Adam A7 = The Business...
From the original Analog Industries archive. Some links and images from that era no longer resolve.
Got my Adams from Analogue Haven today. Run (don’t walk) to the nearest computer and order yourself a set. These little guys are The Shit, in no uncertain terms. Well worth the money. There is no question in my mind any more that these are the best deal going for sub (barely) $1K powered monitors. Bass? Tons, round and full as fuck. Sub users: meet the real world. High end? Nice. Not crispy like I expected; quite smooth. There’s a little three band tone control thingy on the back where you can add some sizzle if you need to.
They aren’t really rough to listen to; I can’t see ear fatigue being a real problem with these guys. You can really hear your ’verbs and compressors working, which is quite important in a mix. In short, I’m in LOVE with them, and I’ve only had them for four hours. I’m going to be doing some mixing next week, so we’ll see how they hold up, but I imagine “admirably” is the word I’ll be looking for. Seriously. Buy some. I’m not kidding.
12 comments
Come on Chris,
I've seen that "Run, don't walk" comment ad nauseum in cheesy guitar & kybd magazines (read guitar player and electronic musician) gear review'omercials dating back to the '80's. So much so in fact that whenever I hear it it starts alarm bells ringing; similar to when your audiophile friend tells you that the new silver wire he soldered between the pcb and RCA input jack on his $5000 amp created so much difference that the new sonic detail and three-dimensional soundstage "blows away" the unmodified unit.
Having said that, I'm sure your're right ;-)
Chris, just curious if you have heard the Dynaudio BM5a, and if you could make any comparisons. The only Adams I have experience with are the large $10,000 setup they have for demoing at Analouge Haven. I wasnt terribly impressed, but I would guess it was more the room they were in then the monitors. If you hadn't already guessed, I own a pair of BM5a and am extremely pleased with them. I am going to open a studio in Portland at the beginning of next year and have been researching monitors. Any help?
I have a lot of experience with those Dynaudios. I personally don't care for them. If I did, I would have bought them instead. As soon as I get the silver wire installed between the input and the PCB, I'll be able to make comments on the soundstage, but at this present moment, I'd say that the A7s have much more "present" bottom, and a slightly less crispy high end.
They're front-ported, and slightly larger than the BM5a, so that would explain the bottom. The smoother high is no doubt a result of the ribbon tweeter. So, it's really a matter of what you're used to and prefer. They're certainly on a par with the Dynaudios. Are they worth $120 more the pair? I think so. If I liked the Dynaudios, I would have bought them already and saved some cash, so you can safely assume that I'm (a) a label whore (which you already knew) and (b) biased.
-CR
I think the BM5a compact sound so much better than the bigger BM5a.. The BM5a sounded very unnatural to me, like squeezing the bass out of nowhere, no lower mids and then some good mids and treble. The BM5ac were pretty much close to BM6a in a direct a/b comparison.
Chris,
was interested to see a picture (albeit small) of your studio - how about doing a bigger one of the entire setup? Looks like you've got some pretty nice views out the window as well!
Pete
I've had my ADAM P11a monitors about three years now. Originally bought as an interim step-up from my tannoys, I soon stopped looking for a better monitor after using them for a couple of months. It would have been nice if they had a cheaper entry back then but I like the ones I got ;)
When I finally shucked my cheap Tannoys for the ADAMs,
I was amazed at how flat they were, they didn't really take any time at all to learn. These are so non-fatiguing its uncanny. Fuck, it sounds like I'm trying to sell a pair...they really are *that* good :)
Congrats on the new monitors CR!
Just wondering if you had a listen to the passive ANF10 model.
As far as I am aware,They are made out of the same matirials only the ANF is slighly large (7` woofer).
You can power them with alot more juice compering to the A7's 50W each.
Whats your thought on that?
I have a pair of the ANF-10's and they are a fantastic pair of passive monitors. I am also coming from Tannoy's (6.5s) but also used extensively the Dynaudio BM5's for a few weeks doing mixes. The issue with them (and any passive) is matching the power amp. Hafler is gone... so finding a decent priced (~$500) amp is basically impossible making one to have to step up - and its steep - the bryston price point is over 1K.
So... get the active.
Yeah. My feeling is that I _could_ whack more juice to the passives, but (a) I'd have to buy a Bryston amp which I don't want to do, and (b) I don't monitor very loud at all, so the 50W a side is fine with me. I cranked these up to what I felt was an incredibly loud level (much higher than I would ever record/mix at) and they weren't breaking up or working hard, it seemed. If you're really pegging nearfields like that, you've got issues that need to be worked out aside, anyways, IMO. That's what the louds are for.
As far as studio pictures and the view, maybe some day. The whole front of my studio is French doors, and I live in the mountains, so, well, pretty much any way you look is "view." You tend not to notice it too much when you live here.
-CR
hmmmm, have you tried Yamaha NS-80M ? For sure it's a bit more expensive (500 Euros/piece [350£]) but really flat ones a 9" woofers which is not the case of the Adam's (6".5 only)
I normally avoid Yamaha products militantly. The original NS-10m has its place, and you'd have a hard time finding something else that did the REV5's oddly useful "Active Bass" patch.
Also, a 9" woofer for nearfields? You're getting in to midfield territory with that. I don't need anything that loud.
-CR
I have had my A7s for two weeks and IMHO I think they are the only monitors to get at the price point. No, I am a music major and not a sales rep! Obviously anyone looking to buy these will be a project studio owner and thereby unable to afford the real industry standards like the Westlakes or even the (more recent)ANF10. For me this purchase was the single biggest I have made on my studio in over a year. I started looking at the Tannoy Reveals(blech) and was about to settle for the cheap Genelecs when I took a gamble on some friends advice and online reviews. To me their strength is the ribbon tweeters. From a technical aspect only the absolute pinnacle of dynamic drivers can even touch a ribbon tweeter in distortion and impedence characteristics. And, they aren't necassarily that expensive to produce because of their relative simplicity. With dedicated amps for each driver, their is no way,IMO ,that the marginallly lower distortion of even two Brystons could make up for the weaknesses of mid-price dynamic tweeters. I would recommend to anyone who is shopping for project studio monitors to buy a nice pair of Beyerdynamic DT 880s and mix by headphone until you can afford the Adams and ALOT of Auralex! Cheap monitors can really destroy a mix, and even the garage producers out there want their music to sound the way they imagine it.
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