Today I'm embarrassingly over-excited to introduce my new studio speakers, or Near-Field Monitors, if I'm going to report this properly.
After an all too typical flurry of obsessive research, I decided upon a pair of Yamaha HS5s. I chose these not because I wanted the best sound, but because I wanted the most accurate one. All too often I was finding that what sounded good in the studio sounded very different in the car, on the kitchen radio, on my mp3 player, etc...and not necessarily for the better. What I needed was something that gave me the warts-and-all sound without any over-generous embellishment. Yamaha's near field speakers, with their iconic white speaker cones and, yes, brutally honest sound, have been ever-present in studios since the late Seventies - their philosophy being that if you can make your mix sound right on these speakers, it'll sound right on anything.
So far, I'm happy to report that this has my experience exactly. I'd recommend these to anyone, especially if working in a small studio.
And yes, they look cool too.
If you have any questions about my experiences with the speakers, I'd be delighted to answer you. Just drop me a line via the Contact Page.