When it comes to flexibility, sound quality, and overall performance, the Yamaha HS8 (see image) is the clear winner. It is more flexible and can be used both as a home speaker or a professional studio monitor.
The Yamaha HS5 and HS8 are arguably the two most popular studio monitors in Yamaha's line-up. They're indoor speakers though, so I wouldn't really recommend them for outdoors use (which, in such case, you can check out Klipsch AW-650).
In summary, if you’re looking for a high-quality monitor for casual listening to music and watching movies at home, then the Yamaha HS5 has just the right frequency range and power for a great listening experience. But if you intend to use it in a studio for audio production or build a home theater system, the Yamaha HS8 has better overall acoustics and is the better choice.
In summary, the difference in sound quality between HS5 and HS8 is quite a bit noticeable even to non-professional ears. Additionally, even when looking at it from the price-performance standpoint, the HS8 pays off every extra penny in my opinion.
Major Differences
- The Yamaha HS5 is best for casual listening or beginners in music production, while you can use the Yamaha HS8 in a professional studio for audio production and home theater systems
- The Yamaha HS8 is twice more expensive than the HS5
- The Yamaha HS8 has a better and more professional overall sound quality
- The Yamaha HS8 is the upgraded version of the HS5
- The Yamaha HS8 is a lot heavier at 29.1 lbs than the HS5, which is only 12 lbs
Design and Build
If you’re looking for a high-quality monitor for casual listening to music and watching movies at home, the Yamaha HS5 (see image) has just the right frequency range and power for a great listening experience.
The Yamaha HS5 and HS8 are part of the Yamaha Professional Audio Speakers HS Series, the 2nd generation nearfield reference monitors. All the products in this series come in two classic colors—black and white.
The Yamaha HS5 is a single-unit woofer that’s mountable and has a stereo output. This is the smallest unit in the HS series, the 5-inch speaker, which measures 7x9x12 inches and weighs 12 pounds.
The cone woofer measures 5-inches, and the dome tweeter measures 1-inch. Though the smallest in the series, it creates a very smooth response over different sound frequencies.
The Yamaha HS8 is likewise a single-unit woofer that’s mountable and has a stereo output. It measures 16x14.2x21 inches and weighs a lot heavier than the Yamaha HS5 at 29.1 pounds. It has screws and mounting points to make installation easier. Baton brackets are available but are sold separately.
Check here the manual of Yamaha HS5 and HS8.
Features
The Yamaha HS series has accurate signal reproduction and superior sonic performance. It has highly efficient twitters, powerful woofers, and a low resonance enclosure design.
Both the Yamaha HS5 and the Yamaha HS8 have a 2-way bi-amp design. This means it has a dedicated amp for the woofer and the tweeter, ensuring a high-resolution sound. They have two response controls, the HIGH TRIM and the ROOM CONTROL.
These features will be beneficial to adjust the sound depending on where it is situated or in case the monitor needs to be placed against a wall.
The HS series has newly constructed enclosures using a resilient MDF and damped acoustic response. These monitors have advanced noise reduction technology. This is done through a carefully engineered speaker port that prevents any vortex at the end to trap air, vibrate, and cause noise.
The Yamaha HS8 has an 8-inch subwoofer and a 1-inch tweeter. This is usually powerful enough to for an entire studio, so you don’t need to purchase an additional subwoofer.
To sum it up, the Yamaha HS8 has all the physical features of the Yamaha HS5 but is more upgraded in sound quality.
Sounds
The Yamaha HS8 (see image) is a lot heavier at 29.1 lbs than the Yamaha HS5, which is only 12 lbs.
Have you ever noticed that there often tends to be quite the opposite opinions about a speaker?
I can understand this for more "personal taste" kinda products like clothing, for example.
But for engineering products like speakers? Personal tastes and preferences probably still play a role. But shouldn't it be less?
Why is it that we can't set a universal metric for sound quality?
First time I asked this question to myself has been a pivotal day.
Because it turns out that in the mid 90's, Electrical Engineer PhD Floyd Toole came up with a method called Spinorama. This is exactly what he accomplished with this. Turns out that his book Sound Reproduction is like the bible of audiophiles.
Put it simply, Spinorama is a set of measurements that gives a comprehensive overview of a speaker's performance from various angles.
It allows you to compare the performances of different speakers before even laying your ears hands on them.
Isn't that amazing?
This is why Spinorama was apparently groundbreaking news for audio industry. Hence in the mid-late 2010's, most brands and magazines began publishing Spinorama measurements, despite the challenges of making such measurements.
Fortunately, now we have the Spinorama data for a bunch of quite popular speakers. Pierre Aubert put all this untidy data together and put it into https://www.spinorama.org/. This is a stunning source. Pretty valuable stuff from him right there.
All good up to this point.
Now there comes a caveat.
Since the sound speakers propagate are in the form of omnidirectional waves, all measurements are obtained in anechoic or semi-anechoic chambers (a super-quiet room where soundwaves don't bounce back, here's how different that room sounds [a mind blowing time-adjusted video]).
This is a problem because it means that Spinorama alone, unfortunately, won't give us all we need. Placement and reflections play an equally important role there too.
This is why most A-class brands (like SVS, Bang & Olufsen, etc) often come up with room correction features, adjusted either manually or automatically. The EQ adapts itself to the placement (room, corner, center, etc) for a better (deeper and more accurate) sound. Which is great.
Additionally they often emphasize the importance of placement, here is an example: https://www.svsound.com/blogs/subwoofer-setup-and-tuning/75365187-the-art-of-subwoofer-placement
Anyways...
The source code under Pierre Aubert's work is licensed under GPL (General public license). He didn't perform any of the measurements himself, and instead he compiled all of them into one place, so that makes sense.
At this point, I thought that if there was a tool that combined both the Spinorama with the room acoustics data, it'd be extremely useful.
Unfortunately, it turns out that there wasn't any.
This is where I stepped in and partnered with an Acoustics and Audio Engineering PhD in order to achieve this.
We combined Spinorama data with room acoustics and came up with Soundton. A very simple, 2D online tool that allows you to:
- Reveal optimal speaker positions in a room,
- Test with real speakers from real brands,
- Compare different speakers and different positions in the room.
It can be very valuable for the vast majority.
The colormap provides you the locations with the best (green) and worst (red) listening experience.
It works the best with subwoofers since Soundton processes low frequency response waves only.
- Soundton is going to be, say, 80% accurate. Not 100%.
- Because, other parameters such as the age/materials of the building, furniture/windows in place also have an impact on room acoustics.
- If you want absolutely the most detailed room analysis, then what you need is an acoustics consultant. Mind you that's going to require deep pockets and patience though... assuming you find the right person and they get the job done.
Anyways...
The Yamaha HS5 produces just the right sounds for listening to music or watching a movie in a small to average-sized room.
It also produces just the right amount of sound for those who want to use it for basic music production. However, for a professional studio, the HS8 is clearly the better choice because it delivers better sound.
The Yamaha HS5 has a 45W low frequency and a 25W high-frequency bi-amp system for high performance. A 70W total amplification is already a very acceptable volume for any home activity.
The Yamaha HS8 has a 75W low frequency and a 45W high-frequency bi-amp system, with a total of 120W amplification. This is already considered a high amplification and will be loud enough to power a big studio room.
If you intend to use the speaker mostly for music listening in a small room, the Yamaha HS8 amplification might be too much. Its features will be best utilized if it is used in audio production.
Another thing is their difference in frequency response, which is what makes the speakers flexible in producing a wide range of sounds. The Yamaha HS5 has a frequency response of 54 Hz-30 kHz, while the Yamaha HS8 has a frequency level of 38 Hz-30 kHz range.
Technically, the lower the frequency, the better it is with low-end sounds, and this is what’s missing in the sound quality of the Yamaha HS5. However, this feature is a matter of preference and would probably only be significant for studio producers.
Price
Yamaha has several dealers worldwide for their products, which means the prices can differ with every retailer. As of writing, here is the information we have gathered on their current prices:
The Yamaha HS5 (see image) is a single-unit woofer that’s mountable and has a stereo output. This is the smallest unit in the HS series, the 5-inch speaker, which measures 7x9x12 inches and weighs 12 pounds.
HS5
- Yamaha website - MSRP $250
- Amazon - Price starts at $199.99 (depending on the size)
HS8
- Yamaha website - MSRP $529
- Amazon - Price starts at $374.99 (depending on the size)
The price difference between the two products is more than $100 on average, so it is crucial to research first to make a knowledgeable and sound purchasing decision.
Verdict
It is challenging to choose a clear winner because each has independent usage. But when it comes to flexibility, sound quality, and overall performance, the Yamaha HS8 is the clear winner. It is more flexible and can be used both as a home speaker or a professional studio monitor.
Here’s a rundown of our winner by comparison:
- Design and build - Tie
- Sound quality - Yamaha HS8
- Price - Yamaha HS8 (value for money)