Short answer: the Yamaha NS-800A for better sound quality, the Dynaudio Emit 20 for the lower price. The Yamaha NS-800A ranks #47 of 105 bookshelf speakers at $4800. The Dynaudio Emit 20 ranks #59 at $1049, $3751 cheaper.
What the Yamaha NS-800A offers: Exceptionally well-built cabinet with no internal resonance issues at all - confirmed clean in both burst decay and impedance measurements. The catch: 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.
What the Dynaudio Emit 20 gets right: 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. Set against that: 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.
Buy the Yamaha NS-800A if sound quality matters more than the price. Buy the Dynaudio Emit 20 if the price matters more than sound quality.
Specifications Side By Side
| Yamaha NS-800A | Dynaudio Emit 20 | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $4800 | $1,049.00 |
| Ranked | #47 of 105 in Large Size Bookshelf Speakers | #59 of 105 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 (28.7 lbs) 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 | - |
| Output Power | 40W nominal, 120W max | - |
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- Yamaha NS-800A vs Definitive Technology Demand D11
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The Two Speakers In Full
Yamaha NS-800A: $4800 The Music Room
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.
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 $4,800 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 |
| 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) |
| Output Power | 40W nominal, 120W max |
| Sensitivity | 84.9dB (measured average 300Hz-3kHz @ 2.83V/1m, Erin's Audio Corner; 86.5dB manufacturer specified) |
| Weight | 28.7 lbs / 13.0 kg (28.7 lbs) each |
| Woofer Cabinet | Bass reflex |
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- Links
- Reviews, Comparisons and Sound Samples
- Head-to-Head Comparisons
- Yamaha NS-800A vs Definitive Technology Demand D11
- Yamaha NS-800A vs ELAC DBR62
- Yamaha NS-800A vs ELAC Uni-Fi Reference UBR62
- Yamaha NS-800A vs Technics SB-C700
- Yamaha NS-800A vs JTR Noesis 210HT
- Yamaha NS-800A vs Dynaudio Contour 20i
- Yamaha NS-800A vs SVS Ultra Bookshelf
- Yamaha NS-800A vs Revel Concerta2 M16
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Dynaudio Emit 20: $1,049.00 Amazon
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.
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) |
| 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) |
| Weight | 12.8 lbs / 5.8 kg |
| Woofer Cabinet | ported, rear |
As an eBay Partner, we may be compensated if you make a purchase.
- Links
- Reviews, Comparisons and Sound Samples
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