Using a Sub alongside Studio Monitors.... What do You Think?

dhmky

New member
I have a small home studio setup. Due to its size I bought Yamaha HS5's as they are a perfect fit... I would like to know if purchasing a small hifi subwoofer such as the yamaha yst-fsw050 would be a beneficial purchase to help with low down sound design, mixing, etc. I cannot afford the sub specifically manufactured to go with the HS series speakers (HS8S).

My only other option is to try and upgrade the HS5's for the larger HS7's.... I could possibly do this as i only purchased the HS5's 1 week ago. But my concern here is space. My HS5's are already very close to the wall and the larger HS7's would virtually be touching the wall. I havent treated the room acoustically yet, although its something I will definitely definitely be doing..

For information, the HS5's go down to 54hz whereas the HS7s go down to 43hz.

Am I just overthinking the whole thing? Do the frequency ranges 20hz to 50hz really matter?? I know that sounds from 20hz to 35hz are practically inaudible. Should I just stick with what I have?

Any help much appreciated. I do need to make a decision quickly though or I will loose the chance to swap the HS5's for HS7's.
 
A lot of Hoppers use subs. I would say "unnecessary," and it may even contribute to your recordings being "bass shy" (because the sub gives a false sense of the amount of bass).

GJ
 
Yeah. It'll probably make it sound "awesome" (as in, bassy) in your room - but low frequencies are notoriously hard to control acoustics-wise and this - without lots and lots of acoustic treatment - will probably end up eventually f*cking up your mixes because, as said, of the misrepresentation of the bass frequencies. Then again, 5" monitors' freq range tends to stop at a pretty crucial point (around 50Hz) so it's not ideal either. There are some monitor models nowadays designed for less-than-ideal mixing environments, which might be a better option.
 
Thanks guys, this confirms my suspicions.

My dilemma now then is... do I exchange my 5" monitors for 7" monitors? this will only cost an additional £40.

The HS7s go down to 43hz as opposed to my current HS5s which go down to 54hz. Will I really benefit from this slight extension in frequency range? or should I just get a decent pair of monitoring headphones and sort the low frequencies using these? (i need a decent pair of headphones anyway - headphones also have the benefit of going from 5Hz to 25kHz so I definitely wont miss any frequencies, I also would not disturb the neighbors!)?

So the question is... swap to 7"s or keep the 5"s??
 
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I'd say that freq range for the headphones is either entirely theoretical or just a flat out lie. Either way, and even with good headphones, the sensation of bass is very different than that produced by good speakers. They're still a good platform to check mixes on - but consider them just another reference point, rather than the "truth". As for the 5" vs 7" thing, I'd probably go for the bigger ones if you're planning to treat your room. If you won't, it might be that you're trading the bass extension for clarity (in terms of the extended low end muddying up your listening environment).

/edit any chance you'd be able to listen to both speakers at a music store? I think the 50Hz range is pretty crucial and even a few Hz difference will definitely...well, make a difference.
 
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Thanks for the advice, it genuinely helped.

To conclude the thread. I did swap the HS5s for HS7s.... I have only had time to do a bit of testing but from the initial experiments all seems really good.

I was worried about the monitors proximity to the wall, however being near the wall hasnt had a negative impact, they work fantastically, even considering the untreated room. As a bonus, the larger speakers actually seem to fit better (contrary to my initial thoughts - hence getting the HS5s).

Room treatment is now underway, and my new little home studio is coming along.

Cheers.

:):)
 
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