Subwoofer for Yamaha NS10's

[Kestral]

Ok, I finally got my Crown DC300 amp (the original first issue model) hooked up to the Yamaha NS10's and they sound great (yes yes, I know, it's relative, so about as great as a pair of NS10's can sound).

However, I definitely know that I'm missing a lot of bass.

So I'm looking for a subwoofer. Was there a matching subwoofer from Yamaha for the NS10's? Or can I just use any subwoofer? Say, a Genelec 1091, or anything, provided that I match where the rolloff of the NS10's? Even then, how do I match the volume properly?

Ideally I'd like to get the matching Yamaha sub for the NS10's if such a thing exists and if not, some sub suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

[theom]

Originally Posted by kc8mob

Hey buddy not to worry there is a matching subwoofer. Now to worry, its going to be harder than hell to find it. Also i dont know the model number. But i do know they
exsist, i've herd many conversations on the topic. Sorry i cant help much, or at all.
but i suggest that you Google it, theres bound to be something out there on the topic.

There is no rule writen in stone about your subwoofer being a matching componet, but it does make sence if it can be achieved.

Indeed, there is a matching sub.
A friend of mine found one at a thrift shop for $25.
It is a 10 inch (I think) self powered box. It has some kind of crossover in it. You hook your speakers from your power amp to the sub then to your ns 10's I dont think it has a line level in. This one came with it's documentation, It says nothing concrete about where the cross freq is. It has a slider volume contol and an on off switch.
To me it seems like a very wierd band pass box and I think the pass thru to the ns10's degrades the signal. The same guy has a $199 samson self powered sub that had more control and sounded more full range than the ns:???sub.

If you are using ns10's I think they are best with no sub.
Better to check the low suff on another set of monitors altogether.



It does give you bottom. but IMHO there are far better subs out there,

[Essay]

I've been mixing with NS-10's with a sub for years. No better combination that translates as well IMHO. I wasn't even aware that Yamaha made a specfic sub for the series. Yamaha used to make a sub that you could find at Best Buy, Circuit City, etc. It was relatively inexpensive (~$250). I've had a few over the years, and end up getting a new one after the old one gets banged up going from studio to studio. It is a single 10" w/ volume, variable crossover. The model number is YST 160SW. I guess it's technically a "home stereo" sub. Its a good sounding sub. Definitely worth checking out.

[leadvox]

Here you go

Works great with NS-10Ms

[Kestral]

Hey all, thanks for the great replies. Looks like the Infinity is a great selection.

I just have one question, I noticed the Inifinty has RCA inputs Are there no worries that going to RCA there would be a loss of sound quality?

Also, tried to find the Infinity speakers here in Canada and no luck (at least online). I have a contact at Yamaha so I was wondering, how about the Yamaha HS10W (the new sub that goes with their new NS10 lookalike speakers)? Would that work? And if so how would the hookup work? Could I just take the XLR outs of my Mackie into the sub (as it's self powered)?

[Han]

I'm using NS10's on a Harman Kardon 730 amp and in coöp with an Eltax Atomic 8 sub, works pretty good, but I also have an Eltax Atomic 10 in my home 5.1 that might even work better with NS10's.

The NS10 falls 10dB from 100hz to 50hz, so a sub which cames in at 70-80 can work just fine, but don't have it too loud.

[thethrillfactor]

Originally Posted by Kestral

However, I definitely know that I'm missing a lot of bass.

That's the whole point of using an NS10 as a reference.

It has a lot of flaws.

You start to fix the flaws it becomes useless as a reference.

I mean it will literally become a flat speaker with terrible distortion characteristics in the mids.

Originally Posted by Kestral

So I'm looking for a subwoofer.

Well if you must...

The old YST-SW100 sub was designed for it.


A more modern sub?

I like the Tannoy AMS210A.

I have the Tannoys on all my monitors but i turn it off when mixing on the NS10's.

I turn it back on when its time for playback.

[LightningBefore]

I thought the whole idea of the NS-10s was to be flat and not have a lot of bass, so there for had to be selective on where to add it in the mix as to not over push but to also get just the right amount. . .?

Just what I heard, but Id probably rather have a sub too!

[cultureofgreed]

Originally Posted by Kestral

However, I definitely know that I'm missing a lot of bass..

That is strange because most of the time I think that I over compensate for low end when using NS10s and end up with too much bass when tracking or mixing. This is because it is hard to percieve those lows with NS10s.

My trick is to lightly touch the botom of the woofer to "feel" how hard the cone is pushing. Do that enough, with material that you know, you can get the bottom end correct without a sub. It just takes practice.

[clearwave]

Originally Posted by leadvox

Here you go

Works great with NS-10Ms

This is what I use. It works fine..........

[6strings]

Originally Posted by Kestral

Ideally I'd like to get the matching Yamaha sub for the NS10's if such a thing exists and if not, some sub suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

http://www.yamaha.com/yamahavgn/CDA/...560502,00.html

There's also an older SW10 with a 10" for more money.

[s-boogie]

hmmm,

i have ns 10´s myself.
sometimes i like´em,sometimes i don´t.
i tried several amps.
at the moment i power them with an affordable tube-amp.
bass has improved a lot since i use tube-sound.
still linear.

once in a while i visit a studio-friend of mine,
he powers his ns 10 with an older onkyo-amp and
has a lot of bass in his small control-room by
just having bass and treble-poti set to a maximum.

sounds amazing. thumbsup
also "linear",somehow.

i wouldn´t use a sub with ns 10.
i´d rather go for a second,additional monitoring choice.

[electrobass]

I'LL END EVERYONES MISERY IN NOT KNOWING WHICH SUB MATCHES THE YAMAHA NS-10'S - IT IS THE YAMAHA NS-W2 (NS = NATURAL SOUND)

IT HAS A SLIDER FOR VOLUME 1- 10 AND IS TO BE LEFT AT 5 IDEALLY... ADJUSTED TO TASTE... ITS A 10", NOT SURE THE CROSSOVER - YOU PLUG INTO THE SUB THEN CONNECT THE NS-10'S - IT IS POSSIBLE TO RUN 1 SUB PER NS-10 FOR THE BEST SITUATION.

I RUN 1 NS-W2 WITH MY NS-20'S... SUPER RARE COMBO.

i like my caps on

[6strings]

Dude - caps lock - off please!

Anyway, there is no "official" matching sub for NS10s. These were bookshelf speakers that came out in the early eighties before people used subs (was there even such a thing back then?!?).

The Yamaha SW10 is a great sub. Very clear low end. The new HS10W subs sound more like a consumer sub (smaller speaker, smaller box), but the main problem I had was a noticable transformer hum.

Using a consumer sub with RCAs and the like is only a problem if you don't care about balanced inputs...

[shroom]

In my opinion there is nothing better for making mixes translate everywhere than a pair of NS-10's and a subwoofer. As to the sub, it doesn't really matter what it is. CLA uses an infinity sub he got at fry's for a few hundred bucks. What really matters is how you tune the sub to go with the speakers in your room, and even then it takes a little getting used to. But afterwards you've got all the information you need to hear along with those super unflattering mids that make the speakers so desireable.

[6strings]

Originally Posted by shroom

What really matters is how you tune the sub to go with the speakers in your room

No kidding on tuning the sub. I'm quickly learning that "less is more."

[Space Nugget]

Reviving an old ass thread...maybe someone could help.

Still up in the air if I want to experiment with a sub and NS-10s,

But if i bought a powered sub such as this:

Customer Image Gallery for Yamaha YST-SW315 10-Inch Digital Pro Series Subwoofer (Black)

Would I be able to power the NS-10s from the sub's speaker outputs??

I think the answer is yes, my BlueSky media desk is configured the same way, but just double checking...
Thanks!

[zboy2854]

Originally Posted by Space Nugget

Reviving an old ass thread...maybe someone could help.

Still up in the air if I want to experiment with a sub and NS-10s,

But if i bought a powered sub such as this:

Customer Image Gallery for Yamaha YST-SW315 10-Inch Digital Pro Series Subwoofer (Black)

Would I be able to power the NS-10s from the sub's speaker outputs??

I think the answer is yes, my BlueSky media desk is configured the same way, but just double checking...
Thanks!

Assuming the sub has enough spare juice to power the NS-10's in addition to itself I suppose it's possible, but not recommended.

If the sub is self powered, IMO you're much better off with a dedicated power amp for the NS-10's, then (assuming your sub also has passive speaker inputs), send speaker cables in parallel from your power amp to both the NS-10's and the sub.

I run my NS-10's that way with an Adcom power amp and Infinity PS-10 sub, and it works like a charm. I couldn't imagine mixing anymore without a sub, by the way.

[Tom Colletti]

I have my NS10s powered by a Linn amp and a KRK Rockit 10 subwoofer. I really like the trio.

[Space Nugget]

Good shit...

Thanks for the info!!

[TheNoize]

Originally Posted by leadvox

Here you go

Works great with NS-10Ms

This seems awesome! Great price... But then I realized that it's only for passive speakers, like the NS10.

What about a similarly-priced sub to use with the HS50m? Yamaha's "matching" sub is more than $500, and the cheapest "studio" active sub is from Samson and costs more than $300!!

Does anyone know of a nice sub, on the same type of the YST-SW215, to be used with powered monitors?

[kubimusik]

I have the BlueSky Sub8, but I ended up not hooking my NS10s directly into it. The best part about the NS10s is their transient response, and the Blue Sky electronics definitely took off the edges, so to speak. Hated that. So now I have the NS10s and the Sub8 hooked up independently, and it works much better.


NS10M Studio with Subwoofer = awesome! thumbsupthumbsupthumbsup

[A LaMere]

I love my NS10's w/a sub...
wouldn't consider using any other combo as I know exactly what to expect out of the ns10's.

"isn't that the entire idea... they sound flat w/no bass??"

No, the entire idea is that NS10's translate incredibly.
the only speaker I've ever used.. that I mix on.. then walk out to the car... stick it in the stereo... and... no surprises.

Love adding a sub to them also.. I end up turning it off and on a bit to hear what the punch of the low end sounds like without the sub.. but mostly I have it on, set pretty low in volume... as just an addition to the NS10's.

It's set low enough to where most people don't even realize that I'm using a sub... halfway through listening to a song they sometimes realize it and look around the room to see where the low end is coming from...

[JIRI PASKA]

.

Chris Lord-Alge:
"I listen on [Yamaha] NS10s, the original ones with the covers, plus an old Infinity 12-inch subwoofer that cost me $300, so I can hear the ultra-low end."

link - SOS May 2007 - Secrets Of The Mix Engineers: Chris Lord-Alge


I love my NS10s !

[dangerface]

Get the best sub you can afford!! I got a velodyne 12" for $200 dollars on craigslist. The more detail you can hear in your low end, the better your bottom end will become over time. Just make sure and read as much as you can about room acoustics and spend some money on treating your room. That's ultimately the most important thing and becomes even more so when you've got soundwaves at 45hz bouncing around the room! (Hint: Owens Corning 703 fsk)

[Coil]

i use this one:

[Ugoff]

Great info in the Chris Lord-Alge article, however you fail to mention the part where he talks about the other speakers/ subwoofers and surround sound capabilities he has access to. Not to mention some gazillion dollar recording space so he can actually hear properly. Good advice throughout though, including mixing at quiet levels. Thanks for posting.

[DanRock101]

Sweet!

[Mike Butler]

I use an old Yamaha YST-SW100 with my NS-10M's and I love it. Seems to match them really well. Found it on Craigslist for $50.

[EvilRobot]

Not sure if this an appropriate post for this forum, but I registered for an account to say I happen to have this subwoofer and I'm looking to sell it. It's been in a cabinet in my house for the last 11 years not being used. Maybe it's worth something to somebody? If this is inappropriate, I apologize.

This is an extremely old thread, so it's unlikely to be monitored by anyone. But in the off chance it is, I'd rather get this subwoofer to someone that really wants it rather than have it picked up by the Salvation Army.

Thanks!