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As it says in the subject line: been torn between the JBL 305p MKii and the Yamaha HS-5. As of right now, the JBLs go for $218 a pair while the Yamahas are $400 a pair. Im okay with buying either, but it just seems wrong to spend around $180 more on a pair of speakers that are not as good as their cheaper counterpart.
I am new to the world of Nords and studio monitors/interfaces so I am not sure what sound frequencies i should be prioritizing. The general consensus is that the JBLS are as flat as the Yamahas but provide more on the low end. People also say that the Yamahas are bad in the mid-range. I'm guessing these opinions come from musicians who are producing EDM and hip hop, but not necessarily just using the monitors to get playback on their digital keyboards.
Any thoughts on this? Again, I'm okay buying both. Don't even mind the appearance of the JBL's to be honest. I just want to buy whichever one is better for a Nord electro in general
Any help would be appreciated! Especially from this Nord-centric community!
Even more low end than the 305, fantastic reviews and still $100 less than the Yamahas. I use the 305s in my studio with both my Nords and they sound great.
-dj
Last edited by DJKeys on 09 May 2020, 20:15, edited 2 times in total.
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Even more low end than the 305, fantastic reviews and still $100 less than the Yamahas. I use them in my studio with both my Nords and they sound great.
-dj
Hmm, so from this, im assuming that low end is very important for digital pianos? The only thing is that these are pretty big and i don't have too much space in my living room If it came down to the 305 and HS5, which would you go?
Let's put it this way, you can roll off frequencies that are there, but you cannot add ones that don't exist. In my opinion, the wider frequency range is desirable.
I actually have the 305s (I should have been clearer with my antecedent) and am very happy with them. I have not heard the Yamahas, so I cannot comment on them.
It is safe to say that speakers in this price range are all going to be somewhat limited in terms of sound quality.
-dj
Last edited by DJKeys on 07 May 2020, 21:20, edited 2 times in total.
Nord Stage 3
Nord Wave 2
Yamaha U3
iMac i7 15.4
Studio One 5.5.2
Nektar T4
Drawmer DL 241
Focusrite ISA Two
Focusrite Clarett 8 Pre
Here's what seems like a fair direct comparison including the relevant specs https://homestudiobasics.com/jbl-lsr-30 ... el-heaven/ Pros and cons to each but considering the price difference, seems slight edge to the JBL's. The one area where the majority of reviewers, including yours truly, agree is that the Yamaha's look like proper studio monitors. The JBL's are fugly in the majority opinion. Likely not a deciding factor for many. Disclaimer: I have the HS 8's in my home studio, and at the price point they are quite decent for my requirements.
Last edited by JayDee on 10 May 2020, 17:22, edited 2 times in total.
Even more low end than the 305, fantastic reviews and still $100 less than the Yamahas. I use the 305s in my studio with both my Nords and they sound great.
-dj
I have the LSR305's (shouldn't be too different from the 305 MKII as far as I know) and they seem to sound very flat to me with my NE6D at reasonable output volumes, especially the pianos. If I really push the main output of my interface, they start to bring some life back to the sound, but this is quite loud in the room. I am used to the LSR305's performing quite admirably in the medium volume range with other instruments, recordings, music in general... The headphone output of my interface and headphone output of the Nord just sound dramatically better to me. So this seems to be an issue with the NE6D played through the LSR305s, maybe I need to EQ or something... it is not always feasible in my apt to have the LSR305 at such a high volume to get a decent sound, and practicing with headphones gets tiresome.
Any advice you can offer? I run the LSR305's totally flat, no trim, no nothing, volume is at 7.
It is not a fair comparison between a good set of headphones and a pair of inexpensive monitors. The headphones will win every time. If more expensive monitors are not practical, I would suggest using EQ to correct them for your room. The 305s tend to have a mid range bump around 400-700Hz, and that can detract from the sound of just about any signal.
-dj
Nord Stage 3
Nord Wave 2
Yamaha U3
iMac i7 15.4
Studio One 5.5.2
Nektar T4
Drawmer DL 241
Focusrite ISA Two
Focusrite Clarett 8 Pre
I'm on the learning end of the curve of this as well and in the market for some new monitors mostly for home studio use. If one were willing to extend their budget a bit, would you all recommend a more high end studio monitor, or stepping up in size to something like the QSC K8.2s that get a lot of love here. My attraction to something like these is that they can do double duty for use on small live gigs, but I worry that in a small space for home use, I may not be able to turn them up enough to get them to their sweet spot, and a smaller 6" studio monitor be a better choice. Thanks and apologies for the basic question.
