Monitors
Yamaha HS5 (pair)
★★★★★★★★★★4.7(274 reviews)
Honest, unforgiving — exactly what you want
by homestudio · Jan 2026 · ✓ Verified purchase
They will expose a bad mix, which is the entire point. If your mixes translate on HS5s they'll translate anywhere. The ROOM CONTROL and HIGH TRIM switches help you tame placement and brightness.
Bass is light (−10 dB at 54 Hz) — pair them with an HS8S sub if you work with low-end-heavy genres. The voicing is bright and unforgiving, which can fatigue over long sessions, but for the money it's the reference everyone benchmarks against.
Pros
- +Very honest, flat response
- +Great value reference
- +Room Control / High Trim EQ
Cons
- −Light on bass — may want a sub
- −Bright voicing can fatigue
Specifications
- Type
- 2-way active nearfield, bi-amped
- Woofer / tweeter
- 5" cone / 1" dome
- Power
- 70 W (45 W LF + 25 W HF)
- Frequency response
- 54 Hz – 30 kHz (−10 dB)
- Crossover
- 2 kHz
- Inputs
- XLR + TRS (balanced)
- Note
- Light on bass — add a sub for low-end genres
Discussion (1)
Sign in to comment…Sign in- Mmix_mara1w ago
The 'treat your room' advice is the part everyone skips. So true.