymbal brightness being perceived that there would be plenty, or just the right amount, when listened on a big(ger) speaker system that actually reproduced those frequencies.
They were a tool - and a great one, too; but by no means a great SOUNDING one.

Comparing them to the HS80s is rather impossible - the newer generation transducers, the 8" woofer (instead of the 6.5" or 7" paper cone of the NS10 - albeit both in that signature white colour) the ported bass reflex design, the active design with internal power amps, the power & dB handling rating, the sheer size of the cabinet... it's like comparing a red Ford tractor to a red Ford sedan - yes, it's the same company and the same colour and they both have 4 wheels and are designed to move around, but...

BTW, anyone finding the HS80 "non existant" in bass has either control room issues to deal with, badly set frequency contour switches on the back of the speaker, badly wired speakers, or a defective pair of these, or some combination of all of the above - the low end on the HS80 is pretty huge, and there are plenty of magazine & online reviews of these to tell U so, to the point that many mention a subwoofer is definitely not a "must" with these, unless U're doing earth shattering low sub bass fuelled music, or have some need for thundering loud ultra lows on playback (to impress... rap/metal/house&trance clients, e.g.).

To your question - the Adam A7 / A7X sound quite "smaller" than the Yamaha HS80, handle & deliver less power (they are subjectively quieter - the A7X less so, the old A7 much more so), have a totally different colour and especially low end response and tweeter "manners" - the Adams' being superextended and with that, very specific ribbon nature & delivery, the Yamahas' being brash and in your face and in some way related to the nature & delivery of the old NS10's midrange.
If U were to get a pair of NS10s to team with the A7s, when switching U'd get the feeling U're switching from a nearfield monitor to a...somewhat smaller nearfield, with a more agressive and rough sound, less bass and highs, and a very prominent midrange.
If U were to team them with a pair of HS80s, U'd get the feeling U're switching from a nearfield monitor to a... BIGGER nearfield monitor, and with a different sound, but not nearly as dramatically different as the NS10s would seem.

Me, personally, I'd buy JUST the HS80s and have something that in terms of value for money today and (especially) translating mixes to the real world outperforms the Adams and despite sounding different (let's say better/prettier/more contemporary/with a much more extended useable frequency range) can do the job the good ole NS10s used to - making sure U're making the right decisions when mixing.

All of the above in my opinon & experience, of course - which in the case of these monitors U mentioned happens to be pretty extensive and hands on.
No, wait - ears on.

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