It is astonishing how this series of Yamaha monitors is considered "flat," "without coloration," and has "absolute clarity," and so on. In reality, as shown in the attached photos, the HS7 has its issues, specifically: relatively anemic bass, significant dB boost in the midrange (around 800 Hz) and highs (~12 kHz), and resonances from the bass-reflex. In the far-field, there is a dip at 2 kHz due to poor management of reflections from the ceiling and floor. Even the harmonic distortion values are not the best, as we can see that even at 86 dB, there is distortion of about 1.5% in the most sensitive range for human hearing, the 1-2 kHz region. At 96 dB, it deviates significantly, especially below 100 cycles, but this is to be expected for speakers of this category and price.
Does this mean that the speaker is garbage? Absolutely not! However, it is not the epitome of balanced sound or transparency, etc. Nevertheless, at €400 per pair, its performance is not bad, and it should always be judged in comparison to the competition. And in any case, one can do their work with almost any speaker, as long as they know its flaws and weaknesses. Here, however, we see uncritical deification that is unfortunately not supported by objective data.
On the positive side, the construction quality is certainly commendable, there is no hissing from the tweeter, and personally, I find the appearance quite attractive, whether in black or white. Even its performance can be significantly improved with a little EQ to address the aforementioned deviations and perhaps the addition of a subwoofer, as well as experimentation with placement relative to the rear wall. However, there are speakers in the same price range that have better measurements and sound much better. Specifically, I would consider something from JBL, Kali Audio, Adam, or even the new series from KRK.
I borrowed the photos and measurement data from here:
https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/yamaha-hs7-review-studio-monitor.19761/