There are some YouTubes by Sonicstate...or somebody like that, that make some good comparisons that I feel you can kinda actually "hear" the differences, when they compare them to the JBL and I think some KRK.  The JBL and Yammies seemed the same, with the HS8 maybe being my favorite...and I'm a JBL fan for sure.  I"ve read about as much as I could on the Yamahas, and they seem to come out on top, from what I've read... at least in the price catagory and 8" two way speaker venue.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=riXAOTRdTNA
 
take this link with a grain of salt, but it's interesting.  They also compare the HS8 to the older HS80

lawajava
ChuckC - thanks for the posts on this.i'm presently collecting my pennies week by week to finally get some good monitors.

I'm seriously leaning toward KRK VXTs, but reading your post continues to keep my mind open about worthy other monitors I should research.

Good man, I hope it helps you out.  That is after all what these forums are great for.   The VXT's I know are supposed to be better than the rockit line and I have heard some decent reviews about them.... I disliked my rockit rp5's a lot, they are not computer speakers in my den,  Grab some songs you are real familiar with, put them on a CD and go hit a guitar center or some other store where you can listen to them side by side.  You want flat, not flattering.   All frequencies should be well represented without being hyped.