Short answer: the Yamaha NS-800A, because the Dynaudio Emit 20’s woofer resonance is harder to live with. The Emit 20’s 600-800Hz resonance gives snares and percussion a muffled, flat quality, and the reviewer confirmed it comes from the woofer itself; damping did not resolve it. The NS-800A has a far better cabinet but a wide 2kHz-10kHz scoop, and it costs $4,999.90 against $1,049.
Buy the Yamaha NS-800A when sound quality outweighs the price for you, and the Dynaudio Emit 20 when the price outweighs sound quality instead.
Want more options? Browse the full Passive Home rankings.
Specifications Side By Side
| Yamaha NS-800A | Dynaudio Emit 20 | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $4,999.90 per pair | $1,049.00 per pair |
| Ranked | #58 of 134 in Large Size Bookshelf Speakers | #77 of 134 in Large Size Bookshelf Speakers |
| Bass Extension (-10dB) | 35Hz (measured, Erin’s Audio Corner) | 33Hz (measured, Erin’s Audio Corner) |
| Bass Extension (-3dB) | 68Hz (measured, Erin’s Audio Corner) | 54Hz (measured, Erin’s Audio Corner) |
| Impedance | 6 ohms nominal, 4.3 ohms minimum (measured above 80Hz, Erin’s Audio Corner) | 6 ohms nominal (5.5 ohms minimum above 80Hz, measured, Erin’s Audio Corner) |
| Sensitivity | 84.9dB (measured average 300Hz-3kHz @ 2.83V/1m, Erin’s Audio Corner; 86.5dB manufacturer specified) | 83.5dB (measured, Erin’s Audio Corner; 86dB manufacturer specified) |
| Drivers | 1.25” dome tweeter, 6.5” mid-woofer | 7.1” Magnesium Silicate Polymer woofer, 1.1” Cerotar soft dome with Hexis tweeter |
| Weight | 28.7 lbs (13.0 kg) each | 12.8 lbs (5.8 kg) |
| Dimensions | 16.5”H x 9.1”W x 14.1”D (419.1 x 231.8 x 358.8 mm) | 14.6”H x 8.1”W x 12.3”D (370.0 x 205.0 x 312.0 mm) |
| Woofer Cabinet | Bass reflex | ported, rear |
| Crossover Frequency | 2600Hz | - |
| Power Handling | 40W nominal, 120W max | - |
| Spinorama Preference Score | 4.66 | 4.22 |
| Spinorama Preference Score with Perfect Sub | 6.43 | 5.92 |
| DIY Kit | No | No |
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Prices on this page were last checked October 3, 2026 at 10:26 PM UTC. Product prices and availability are accurate as of that date/time and are subject to change; the price and availability shown on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.
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The Two Speakers In Full
Yamaha NS-800A: $4,999.90 per pair The Music Room eBay
Pros: Exceptionally well-built cabinet with no internal resonance issues at all: confirmed clean in both burst decay and impedance measurements. Good, wide directivity (~75 degrees horizontal) that stays consistent enough to EQ successfully. Distortion is low, staying under 3% at 96dB, and dynamic range holds up well until right near its 102dB limit. A shallower, higher-frequency bass rolloff profile (F3 68Hz, F10 35Hz) means it can be placed closer to the wall (about a foot) without turning boomy, actually gaining bass presence rather than losing it. Measured bass extension of 68Hz (-3dB), with a measured sensitivity of 84.9dB.
Cons: A wide, roughly 2kHz-10kHz scoop in the upper-midrange/lower-treble gives it a laidback, soft, low-attack character: notably worse than the reviewer’s Audio First Fidelia reference in an A/B comparison. On top of that, treble breaks up badly above 10kHz, swinging up as much as 8dB: a significant, named flaw. Sounds inconsistently voiced as a result (bright on some material like cymbals and shakers, dull/laidback on vocals and instrument attack) until corrected with real parametric EQ (the reviewer needed a +2dB boost around 4.5kHz at Q0.5 plus taming the treble spike to bring it to life) combined with near-wall placement and 30-degree toe-out. Without that combination, it’s a tough sale for a $5000 bookshelf speaker.
Full Yamaha NS-800A review and specifications →
| Bass Extension (-10dB) | 35Hz (measured, Erin’s Audio Corner) |
|---|---|
| Bass Extension (-3dB) | 68Hz (measured, Erin’s Audio Corner) |
| Crossover Frequency | 2600Hz |
| DIY Kit | No |
| Dimensions | 16.5”H x 9.1”W x 14.1”D (419.1 x 231.8 x 358.8 mm) |
| Drivers | 1.25” dome tweeter, 6.5” mid-woofer |
| Impedance | 6 ohms nominal, 4.3 ohms minimum (measured above 80Hz, Erin’s Audio Corner) |
| Power Handling | 40W nominal, 120W max |
| Sensitivity | 84.9dB (measured average 300Hz-3kHz @ 2.83V/1m, Erin’s Audio Corner; 86.5dB manufacturer specified) |
| Spinorama Preference Score | 4.66 |
| Spinorama Preference Score with Perfect Sub | 6.43 |
| Weight | 28.7 lbs (13.0 kg) each |
| Woofer Cabinet | Bass reflex |
- Links
- Reviews, Comparisons and Sound Samples
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Dynaudio Emit 20: $1,049.00 per pair Amazon eBay
Pros: Two-way design with a 28mm Esotar soft dome tweeter (Hexis-damped) and an 18cm mid-woofer, using a first-order crossover on the tweeter and second-order on the woofer. Exceptional bass extension for a bookshelf speaker: reaches a clean, authoritative 40Hz in-room, rare enough that the reviewer says most listeners could skip a subwoofer for typical music. Very low distortion across the board, staying below 1% THD down to 40Hz at 86dB and below 3% even at 96dB: unusually clean bass performance where most two-way bookshelf speakers start rising in distortion around 80Hz. Wide, remarkably consistent horizontal directivity (about ±50-60°) that holds steady up to roughly 13kHz: rare for a speaker in this format, thanks to a beveled tweeter edge that acts as a mild waveguide. Excellent compression and dynamic-range linearity at the frequency extremes, actually showing slight bass enhancement rather than the sharp low-end compression common in similarly-sized bookshelf speakers. Measured bass extension of 54Hz (-3dB), with a measured sensitivity of 83.5dB.
Cons: A resonance around 600-800Hz gives snares and similar percussion a muffled, flat quality lacking impact: confirmed as originating in the woofer itself (isolated via measurements of the raw driver out of the cabinet), and attempts at constrained-layer damping didn’t resolve it. A peak around 4kHz adds a sharp, edgy quality to some male vocals. A roughly 5dB boost above 10kHz gives cymbals and hi-hats excess shimmer that can sound unnatural, especially pointed directly on-axis. Vertical dispersion shows two separate crossover-related notches (above and below the tweeter reference line around 5kHz) rather than the usual single one, a direct consequence of the shallow crossover slopes used on both drivers. Multitone distortion is elevated in the midrange, possibly due to the woofer’s magnet structure lacking a shorting ring. Best aimed slightly off-axis (about 10-15° of toe-out) to tame the excess high-frequency shimmer, rather than pointed straight at the listener.
Full Dynaudio Emit 20 review and specifications →
| Bass Extension (-10dB) | 33Hz (measured, Erin’s Audio Corner) |
|---|---|
| Bass Extension (-3dB) | 54Hz (measured, Erin’s Audio Corner) |
| DIY Kit | No |
| Dimensions | 14.6”H x 8.1”W x 12.3”D (370.0 x 205.0 x 312.0 mm) |
| Drivers | 7.1” Magnesium Silicate Polymer woofer, 1.1” Cerotar soft dome with Hexis tweeter |
| Impedance | 6 ohms nominal (5.5 ohms minimum above 80Hz, measured, Erin’s Audio Corner) |
| Sensitivity | 83.5dB (measured, Erin’s Audio Corner; 86dB manufacturer specified) |
| Spinorama Preference Score | 4.22 |
| Spinorama Preference Score with Perfect Sub | 5.92 |
| Weight | 12.8 lbs (5.8 kg) |
| Woofer Cabinet | ported, rear |
- Links
- Reviews, Comparisons and Sound Samples
- Head-to-Head Comparisons
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