Monitors

    Genelec_M040_v2.jpg
    Monitors

    Genelec M040 Active Monitors: Entry-Level Speaker for Music Creators

    Genelec speakers, manufactured since 1978, are as common today in professional recording environments as the venerable Yamaha NS-10s were in the 1980s. Various models have become staples for recording, editing and mixing, but for some budgets these transducers are just out of reach. By introducing the M-Series (M030 and M040), Finland-based Genelec brings a more-affordable design to project studio owners.

    F7_hi_copyv2.jpg
    Monitors

    ADAM F7 Monitors: Great-Sounding, Small Footprint, Two-Way Speakers

    This German company started out in 1999 with strictly high-end offerings, which were endorsed by many high-profile audio engineers. That “high dollar, rarified air” club has been brought down into the realms of affordability, with several offerings in the home studio and project arena, all of which keep the philosophy of the air motion transformer tweeter design intact. This high-frequency transducer has characteristics all its own, which some engineers prefer. The ADAM F7 is the latest offering that breaks price barriers and delivers performance to the tabletop production environment that has been, in recent years, unobtainable in a speaker with this tiny of a footprint. Built for near-field environments, the F7 delivers reliable, linear response for home, project studios and editorial stations, at an affordable price point.

    yamaha_FT_YamahaHS8_Fig_v2.jpg
    Monitors

    Yamaha HS8 Active Studio Monitor: Crystal-Clear, Wide-Range Response at an Affordable Price

    Seven years ago, I reviewed Yamaha’s HS Series monitors (the HS50M monitor and HS10W subwoofer in Mix’s April 2006 issue) and was mightily impressed. The overriding hallmark was an eminently crystal-clear sound when placed on console-top shelves—positioning that defenestrates most other monitors’ clarity of reproduction. Nevertheless, Yamaha saw room for improvement. The HS Series has been updated, with better performance promised for the three full-range monitors and subwoofer comprising the product line. For this review, I took a stereo pair of the largest two-way model, the HS8, for a spin.