BTW for those who are getting pissy in the comments.. Remember that it's just an opinion. Purposely made to give another perspective. I am NOT slating engineers who still mix or have mixed on NS10's. That's just stupid. I'm not shitting on history, all I'm doing is providing context to those new to the game. Trying to explain why they were or are still popular but at the same time adding a bit of food for thought as so much of the modern community is so dumbed down that they'll genuinely just buy what a youtuber tells them to without any research or context behind it. NS10MS and avantones aren't cheap (£800-£1100) and all I'm giving a different angle towards the product to make people think a bit. I'm shocked at how many people didn't watch the whole video or watch it properly and have decided to go in the cream puff about it and decide that I was stating that experienced engineers who have the journey and context behind them are wrong for mixing on NS10. The video is NOT aimed at you. However if you feel that me giving advice to those starting out affects your credibility then you need to stop being so insecure over an opinion. If you have a solid career mixing on ns10s then this video isn't for you and you shouldn't be bothered about one guys opinion on the Internet. I'm simply sharing the advice that I was personally given by industry professionals in my circle. I think it would be pretty shitty to take that advice and not share it to those looking to invest a heavy whack on them. BUT it is just opinions. No right or wrong answers. If you can't handle one person's opinion or perspective cause it differs from your own feelings then you need to grow the fuck up and learn to be an adult. It's just one guy on the Internet sharing an opinion. Doesn't badly impact anybody, put anybody in danger or intentionally mean harm to anyone. Its an opinion about a speaker.... Let that sink in Saying that, Whats your experience of NS10's? 🤓

The most important think when you buy new monitors of headphones: Keep the old one's. Don't throw them away.

A very well-researched video; I have NS10s and use them as an 80% mix-down check. The one thing I would say is literally every single American record executives office I have ever been to has a set of NS10s on the table, which they will check your track on, so if that world is important to you, give them a listen. They are great if you have got to dial in a rough mix really fast, but you need to use them with a sub. I have HEDD type 20's are my daily drivers and the mid range is very detailed. Great video, Paul!

I could make 100 videos in this series. Brilliant idea Paul. I’ve personally never seen the point in mixing solely on NS10s or any other frequency limited system. Might be good for a mix check but I can always just out a HPF and LPF on the master to focus on the mids…

Thanks, Paul, for the video. I absolutely hated my NS10m's when I first got them. However, when I started listening to my mixes on everyone's stereos and cars, I realized the translation of the mixes were super great. But, it was never about the bottom or the top, but instead the middle. To this day, all of my mixes on my NS10m's still sound great (to me, anyway). You're correct, you can't hear the bottom or the top with the NS10m's, just the middle. I can understand the teacher telling their students to mix first on NS10's. It's difficult to make mixes sound good. It's tough, and takes a lot of work. But, when the mix is finished, it translates well. And it forces you to work on the middle of the sound. I believe the entire art of mixing music is about translation. How the mix translates to what we all listen to music on... earbuds, headphones, car stereos, TVs, and home stereos. Now the added smart phone speakers. To pick a set of speakers that sound good, may be hindering you and your mix. Ask yourself, how does the mix translate? That's the art.

Agree with everything Paul said, but he said something important, he completed a premix on the macbook pro (100hz cut) and it translated well to other systems. This is exactly why NS10's are good, you dont get mislead on the sub bass and air, which sounds sweet, but really its fooling you into thinking you have a good mix. Also NS10's being non ported is really important, transient detail is crucial to getting those attacks correct. Summary NS10'S are good as a reference just like a macbook, car etc but they shouldn't be your ONLY monitor system. Myself, I prefer mixing on headphones and referencing on monitors 🤌🏾

Great video Paul! I can tell you had fun making this and am glad your finding more avenues that you enjoy to make videos about. (I remember when you got sick and tired of your great but tedious to make plugin analysis videos)

I watched this video with the sound going through my NS10s. ;) I find my mixes actually translate better when I do most of my mixing on NS10s. The low end obviously needs to be worked out on another system (I have Adam A7s w a sub and check on headphones), but the Yamahas let me hear my mid-range better than the other systems. Probably because the mid-range is pushed on them, but I check in with reference mixes so that's not really an issue (probably helpful actually). I wouldn't write them off. They are a tool and a helpful one at that!

I'm looking forward to this the rest of this series!

I got a pair and absolutely love them. I actually even got the original cardboard box they came in back in the early 80'ties. Not every speaker is for every ear and you need to learn them, and it can take a while. Once you have they're actually (for me) a tool I can't mix without... I'm sure a lot of people hate them, but the test of time has proven lots more actually have and still rely on them., than there are haters..

Don't worry about the people who missed the point of this, Paul. Your intent was very clear and it was a good reminder of how much context matters.

Very well articulated and presented as always!

Putting your hands on any speakers is a great way to get a tactile feel of how crazy your transients are in the mix; try it with some commercial mixes!

We have to understand what the ns10s were used for. NS10s were an analog for consumer bookshelf speakers which was the common listening device of the time. Now we have different consumer preferences.. get some apple earbuds. Edit: don't mix on earbuds.. but it's a better analog to consumer listening

An addition to the NS-10 history part is that the upgraded studio version also broadened the frequency range in the lows from 85hz to 60hz. So basically a completely different speaker. I had both models and liked checking mixes on them. However I would never have a setup with only the NS-10. So I’m with you there 🙌

This sounded like very well reasoned advice that accounts for how the tech has just moved on. I also got a nice affirmation for my decision to buy my Kali LP-6 v2 last year. I also just loved your Glaswegian brogue. It was like listening to Winston, my spirit animal from Still Game. AWESOME! Gone is the notion to even think of some NS-10 as even a reference. I next reference will just be better monitors like a pair of Adam's, or perhaps Neumann's.

I’m gonna mix this up. NS10’s running through a Trinnov are a game changer. Along with neutral speakers like Neumanns and other modern speakers. All being corrected to the room are amazing. Corrected NS10s sound amazing, wide and clear, no dips and bumps. The speakers don’t over react to low end but their response goes down to 40Hz. Presence is clear and comfortable. Hi end rolls off beautifully. With Trinnov and I guess other systems as well, room correction becomes available to everyone. Technology has made old and new speakers on par with each other, thus helping the overall average decisions engineers and mixers need to make in split seconds. Also, in the control room, tracking guitars playing in the control room on NS10s with no correction is so vibey! Feedback wonderful 💥 Also, NS10s used as a speaker in a chamber sound top on drums. Also, did I mention I like NS10s😂 I am not sponsored by Yamaha…. I’ll get me coat!

Great information as always - keep up the great work!

i rented a studio in london last summer so i could use their $15,000 Augspurger speakers to dial in my low end. after 5 hours of work playing references and everything sounding PERFECT.....i flipped over to the ns-10's and played my references and my mix was suddenly needing more work! the mid range punch was SO apparently lacking in my mix once i turned on the ns10's that I immediately fly back home and bought a pair of ns10's and a Quad 405 amp....BEST decision ever.....100hz to 50 hz is SO distracting. absolutely love my Focal trio's but the ns10s are just as useful.

I still use pair of NS 10's for checking balances and mids. They are very similar to Airpods, but you can use them solo. They are of course not neutral at all, but they teach philosophy of scooping harsh high mids to sound good. I think it's very useful.

WHERE IT ALL STARTED The NS-10 was first launched in 1978 … but not as a studio monitor. Instead, it was originally designed as a Hi-Fi speaker for consumers, designated the NS-10M, complete with a cloth grille. While it did not do well on the consumer level, it soon became a phenomenon in recording studios (sans grille), thanks largely to engineer/producer Greg Ladanyi (Fleetwood Mac, Don Henley, Jackson Browne), who brought a pair of NS-10s to the U.S. after a trip to Japan and became one of the first early adopters of the speakers. The NS-10M had a modest frequency range of 85 Hz to 20 kHz, and power handling of just 25 -50 watts, yet its admittedly less-than-perfect sound turned out to be a secret weapon in the studio. Almost magically, it exposed any sonic flaws in the audio, allowing for corrections to be made during the production process. You literally had to work hard on them to make your recordings sound great. Music mixed on NS-10s would translate well to the end users listening to playback systems in their living rooms, bedrooms and cars. It wasn’t long before these mysterious speakers started to become a mainstay in recording studios around the world. The NS-10M had a limited bass response, with a rolloff beginning at around 200 Hz, and a prominent boost in the upper midrange of some +5 dB at around 2 kHz, but it did have an extremely fast transient response (that is, it responded especially quickly to changes in level) thanks to its extremely lightweight drivers and unported, enclosed design. Unfortunately, this also resulted in a somewhat over-bright upper treble response. As a result, many engineers were known to tape tissue paper over the tweeters, sparking an endless (and somewhat silly) debate about the brand and ply of toilet paper required. This decidely low-tech correction would, it was felt, not only help tame the high frequencies but also create a quasi-comb filtering effect, with some frequencies reflected back into the tweeter. That's why so many great mixes were done with them as mixing engineers understood their weaknesses foibles and worked round them. Even today nothing is perfect. What is perfect? hub.yamaha.com/proaudio/recording/a-history-of-yamaha-studio-reference-monitors/#:~:text=While%20it%20did%20not%20do,first%20early%20adopters%20of%20the

Very interesting video- thanks

Really interesting to hear a thought-out opposing viewpoint! I would love to hear a discussion between you and an industry veteran, like say Jordan Valeriote, who swears by NS10s with very some well-founded reasoning. Rock on Paul, this video was a great introduction to your channel for me.

Great pacing, tone, and info. Thanks for the effort, enjoyed the video!

I think his mixes are pretty darn good! If I had the physical space, I'd have a pair, but they wouldn't be my only set of speakers. A great mix done on any other speaker will sound good on NS-10's, and a great mix done on NS-10's will sound good on any other speaker. That's been my experience.

Very good video, and good logic 👏

As someone that worked in studio and broadcast engineering in the late 70s through the present. We used NS-10s and Auratones for reference back when I started. The studio mains which back then were soffit mounted, calibrated, large, time aligned speakers, were used for mixing. We used NS-10s because EVERY studio had them so if you were checking mixes from another studio you needed them. We used Auratones because they had one driver and no crossover and were all midband mostly to emulate the response of a typical car radio system of the time. MoTown used a typical 6x9 car speaker in an Olsen cabinet to simulate the response of a typical car radio of the time. Auratones were great for checking the guitar/vocal mix balance. We rarely used headphones for any kind of mixing, however that is changing and not just due to the Slate VSX system. Headphones have gotten way better than the Koss headphones that were common in studios when I started.

Oh and the NS10S were designed for a totally specific market and meant to be used in a very specific manner. They were designed for small Japanese living rooms to be driven by an amplifier with the loudness switch engaged. That is, they're designed for low-level listening and their frequency response was tailored with that environment as their chief usage.

I think it makes perfect sense. I mix with high end rolled off always

Excellent, first time I hear about low frequency decay. I wonder how my Kali in8 fare in that area… does frequency room correction like ARC3 also influence decay or is it only phase?

You touched on what makes NS10's (and Auratones) so unique and useful for mixing. They're both closed speakers with extremely fast decay and light drivers that are incredibly detailed when driven with a nice amp. As a second reference, they give you a very clear picture of your mid-range transient response I think we get so focused on frequency response that we forget how much more important the dynamics can be. You can have a mix with perfectly balanced frequency response that's boring as hell and a thin mix that's punchy and exciting. That said, I'll pick Auratones over NS10's any day of the week because that harsh high end is just an unnecessary distraction

Absolutely agree with your thesis. NS10s (when I used them) were great to check a mix on and even mix on for a period of time because I also had an additional set of main speakers. I think the main thing with any monitoring setup is to spend enough time getting used to how a good mix sounds on your setup so you have that as a reference point.

I mixed an awful lot of club music and dance hits back in the 90's on Ns10's and loved them. I found the translation excellent once you knew how to use them. I'm firmly in the "get it sounding good on NS10's and it'll sound good everywhere" camp. I wasn't using NS10's alone though, I was using them with other reference speakers ( Dynaudio M2's for a good while. ) Haven't used them in years now though ( although I do have a pair in my front room ) I now prefer my ADAM A7x's ( with a sub ) and Auratones for mid reference and also use a £10 x-mini from ebay for the whole phone reference thing. I'm also a live engineer so I have access to club/venue/festival rigs to test sub too which is great. You can't deny the amount of hits mixed on NS10's though, they definitely had their day.

haha fighting talk! I think you’re focusing too much on frequency response, the reason ns10s are so useful is the time based response, they are really fast at the low end even which makes transient responses easier to judge. Have a look at a waterfall graph of an na10 and compare the time based response of almost any other speaker (time based is how long the speaker takes to stop raining at a given frequency after input) In this regard they measure almost better than anything almost so there’s a reason they were used aside from following the crowd . I’ve used ATC, PMC and now use genelec a bit I’ll get my ns10s repaired and keep running them, the clarity of mixes you get on them is great. It is good to have a rig with sub as well though especially for club music.

Love this! ❤️

Im one of those who touched the ns10s to know how I am on the ball park with the lows, no regrets AT ALL

personally I love them, I agree with everything you said.

7:50 nostalgia days 😂. I remember those times veryy well

Just like the Beyerdynamic DT 770/880/990's .. I'll never understand why anyone would purposedly fatique themselves to use them. Too harsh.

My primaries are a pair of Alesis Monitor One Mk][ and I love them. My secondaries are the PreSonus Eris BT4.5's I've got both run through SonarWorks Reference ID so both are as flat as possible. my headphones are DT990 pros I'm more than happy with my little home studio setup 🙂 It also helps that I listen to EVERYTHING through them as this entire setup is also my primary PC as well so I listen to everything through them, music, movies, tv shows, games etc etc.

I love mixing on CLA10as and they really make me work hard on the correct balance, eq and compression. The translation is amazing

I like mixing through the NS10 profile in ARC or SoundID to get the midrange sorted. But. I need to hear the low end at some point.

You make really good points. I'd love to hear you speak about Auratones :)

It’s easy to be cynical in 2004 about NS10s. Sure, any mid priced monitor today will give you more information than an NS10. That has never been the issue. Back in the day (and still today) most big studios had (have) large wall mounted monitors to check the bottom end, but most of the carving was (and still is) done on near field monitors. It’s precisely because NS10s were originally created for the domestic, home listening environment that their usefulness has been valued over 4 decades. We all know they roll off from 200hZ-70hZ and yes the 2k bump. But that’s exactly why they were so useful. As you pointed out in your video Paul, (short of hifi enthusiast) the majority of listening devices were pretty crappy: radios, boom boxes, shitty car speakers, cheap cassette players, shitty headphones, transistor radios etc. Evaluating NS10s in that context, they had not only a ‘taming’ effect of the harsher frequencies which were an issue with crappy listening ing devices, but a frequency range that represented the vast majority of listening devices. Historical context matters. Thousands of amazing sounding albums were mixed on them. (Roxy Music’s Avalon, Steely Dan’s Aja, Tears For Tears - Women in chains come to mind). It’s a given there are much better, way more detailed monitors today to choose from, and also more genres to accommodate that require a full frequency range. It all changed around 2000 when Dr Dre introduced heavy subs into his production with his ‘The chronic / Snoop Dogg’s Doggy Style albums. Ironically he still uses NS10s as well as well as the Auratones in mono. Go figure, right? Could very well be a case of ‘paralysis by analysis’ Mr. Third

I agree, beginners should not mix on NS10's if it's the only speaker they have. They really don't have the low-end today's music requires. That said, NS10's are an INVALUABLE tool when used as secondary monitors. I mix on a pair of Neumann KH-120A's w/ an HS8S sub, but recently added NS-10M Studio's with a Hafler P1500 to my rig (literally a few days ago). If treating my room, snagging a pair of Nuemann's, and implementing some room correction was the best decision I ever made, adding NS-10's is for sure the third-best decision I've ever made (second-best decision was adding motorized faders). They are incredibly revealing in the mid-range. To really get what you need from them, you need to volume match to your mains so when you A/B you're comparing apples to apples. I'm about to release an EP, and I just ran every track through the NS-10s and was able to make them that 3-5% better (where the real magic lives, at least for my current skill level). Cheers.

Great video!

Next you will be telling me I don't need a grot box 😀 Great video.

Yes, I agree, I mixed on NS10's in the past and I was able to get great mixes..., in the studio, however, those same mixes were "ugly as sin" in different monitoring systems!!! Now that I am mixing through my BareFoot's and cheap JBL's, translation is heaven! Good video and message, I relate, thanks!

If you’ve never heard an ns10, it sounds like a set of loud car speakers in a really good radio reception area.

I love my Kali before that presonus. I like how the focals sound

Colt capperrunes trick on cutting pass filters on a master buss eq at 200 and 4k while mixing is a good way to get the mids right without having to buy ns10s

Paul. Avid viewer here. I was just wondering, where would the Kali Audio sit on your list? I have the LP-6. I love them, but do you suggest another speaker set?

I'm still mixing on my NS10's after 20 years. Checking the balance and midrange on the ns10's and using my old genelecs as my mains, added the air pods recently as a reality check. Tried different monitors throughout the years but I'm always coming back to the same combo. So use whatever works for you, don't listen to others.

thank you , NS 10 s replaced Aurotones originally in Island Studios end of the 70 s , I was assistant engineer there at the time , Rhett Davis who had mixed Roxy Music in New York with Bob Clearmountain brought in a pair of NS 10 to Basing Street Studios London and they soon became very popular in pro studios , they are good reference speakers and they look nice

12:54 to 13:02. Golden!

I have the NS10m Studio. I also have the HS5 and HS8. There is definitely a relationship between them and the HS series regardless of what others say, if you do a mix on the 10s then switch over to the HS series you can hear the mix blossom as if it was meant to be.

In my control room I have 4 different sets of monitors. I mix on the NS10s, it’s where I shape my mids. Once I get the mix sounding good on the NS10s I switch to a different (neutral) set of monitors and tweak from there. Don’t underestimate the NS10s but make sure you have a second pair of monitors.

Great video paul!

Hi Paul I’m currently saving up for a pair of HIFIMAN HE1000se (I’ve heard lots of great things from yourself and others). Tuning my HD650’s to Harmon was an absolute game changer. Thanks for that tip! But now I’m looking to upgrade. I saw that the Hifimans are already tuned very close (but not exactly) to Harmon. Do you still feel it’s necessary to EQ something as premium as the HE1000se? Seems disrespectful to the engineers who designed a £2000 headphone 😂 are these still the headphones tour’s recommend? Thank you for all the content mate long time fan ❤

YOU'RE ABSOLUTELY CORRECT MY FRIEND

My first time in a top studio (late 80s) with a vintage Neve console and all the usual suspects in the racks I was horrified (and disappointed) that the entire mixing session was done on NS10s and the Neve's mono "talkback speaker"! Massive soffit mounted monitors never got a look in. I was extra shocked when the mixes did translate well... so the moral of the story is "familiarity = consistency"

LOL I've been ranting about this since the 1990s ;D Genelec 1030A became the new industry standard back in 1998, and I learned to like them ... Now, how's about the small, cheap Mackie speakers? The black and poison-green ones??

I remember the first PlayStation, it had a CD player 😂 I also remember using cassettes for data storage 😅 I also remember losing the data every time you needed to turn your ZX 81 off 😢 I am old 😭

All kind of speakers could be used for different purposes. I do even listen to the mix though the system speakers on my Mac, compared with reference tracks. But I would never use the system speakers, or the NS10 as my main monitoring. It works great for some to use the NS10 as their main speakers, but that’s not a solution for me. I tried, but I suppose I never get to the level to make it work for me. I did sell them for few years ago. It works fine to simulate the NS10s with my ARC setup.

I've never liked the NS-10. Back in the day the only praise that I heard about them was that everyone used them so you could always have a reference that was available at pretty much all studios. I was, however a fan of the LS3/5a's at the time for nearfield monitoring.

I work on NS10s with a sub, so I think some things, but I will only say I think a discussion about them (positive or negative) would be much more effective if you had mixed on them before.

I bought my NS10s in the late 80s (!). Worked on them till the 2000s. Haha. I still have them ... unplugged in the bookshelf of my living room. They were perfect back then, because 1) they were in every studio 2) they were cheap 3) sub-bass wasn't needed, because sub-bass wasn't possible on vinyl and 4) there were big Tannoys or JBLs anyway. But technology moves on. Some people also buy vintage cars from the 1950s. They may not get you from A to B, but they can be fun to look at. It's a similar thing with the NS-10s. 😃

Fully agree. Never understood the hype around the NS10s. Why would you want to mix with no low end, especially rock? Makes no sense at all.

I have an eq preset on my sub bus . If I'm doing low end I get a good result from making it sound the best it can in that and it also reveals a lot so I'm sticking with it but no I would never buy a pair . Better buy another set of headphones

I just have them for checking harshness and muddyness

Didn't enjoy my encounter with NS-10s. I can see how they would help as an alternative viewpoint to full-range speakers but I'm more a cube speaker kind of guy. Regardless, the music is in the mids and sparkling highs and rumbling lows are the icing, not the cake. Whatever helps you get the mids right is the right speaker for you.

I find Auratones useful but use them in conjunction with Neumann KH 310s. Can't imagine only working on Auratones or NS10s. On the Barefoot topic, I feel like they're an acquired taste. I was so excited to try a few pairs a while back, but they weren't for me at all.

Since I've heard how N-monitors sound in a treated room, there are no other monitors I'd want to have. Glad they're being produced in Russia, so no illegal sanctions would stop me from buying them

APS Coax 2 with bass extenders works for me

KRK E8 was amazing ..which Mike Shipley was involved back then.. E8 was the only true gem by KRK .. I still have em but not working anymore.. miss them

Had the KRK 9000 B amazing monitor ... Still used by peter Gabriel .. You would not believe how good the 9000 B was :) I and the cones in them were made by Focal :) I have Air pod pros and Air pod max and think the Max sound shit but the pro's are OK.... Great content loved what you said

Yeah, they rule I use em every day on major label mixes No sub (I also was trained by Chris (cla) so make of that what you will) I also have Amphion two 18s w/-sub But I probably only spend the final 15% of a mix on them.

I had a pair of NS10Ms. I tried to tune my ears to them, but they just sounded nasty to me. I knew my mixes were sounding ok when everything just sounded really harsh and painful in the midrange. I sold mine around the millennium and still don't miss them.

I quit my Yamaha HS-5's and sub for a pair of CLA NS 10's. TBH - I hated them..when i I first got them. Worst sounding speakers I have ever heard. That being said, I pursued using them on the advice of my mentor. He warned me I would hate them. However he did say if you can get a mix sounding good on these, said mix will sound good anywhere. He was right. My mixes sound way better now and translate everywhere. Took me a year to get into the zone. I do use Sonarworks too, and check the low end on Sennheiser HD headphones. I do rate these speakers - not for the sound - it is crap - but translation, a hell yeah

Time domain performance of NS10’s alone are worth the price of admission.

I used to judge the low end on NS10's by how much the surround on the bass driver was crinkling up. Also, do not buy a pair. You are not missing out on anything. They are objectively offensive to listen to.

I am with you Gordito, to mix on NS-10 specially for a new guy is so counter productive, is a very limited speaker in frequency response that do not work for modern Music,,, and even worse as your main or only speaker...

And here's my take on the subject: some monitors work for some people, not for others. I know some engineers who make great work on ns10's. Others who swear by them to check their work or specific elements on...I bought a pair and barely if ever use them. So in the end it's just whatever works for the engineer in question.

Maybe in the future we will have mixes that are catered to perform best for your listening system and not the one mix & master that fits all .... The one thing i notice about music that was mixes back in the days of the NS10s was that the music wasn't fatiguing overly bassy or trebly leaving space for the music to breath and sound natural.. Don't get me wrong we all love a song with great bass , But is it natural to get music to go all the way down to 30hz .. Just saying

How to tell whether it is a refurbished product by its appearance?

Paul McCartney 1st, Paul Young 2nd and Paul Third. Big respect.

I use barefoots and auratones. Never learned NS-10s. I imagine they would be useful but I don’t need a third set of monitors

I think it’s all about learning the speakers and understanding what they are good for and not good for. NS10s (from my experience using the realphones system lmao) are only good to hyper focus on the mid range and find frequencies that should be cut in the mids. That’s about it tho, doing fader balance or compression or other things doesn’t work well cause you don’t get the proper feedback. I feel a different way about the BIG speakers for hearing subs and setting bass. I think it’s great for almost everything when mixing except properly checking the kids for “pokies” and transient designing to shaping is absolutely horrendous on it. You think you hear something happening to your transients and you do some work but when you listen outside it’s completely off and sounds bad. These things are just a tool not a holy grail.

Perfect example of a device that more people blindly believe is good, over people who actually know why it’s good.

I sold my 1982s NS10s in the early 2000s and bought genelec 1032s.

Forgive me cause i just started mixing (just for myself as a hobbie) but in my opinion it seems like because they are bad speakers it makes them good monitors for mixing cause certain frequencies are boosted so when make your mix on them those frequencies get reduced and your mix sounds better

NS10s were really only used as a reference monitor to see what your mix might sound like on a slightly rubbish, domestic speaker. They were such a joke, it was commonplace to see bits of toilet paper Sellotaped onto the harsh tweeters to help calm them down a bit. I honestly think they only 'caught on' due to their distinctive appearance and availability.

Do you think the auratone5c worth the investment?

Actually I heard an opinion that it's wrong to mimick NS10 with EQ, or at least it gives different results than real NS10, but I had a hard time finding the source and some more arguments.

Speaking of low end. Can someone please tell me how to TAME this damn 808 or synth BASS? Mine always sounds like It's washing over the vocal no matter what I do.

I've been getting in trouble for saying this since 1998

It's no coincidence that mixes became incredibly 2D when everyone followed the trend and started mixing on them. One reason many UK studios moved onto them was... They bought huge great monitors and then tried to drive them with dreadful PA amps completely oblivious to wattage has little to do with an amplifier's ability to drive and control a speaker. I've heard several sets of fabulous speakers sounding totally gash cos studio managers don't understand that a 50 watt amp that can drive a 2 ohm load is a far superior amplifier than a 500 watt amp that struggles to push 700 Watts into a 4 ohm load and , in effect, dies trying to drive anything lower. Ergo, they'd "prefer" the NS10s for long sessions. Yes, that's how bad some expensive facilities main monitors sounded cos of not understanding amplifiers.

Once I got so genelec’s my mixes go everywhere fine.

My experience with NS-10s is hearing them in a studio in Manchester. I switched from the ATC 200s to the 10s and I was like "What the heck are these?" NOBODY should EVER use them for ANYTHING. Really awful. You can't mix what you can't hear, and you can't hear most of it. They also can't be used as decent references. They show nothing useful, unlike my JBL Flip 6, a consumer device many people listen on. NS-10s should've died a long time ago, in my unpopular opinion. The only people who should keep them are those who grew up with them and learned how they sound. If someone doesn't have them already, they shouldn't buy them. They'll make you a worse engineer.

Within reason one can mix on almost anything… NS10 were used predominantly by mix engineers back in the 80's and they worked through the next couple of decades using the same speakers bringing the ubiquitous use of Yammies into the 2000's BUT, they simply had years of experience using them. Many worked in the same studios they knew the room and the NS10 speakers and therein lays the unfortunate truth…. There is no substitute for experience and years of practice.