• The move to the new server is done. There are some software and database maintenance updates in process. This has us passing the hat around to help out. We appreciate any donations. Seriously, even a dollar helps. The payment page may be found here - https://www.audiokarma.org/support.html

Yamaha NS-10m Tissue over tweeter?

JamVal

JamVal

Addicted Member
I picked up a set of Yamaha NS-10m at a Thrift Store for $10 this week. I would have passed on them, but about a month ago I found a set of AR18s at another thrift store. Doing some research on the AR18s I found a lot of comparisons to the Yamaha NS-10m so it was fresh in my mind.

NS10Nude_zps5dbfaa10.jpg


Anyhow I'm not all that thrilled with the way these sound and read articles about putting tissue paper over the tweeters. Tried some Scott's 2 ply bath tissue over one and left the other "naked".

NS10Tissue_zps568e8c63.jpg


I can't hear any difference with or without the tissue. Is the tissue paper article a joke or is there something I have done wrong in application? (no dabbing vs wiping comments please)

PS - I can't believe the prices these things go for on that auction site!
 
Register to hide this ad
Yep, sold mine on CL for way more than I paid at the GW. Musicians love them for their home studios, apparently.
 
A lot of recording engineers won't use anything else, and will even bring their own personal pair into studios that already have them. I've listened to a few pairs and wasn't impressed. I've heard it said that they sound so bad, if you get your mix to sound good on them, it will sound good on anything.
 
Once you understand the design goal of them, you will understand why they are holy grail for the clueless.

For professionals that know what they're doing, the NS-10M is the reference standard for the average MUSIC BUYER'S extremely mediocre playback equipment.

They are very intentionally voiced for a specific purpose which is NOT high fidelity entertainment.

I've heard it said that they sound so bad, if you get your mix to sound good on them, it will sound good on anything.
Click to expand...
Essentially, that is exactly how/why they were designed.
 
Last edited:
bowtie427ss said:
For professionals that know what they're doing, the NS-10M is the reference standard for the average MUSIC BUYER'S extremely mediocre playback equipment.
Click to expand...

This brings up a question I've been pondering lately - is the NS-10M still representative of the average music buyer's extremely mediocre playback equipment? It seems to me that now you have to monitor thru those incredibly bad Apple headphones to truly hear how your mix translates on today's average extremely mediocre playback equipment.

I don't think the average listener has anything as 'high fidelity' as NS-10s these days.
 
JamVal said:
I picked up a set of Yamaha NS-10m at a Thrift Store for $10 this week. I would have passed on them, but about a month ago I found a set of AR18s at another thrift store. Doing some research on the AR18s I found a lot of comparisons to the Yamaha NS-10m so it was fresh in my mind.

NS10Nude_zps5dbfaa10.jpg


Anyhow I'm not all that thrilled with the way these sound and read articles about putting tissue paper over the tweeters. Tried some Scott's 2 ply bath tissue over one and left the other "naked".

NS10Tissue_zps568e8c63.jpg


I can't hear any difference with or without the tissue. Is the tissue paper article a joke or is there something I have done wrong in application? (no dabbing vs wiping comments please)

PS - I can't believe the prices these things go for on that auction site!
Click to expand...

They suck for home stereo. You'd be better off flipping them..
 
You'll have no problem selling them and you'll be doing someone else a favor(they'll likely need the tweeters). The tweeters in these blow all of the time, so be careful...
 
Ths364 said:
You'll have no problem selling them and you'll be doing someone else a favor(they'll likely need the tweeters). The tweeters in these blow all of the time, so be careful...
Click to expand...

The tweeters on this pair are too bright for my taste. That's why I tried the tissue paper. I am thinking about flipping them, or they might go to my son who records and mixes. I have a set of AR18s that sound very close, side by side.
 
I think they're more than OK if used properly. Small recording control rooms, at reasonable levels and they're fine. I know there are lots of negative opinions floating around all the time about them...but still, you see them over and over again in photos from good recording studios, so there's a broad range of opinion regarding the quality.

I found a pair at an estate sale...the tweeter on one was fried, which is not unusual when you find them having been used in a non-professional setting. They get played way too loud which they are obviously not designed for. Paid next to nothing for them and even with the bad tweeter, they sold for quite a bit on eBay.

Can't say much about the tissue paper thing...they were gone after one listening.
 
tissue paper level control

This is an old idea from the 50's. Some guy felt his tweets were to bright.
I have done this to get more control of the high end on my AR 18's.

Paul
 
Rick Vestal said:
They were never designed as studio monitors. It's the public that granted them that title.
Click to expand...

IIRC, they started their eventful life as lower end consumer speakers (NS-10). By the time Clearmountain and others had increased the demand for them, Yamaha had discontinued them. So Yamaha responded with a "professional" version, the NS-10M. Unsurprisingly, opinions vary as to whether they are the same as the "originals". The original consumer NS-10 is pretty rare in the wild, you'll almost always see these 10M's, which were sold by the truckload.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom