Experience of NS-10s anyone?

[test_recordings]

Found some for a decent price near me so I'm off to listen on Wednesday. Anyone here have EXPERIENCE Using them? I know their rep, I just want to see if anyone's made full on releasable tracks etc using them. I know Sharmaji has so I pm'd him, anyone else though?

[lightshapers]

ns10s are not really "nice" sounding speakers, the reason they were so popular is because they dont flatter mixes, and every studio had a pair which meant people could go from one studio to another and have a consistent reference system.

i love them tbh, wish id never sold mine, is well worth getting a sub to go with them

[AxeD]

This is basically all objective info you can use:



For the rest it's up to preference. The reason they were so popular was because the major studios started using them.
The listening environment is really important here, because there's not exactly a nice extended bass response and there's
some nasty resonant peaks in the mids.
Guy I know is actually convinced you shouldn't use these monitors outside of a proper studio control room.

[test_recordings]

This is basically all objective info you can use:



For the rest it's up to preference. The reason they were so popular was because the major studios started using them.
The listening environment is really important here, because there's not exactly a nice extended bass response and there's
some nasty resonant peaks in the mids.
Guy I know is actually convinced you shouldn't use these monitors outside of a proper studio control room.

Okay thank you for the graph, I've actually already read several engineering articles on their technical aspects.

Do you have any personal experience of them though? I'm looking for honest monitors and something to learn with, hence the NS10.

The ones in the shop I'm going to are NS-10Ms

[Tom_Autobot]

NS10's are essentially crap, no sub response and are (as the waterfall chart shows) anything but flat.
Engineers loved them because it was the same pair of crap speakers whatever studio you went to.

Horrible speakers to work on when you compare them to modern monitors. Passive too, so you'll need a power amp.
Yes i have owed a pair (in the 90's) and still have a set of the massive NS40's that i took out of the studio because no-one liked them against the Adam A8X's and Neumann KH120's that are there now.

Save your cash for a set of Adam f7's or even the (modern day equivilent) Yamaha HS80, both a million miles more productive and have some sub response.

[wolf89]

I assumed the reason people like to use them still these days is because they are closer to sounding like a home speaker than other monitors so are used for comparisons from another set of monitors?