Adam A7 project studio monitors

[2tall]

Hey folks, i just bought myself a pair of these babys after hearing Blakey's ones last year and finally having the dough spare to get some of my own (yes there is money in the scratch game, thanks motorola!)

 

anyway, I wanted to share this on DV because people seem to be taking their music more seriously in general and i think people here would benefit from speakers like this.. this is why.

 

 

Firstly if you havent heard of adam, they are top end stuff, no nonsense speakers that are known for being ruthlessly clear, for some people too honest and "harsh" sounding for mixes. if thats the case go for a more squidgy sounding KRK or Genelecs or something.

 

Personally i am really feeling the honest and clean sound field these things make. you can turn them up quite loud and really get a feel for the stereo field (have a listen to ediT's "certified air raid material" on these and get it in full 3d picturescope!) More than that, you can do sound mixes at a low level and still hear the detail, meaning you can work long sessions and not feel tired from having to struggle to "listen in" to your sound mix.

 

I have some hearing damage and also tinnitus, so for me the cleanliness of the sound is paramount, so i'd say for the half deaf dj's out there, this is also a plus!

 

p.s. WEAR EARPLUGS, it is NOT fun being able to hear a ringing tone louder than the band you are stood right next to!

 

i digress..

 

so here's a picture..

 

 

sexy?

 

well... almost, but they aint to be sniffed at, you can probably shock people with the sound they make if they dare to judge such magnificence! hehe

 

to be honest you will not get a cheaper speaker of this qualiy, other brands at the same price seem to focus too much on style and branding. which is why these are perhaps lesser known in the home studio market.

 

if you have the cash, do it and you will not regret it!

 

info here.

 

http://www.dv247.com/invt/35780/

 

RRP £540.00 (inc vat)

 

(hint - there are a few places that sell them in singes for people who do surround mixes, i bought mine seperately over 2 months to save the old cashflow)

 

Jim

[x2k]

Congrats on getting you hands on them Jim and thanks for sharing your thoughts on them. Adams are beautiful monitors! I'd love to get a pair myself but I can't seem to get a reasonable sound from anything in the room where my gear is set up and until I can afford to put my shit in a better treated room I think it would be money in the bin

[2tall]

hmm

 

i had the same problem.

 

best thing is get some heavy curtains up on the windows if you can, get 100mm rockwool boards from travis perkins and zip em up in mattress protectors or cover em in fabric and line your wall with em. (long thin nails to hold em up and hang a nice duvet cover cut open flat along it might do the trick..

 

also if your speakers arent on stands expect pure drama, its essential to get em on stands and fill the stands with sand, that will take care of a lot of structure borne sounds.

 

what i did was recorded a sine sweep in my room, i had huge standing waves at around 400 hz, and the multiples, also another slightly less resonant one at about 480hz or so, i have since reduced this by moving my speakers away from the wall quite a bit and although i don't have stands myself yet, i have them on concrete and foam which has knocked out a lot of that. i had a rearrange in the room aswell, i.e. spread things out and its soaked up a lot of the sounds.

 

hope that helps.

[djdiggla]

I assume these are powered... I have a really nice amp. Do they make non-powered models too?

[djFatNipples]

i jus tested these out at the guitar center last month.

used mix master mikes bangzilla cd....[lotta 808 on thurr]

they had that mini little subwoofer hooked up to...

shit was crisp as fvck....[btw i know one shouldn't mix thru a sub]

 

adam has alot of sexy looking monitors and even home stereo systems that look like they would be an honest representation of the audio.

 

2tall...can they fill up a room volume wise, for when the rest of the deets come over to sesh?

or are they more near field monitors ya jus keep in front of yr face solely for production.

looking for monitors that can really do both low level mixing and be loud enough to pump some bass for the basement apartment scratch jams.

[2tall]

I assume these are powered... I have a really nice amp. Do they make non-powered models too?

 

yes theyre powered. and i'm not sure if they do non powered TBH

 

have a look at..

 

 

http://www.adam-audio.com/

 

to be honest i would always go for powered, because the amp is designed to match the speakers.

[2tall]

i jus tested these out at the guitar center last month.

used mix master mikes bangzilla cd....[lotta 808 on thurr]

they had that mini little subwoofer hooked up to...

shit was crisp as fvck....[btw i know one shouldn't mix thru a sub]

 

adam has alot of sexy looking monitors and even home stereo systems that look like they would be an honest representation of the audio.

 

2tall...can they fill up a room volume wise, for when the rest of the deets come over to sesh?

or are they more near field monitors ya jus keep in front of yr face solely for production.

looking for monitors that can really do both low level mixing and be loud enough to pump some bass for the basement apartment scratch jams.

 

personally i wouldnt want to use these for anything but mixing and basic mastering, the potential fuckeries that go on in scratch sessions i.e. pops, rumble and the sheer weight of signal from daisy chained mixers would really put me off.

 

if you need loud get some 2nd hand mackie monitors or something like that, you'll get loud, bass (which these lack, hence i have a sub)

 

also whoever told you not to mix with a sub? its half the fun of it, you just need to make sure your sub is at a flat level compared with the speakers, you can work that out either by using a sub unit with a line level output to your monitors.. or like me i got a sub box from a junkyard for a fiver and i just ran it out of the tape out of my little behringer desk and A/B'ed it with other tracks for a while until i got used to the balanced, i keep it pretty low just for the rumbles. fear not the sub bass!

[djFatNipples]

yeah i figured that with thee adams....thurr really a production only style monitor.

i guess ive jus been trying to get a PA and Studio monitors in one package...cheap foo be me.

when i jam with other cats, they always seem to be rocking monitors which do a good job of filling the room.

cheap ass alesis and m audio monitors and shit.

but those definetly alter the sound.

 

 

 

as fr thee who told moi not to mix wit thru a sub.....it was me who told me.

i always figured subs to be an extra when it comes to audio listening.

i don't mix for subs.

seems to me when ppl buy some form of a subwoofer box fr home theater or yr ride...they want more bass than what was intended.

so i mix it down on a pair of....say...10 inch woofer monitors.

seems more standard.

i can reach more ppl wit thee shitty modern day aero dynamic looking boom boxes.

[x2k]

hmm

 

i had the same problem.

 

best thing is get some heavy curtains up on the windows if you can, get 100mm rockwool boards from travis perkins and zip em up in mattress protectors or cover em in fabric and line your wall with em. (long thin nails to hold em up and hang a nice duvet cover cut open flat along it might do the trick..

 

also if your speakers arent on stands expect pure drama, its essential to get em on stands and fill the stands with sand, that will take care of a lot of structure borne sounds.

 

what i did was recorded a sine sweep in my room, i had huge standing waves at around 400 hz, and the multiples, also another slightly less resonant one at about 480hz or so, i have since reduced this by moving my speakers away from the wall quite a bit and although i don't have stands myself yet, i have them on concrete and foam which has knocked out a lot of that. i had a rearrange in the room aswell, i.e. spread things out and its soaked up a lot of the sounds.

 

hope that helps.

 

I hear what your saying but it just ain't gonna happen until I pay off my debt and save enough pennies to move somewhere with a more suitable room. The this is this room could be filled with rockwool and there would still be issue. For starters it's an upstairs room with a springy wooden floor which creates havoc and also a wall which does the same. The monitors I currently own (alesis M1mk2s) need to be 2.5ft from the wall (unless the bass ports are plugged) but the only way that is possible is to arrange the room so that there is just enough space for me to squeeze up to the console among wires and shit and everything wobbles whenever you move (springy wooden floor again)...I had it like that for a while but it was so depressing to sit and try and work in there that I couldn't be bothered.

 

Also there is a sloped roof behind the monitors which ensure that all sound reflections are aimed right at my head lol...I've tried every other possible arrangement in the room and it ain't happening, I've had to opt for one where I actually feel comfortable rather that with the best sonic performance (which is pretty dyer anyway).

 

The situation is crap but I gotta live with it until I can afford to move elsewhere (and also decide where I actually want to be). Thanks all the same for the advice though, it will be useful one day and maybe sooner to someone else who reads it

[x2k]

On a slightly depressing note, my mate just switched on his A7s last night, they both fizzed and dyed. He phoned Adam only to be told his warrenty ran out 1 month ago. He opening them up to fine melted pastic and scorchmarks, only think I can think of was a powersurge - pretty shitty all the same though

[2tall]

On a slightly depressing note, my mate just switched on his A7s last night, they both fizzed and dyed. He phoned Adam only to be told his warrenty ran out 1 month ago. He opening them up to fine melted pastic and scorchmarks, only think I can think of was a powersurge - pretty shitty all the same though

 

i'm guessing he had them plugged straight out of his PC?

[x2k]

i'm guessing he had them plugged straight out of his PC?

 

I have no idea but he claimed he had not signal running to them... why?

 

btw, he said it was the power supply circuitry which burn out and not the amp

[2tall]

i'm guessing he had them plugged straight out of his PC?

 

I have no idea but he claimed he had not signal running to them... why?

 

btw, he said it was the power supply circuitry which burn out and not the amp

 

well, if you have the audio connector coming direct from your pc interface, its dangerous, pc's can produce power spikes from time to time regardless of signals, so its reccomended to put a desk or something with a line in/out between your soundcard/interface and the monitors to act as a shield.

 

not sure about the power supply fizzling, but if they did it simultaneosly its an external fault no?

 

shitter for your friend, i hope he gets to the bottom of that, get him to put a surge blocker on the plug!

[gasface]

Got new monitors last year and was down to 2 after listening to loads. I went back and forth between the A7's and and pair of Dynaudio BM5A's for 2 weeks but ultimately went with the Dynaudio's. Not taking anything away from the Adams, they are really clear and the stereo image is amazing if you set them up properly, but I found them just a bit too harsh and the BM5A's are silk on my ears for long sessions and even damn good looking to boot.

[x2k]

not sure about the power supply fizzling, but if they did it simultaneosly its an external fault no?

 

shitter for your friend, i hope he gets to the bottom of that, get him to put a surge blocker on the plug!

 

Absolutely, must've been a surge...I told him to stick a surge protector on there but then again it's a bit late now lol!

[2tall]

Got new monitors last year and was down to 2 after listening to loads. I went back and forth between the A7's and and pair of Dynaudio BM5A's for 2 weeks but ultimately went with the Dynaudio's. Not taking anything away from the Adams, they are really clear and the stereo image is amazing if you set them up properly, but I found them just a bit too harsh and the BM5A's are silk on my ears for long sessions and even damn good looking to boot.

 

i hear you (ppff sorry)

 

no but really, the adams are harsh, i've never tried the dynaudio but i believe thats a good contender

[Jon]

i'm guessing he had them plugged straight out of his PC?

 

I have no idea but he claimed he had not signal running to them... why?

 

btw, he said it was the power supply circuitry which burn out and not the amp

 

well, if you have the audio connector coming direct from your pc interface, its dangerous, pc's can produce power spikes from time to time regardless of signals, so its reccomended to put a desk or something with a line in/out between your soundcard/interface and the monitors to act as a shield.

 

 

Would a dj mixer do or is the channel EQ on the mixer going to giving a false representation of the signal? I've been thinking about investing in some studio monitors for my production setup and remembered that you posted this!

[2tall]

you could use a DJ mixer, but i'd be tempted to stay away, if you have a bit more cash you should really get a big knob..

 

 

http://www.guitarampkeyboard.com/options.p...CFUse3god5lfYSA

 

DJ mixers are basically shit when it comes to audio quality unless you have an allen and heath or a good urei - it will affect the quality too much otherwise IMO

 

personally i use one of these, dirt cheap..

 

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vie...3b22942ff800a5d

 

although i'd rather have a big knob because the behringer is a bit noisy.

[Jon]

you could use a DJ mixer, but i'd be tempted to stay away, if you have a bit more cash you should really get a big knob..

 

 

http://www.guitarampkeyboard.com/options.p...CFUse3god5lfYSA

 

DJ mixers are basically shit when it comes to audio quality unless you have an allen and heath or a good urei - it will affect the quality too much otherwise IMO

 

personally i use one of these, dirt cheap..

 

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vie...3b22942ff800a5d

 

although i'd rather have a big knob because the behringer is a bit noisy.

 

Thanks mate,I'd never heard of this potential problem until you posted about it! The big knob is a bit out of my price range at the moment but luckily the behringer one isn't!

Oh and PS good luck with the set tomorrow night at Bleep. The lineup looks crazy. I was going to come down but was offered a dj slot at a bar here.

Cheers again

Jon

[2tall]

safe Jon

 

good luck to you also

[Liam]

what i did was recorded a sine sweep in my room, i had huge standing waves at around 400 hz, and the multiples, also another slightly less resonant one at about 480hz or so

 

Is your room is something like 2.4*2.9m?

 

On a slightly depressing note, my mate just switched on his A7s last night, they both fizzed and dyed. He phoned Adam only to be told his warrenty ran out 1 month ago. He opening them up to fine melted pastic and scorchmarks, only think I can think of was a powersurge - pretty shitty all the same though

 

Damn, sorry to hear that.

 

As far as what you are saying regarding it being the power supply, here's my thoughts:

 

In a very simplified view, an amp is like a 'tap' for power; the signal being fed in varies the flow. The power is fed by the (obviously), power supply. If you feed it a DC signal... that's like jamming the 'taps' on full flow. That is likely to be very, very bad for the power supply.

 

Consumer audio stuff is always AC coupled to ensure this never happens, but this is going to be at the expense of low frequency response (i.e. from the breakpoint->0Hz). Consumer amps have inline fuses and such, but these are never linear devices, so there is another sacrifiice in performance to improve reliability and safety.

 

This is a total guess, but both of these could well be left out of pro audio gear to achieve the best performance -on the assumption that you really know what you are doing.

 

Having said that, it could also be right on the other end of the spectrum: PC power supplies, especially cheap ones, are notorious for generating horrible RF and microwave frequencies. You would expect LP filtering on consumer level gear, but I've got no idea if you would find the same in pro gear where linearity is king.

 

If you can get me some more info, I *may* be able to offer a little help on fixing it. If the electronics are truely fried, I can suggest a nice homebrew replacement. Take a look at:

 

http://www.ilpelectronics.com/amplifiers/audio_hy2007.asp

 

Definately my module of choice, outputs extremely clean 300W rms mono. About £100 each, but worth every penny. They do smaller modules for much cheaper. Add a torroidal transformer from Farnell and you're away.

[Liam]

Àlso, don't be thrown by the specs on that ILP unit. I still get a fair amount of signal out at 2.5Hz (ELF is very important to my work), and 240W is an extremely conservative estimate. I've driven it well out of spec. I eventually killed one by mistakenly sending horrible 5V P-P (!) step functions to it (a mistake in my PIC code). It lived for several mins before eventually melting the potting compound, followed by smoke, horrible smells and death. That's a tough amp module.

 

If class AB isn't your thing, you could always try

 

http://www.prismaudio.co.uk/

 

Nice class D modules. More expensive as you will need a special power supply, but I've had a few chats with the manager, he really knows his stuff. These amps will actually respond all the way down to DC, and at the ultrasonic end they are actually widely used for hydrographics experiments -sonar, specifically.

 

Sorry, bit off topic there.

 

I'll get me (lab) coat....

[Jon]

Just bought some A5s (the smaller version of the A7s). WOW is all I can say.

 

I just wanted to check over the speaker powersurge problem. I'm currently using a firewire interface that is only connected to my laptop for production (i unplug my laptop after production sessions etc and at night). At the moment the A5s are plugged directly into the monitor outputs of the interface-are the monitors still at risk?

 

A7s are now 660 pounds a pair due to the credit crunch-you bought yours at a good time man!

[Jon]

Just bought some A5s (the smaller version of the A7s). WOW is all I can say.

 

I just wanted to check over the speaker powersurge problem. I'm currently using a firewire interface that is only connected to my laptop for production (i unplug my laptop after production sessions etc and at night). At the moment the A5s are plugged directly into the monitor outputs of the interface-are the monitors still at risk?

 

A7s are now 660 pounds a pair due to the credit crunch-you bought yours at a good time man!

 

 

BUMP