[Higgs F. Boson]

I'm getting ready to spring for some monitors (I'm currently mixing in headphones and getting poor results) and I'm looking in that same sub-$500 range. The salesman at GC said the Yamaha HS50M's were "flatter" and better for mixing than the MR5's or comparable price-point KRK's.

I read up on the HS50M's and this seems to be the consensus - apparently they are modeled after Yamaha's passive NS-10's which are somewhat legendary for pro mixing? From what I've read, they accentuate mid and highs which can be ear-fatiguing, thus encouraging you to get the mix right for even the least flattering systems.

From what I could tell from listening in the store, this seems to be the case. The Mackies, M-Audio's and KRK's seemed to have a much more v-shaped EQ curve and lots more bass. The Yamahas had lots of mids and top end and seemed to be a lot more transparent and less flattering.