# Is the Yamaha HS8 overkill for a small bedroom like this?



## Kiju (Jul 9, 2021)

I haven't bought the HS8 yet but there's a bargain on the market for a used HS8 that costs the same as a new HS5. I researched and decided to go for the HS8 but now I'm worried if the room size is good for the HS8.
Also I'm still in the building phase so any tips/advice are appreciated.


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## DudeManBrother (Jul 9, 2021)

Go for it. There are trim pots on the back for volume and eq correction if necessary. The 8’s will allow you to hear your low end better than the 5’s.


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## Kiju (Jul 9, 2021)

DudeManBrother said:


> Go for it. There are trim pots on the back for volume and eq correction if necessary. The 8’s will allow you to hear your low end better than the 5’s.


I see. Thanks. I also moved the door a lil bit on left so that I can put more bass traps, is it good?


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## Sylim (Jul 9, 2021)

my studio room has pretty much the same dimension and i got the HS8. i got no problems so far. i would say, though, even with good bass traps the low end representation won´t ever be super reliable. so i also recommend having a good pair of open back headphones on the side to check the low end.


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## Kiju (Jul 9, 2021)

Sylim said:


> my studio room has pretty much the same dimension and i got the HS8. i got no problems so far. i would say, though, even with good bass traps the low end representation won´t ever be super reliable. so i also recommend having a good pair of open back headphones on the side to check the low end.


Oh, nice. Does your room have bed on it? What Acoustic Treatments did you do for it to sound as natural as possible and what is the material of your wall and flooring? THanks


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## Sylim (Jul 9, 2021)

Kiju said:


> Oh, nice. Does your room have bed on it? What Acoustic Treatments did you do for it to sound as natural as possible and what is the material of your wall and flooring? THanks



i don´t have a bed in the room. it´s purely for studio work. but i´m sure the bed won´t be a problem for you. maybe even beneficial for sound treatment. the walls are all brick, ceiling and floor is concrete, the floor has tiles. i just put down an area rug.
i built myself a bunch of absorbers for the first reflections on the side walls and the the ceiling. they are all loaded with 8cm thick Rockwool Termarock 50. the backwall is covered in 20cm of Termarock 30. i still didn´t upgrade my bass traps, though. those are all 37cm x 37cm foam wedges from top to bottom. and at the top corners i also have 37cm foam cubes. you might think that´s all great, but as i said, even with all this and a proper studio setup the low end is still not flat at all. but it doesn´t get distractingly boomy.


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## Sylim (Jul 9, 2021)

oh, and i haven´t treated the side walls in the back half of the room. though i want to put some diffusors there some day. if you put too much absorbers there, the room could end up sounding pretty dead, which isn´t great.


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## Kiju (Jul 9, 2021)

Noted, thanks for the tip man.


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## TedEH (Jul 9, 2021)

I've never understood the whole "big speakers are bad for small rooms" thing. If they're too loud you can, you know.... turn them down. And it's not like monitor speakers tend to be bass-monsters unless you add a sub. If you're going to use these as your primary listening environment without a sub, I'd worry first about whether or not you're getting the best/widest representation possible. then room treatment, then worry about the size if you think it really matters. When I bought rokit 8s a while back, I got them because anything smaller in my price range completely failed to represent any low end - it wasn't just rolled off, it was absent.

Remember too that if this is a bedroom, all of the _stuff_ in the room influences the listening environment too. Beds, couches, book shelves, etc., all absorb and reflect sound just like your walls or panels do. If your space is full of _stuff_, you might not need to go too crazy with panels. IMO.


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## Kiju (Jul 9, 2021)

TedEH said:


> I've never understood the whole "big speakers are bad for small rooms" thing. If they're too loud you can, you know.... turn them down. And it's not like monitor speakers tend to be bass-monsters unless you add a sub. If you're going to use these as your primary listening environment without a sub, I'd worry first about whether or not you're getting the best/widest representation possible. then room treatment, then worry about the size if you think it really matters. When I bought rokit 8s a while back, I got them because anything smaller in my price range completely failed to represent any low end - it wasn't just rolled off, it was absent.
> 
> Remember too that if this is a bedroom, all of the _stuff_ in the room influences the listening environment too. Beds, couches, book shelves, etc., all absorb and reflect sound just like your walls or panels do. If your space is full of _stuff_, you might not need to go too crazy with panels. IMO.


I just watched this video earlier on youtube where he explains why the room size really doesn't matter and it made go for it (source: Dynaudio - small room, big hifi system). Honestly I was quite both skeptical and confused to which size I'm going to get. There are discussions everywhere that talks about why Big Speaker don't work on a Small room and on the other hand, there's also a discussions for why room size doesn't matter. 
I only produce music casually so I don't really need to get technical but at the same time, I want to get the best out of it. From my room size, monitor size, acoustic treatments and etc. 
Anyways, thanks for the tip. That's a pretty realistic view and I appreciate it.


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## TedEH (Jul 9, 2021)

IMO the realistic view is that you can nitpick and aim for the best, but "the best" is nebulous and objective and maybe impossible, so go for practical instead.


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## DudeManBrother (Jul 9, 2021)

I feel like the discussion on room size vs speaker size shouldn’t be heavily considered by bedroom producers using “affordable” (<$3k) monitors. There are going to be so many issues with the acoustic environment and space limitations that will negate many of the arguments for/against the selections. 

We will always be referencing our mixes in cars, ear buds, Bluetooth speakers etc. and constantly learning how our unique monitor/room translates. Get the best room treatment, monitors, and headphones you are willing to shell out for and learn them inside and out.


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## Drew (Jul 9, 2021)

TedEH said:


> I've never understood the whole "big speakers are bad for small rooms" thing. If they're too loud you can, you know.... turn them down. And it's not like monitor speakers tend to be bass-monsters unless you add a sub. If you're going to use these as your primary listening environment without a sub, I'd worry first about whether or not you're getting the best/widest representation possible. then room treatment, then worry about the size if you think it really matters. When I bought rokit 8s a while back, I got them because anything smaller in my price range completely failed to represent any low end - it wasn't just rolled off, it was absent.
> 
> Remember too that if this is a bedroom, all of the _stuff_ in the room influences the listening environment too. Beds, couches, book shelves, etc., all absorb and reflect sound just like your walls or panels do. If your space is full of _stuff_, you might not need to go too crazy with panels. IMO.


Oh man, I've gotten so sick about ranting about just this. YES.  

I'll start simply by saying that there's a LOT more to this than JUST driver size. But, when you're comparing the HS5 to the HS8, driver size is obviously trhe single biggest factor. 

The idea, I understand it, is a small untreated room is more likely to have trouble with standing waves and the speakers being too close to the walls and bass frequencies building up, so to counteract this, use a smaller driver that puts out less bass in the first place. Problem solved, right? 

Not really. The problem is if a speaker isn't flat down to the lower range of human hearing - and the HS8 is *pretty* good down to about 50, maybe 40hz, while the HS5 stops dropping around 80hz - then you can't "counteract" a bass frequency buildup by just not reproducing those frequencies - if they're not there, they're not there, and you have a gaping hole where you're just kind of guessing where the low end is. 

HS8s aren't perfect eiter - I own the over HS80M version, and they were the best I tried in their price range, but they're far from perfect, even in a treated room - but IMO they're a. very good speaker for the money, especially if its HS5 money. Literally the only reason I'd tell you to get the 5 over the 8 at the same price is if you physically didn't have space on your desk for the bigger speaker.


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## Kiju (Jul 10, 2021)

Oh I see. I'll be using a monitor stands so I guess it's fine though I'm not sure if the 1.22m (4ft) distance from each other is far enough but I'll experiment.
Thanks, this really made up my mind.


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## Kiju (Jul 10, 2021)

DudeManBrother said:


> I feel like the discussion on room size vs speaker size shouldn’t be heavily considered by bedroom producers using “affordable” (<$3k) monitors. There are going to be so many issues with the acoustic environment and space limitations that will negate many of the arguments for/against the selections.
> 
> We will always be referencing our mixes in cars, ear buds, Bluetooth speakers etc. and constantly learning how our unique monitor/room translates. Get the best room treatment, monitors, and headphones you are willing to shell out for and learn them inside and out.


YEa i think so too after watching some videos. Thanks, I'll be sure to treat my room first.


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