# ADAM A5 or A7



## leveller1642

I am just about to order some ADAM powered monitors, but I cannot decide between the 25w RMS per driver bi-amped A5 or or the 50w RMS per driver A7. 

 This is The-One's impressions when he demoed them in this Recommended Nearfield Monitor thread. 


  Quote:


  Originally Posted by *The-One* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_..............................Adam A7: It's very open, very transparent and the sound is big. The imaging and depth is just like wow. Even without a subwoofer the lows are surprising pleasant. It's lean clear and sounds like it can reach deeper than it can. The voices hang in the air and occupies space. I wouldnt' call the sound warm, indeed on first listen I thought it was too "cold". However on 2nd listen my opinion of them went up a lot. It resolves the music "effortlessly" it seems. Because the sound is so different, I wonder if pairing it with a subwoofer other than the Adam Sub 8 would spoil a seamless sound already with its own character.

 Adam A5: With a smaller cabinet size and woofer, the lows were practically none existent. However instantly I thought the mids were actually "warmer" and has slightly more solidity than A7. Treble was similar, it gave a sparkling but focused treble. The biggest difference between A5/A7 is the soundstage/imaging. The A5 just sounds smaller, which may not matter if I sit close to it (i'll have to see nxt time). with no sub, the bass is def not it's forte. If A7 was "effortlessness" across the freq, A5 is "sweet" in the mids and treble. A5 also seems from memory to be closes to my T2s in the mid and treble though I'm relying on memory as my customs have been lying around broken for a while................._

 

While my first reaction is to get the A7 s, i was wondering about about the different features of the two. 

 The A5 has a feature called "Stereolink", which evidently links the volume controls of the two speakers together. Assuming the A7 lacks this feature, does this mean each speaker of the A7 must be adjusted individually?

 The A5 is pictured with grills. Are grills available for the A7?

 Has anybody heard the 7SUB subwoofer with the A5s? 

 I thank you in anticipation of your advice.


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## leveller1642

::ADAM:rofessional Audio:: (Flash site)

 Some reviews 

 A5- Not a lot on the web about the A5s.
Adam A5 Recording Studio Monitor Are you willing to find the truth in your music collection? Review By Steven R. Rochlin


 A7
ADAM A7

Adam A7 Nearfield Monitors

A review of the ADAM A7, a powered close-field monitor with a ribbon tweeter and 6.5-inch woofer | Electronic Musician reviews the ADAM A7 | Powered close-field monitor review

ADAM A7 Closefield Monitor

Executing versatile mixes with budget friendly near-field monitors | Adam Audio A7 near-field monitors review | Learn about how good the A7s are


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## leveller1642

I've ordered the A5s. $990 Australian. I figured the price would be soon rising dramatically with our increasingly worthless AU$.

 I'l post back with my impressions.


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## 1UP

Heh, another DIY thread. Do post pics


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## LFF

I've never liked the Adams. Too bright for me.

 I would have suggested you try the Mackie HR824's. Very neutral when positioned correctly and the sound is very, very good.

 Good luck with the Adams though. I know there are many fans of the Adams. If you don't like them, give the Mackie's a shot.


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## fkclo

I bought A5. According to most advise : if you've got the space, go for A7. If you are running out of space on your desk, have the A5.

 F. Lo


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## leveller1642

Quote:


  Originally Posted by *fkclo* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_I bought A5. According to most advise : if you've got the space, go for A7. If you are running out of space on your desk, have the A5.

 F. Lo_

 

I bought the A5s mostly because of the grille. I wanted to transport them. 

  Quote:


 I've never liked the Adams. Too bright for me.

 I would have suggested you try the Mackie HR824's. Very neutral when positioned correctly and the sound is very, very good.

 Good luck with the Adams though. I know there are many fans of the Adams. If you don't like them, give the Mackie's a shot. 
 

I like bright, so the ribbon tweeter was a big attraction. Not that I considered them, but in Australia the Mackie HR824 Mk2 are considerably more expensive than the A5 and A7.


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## leveller1642

I've had the A5s for over a week now. I am really impressed by them. 

 I have them connected to a Apogee Duet DAC. The sound is slightly bright but it has incredible stereo imaging with brilliant transparency and dynamics. I get startled quite regularly with what i hear. Yesterday I was convinced somebody was circling my humble dwelling on a Harley- it was just a sound effect on Crescent's Little Wave album. Similarly the thunder on Akron Family's self titled album had me fooled on a perfectly sunny day. 

 I tried them briefly using the balanced XLR ouputs of a Zhaolu 2.0a but its DAC couldn't compete with the Apogee, sounding lifeless in comparison. The Apogee (which i think is rather overrated as a DAC)would I guess be adding its own brightness to the sound and i am sure a more musical sounding DAC would be more suitable for it.


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## athenaesword

why did you decide to go with the A5 over the A7 mate, other than for hte fact that it's smaller. It seems that the quote in your first post suggested that the A7 were better?

 just curious. looking to get a quality set of speakers for my desktop as well.

 also, what kind of a price range are the a5/a7 and mackie?


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## leveller1642

The A7s would definitely be better. Twice the power and deeper bass. 

 I chose the A5s for a number of reasons. They have a feature that the A7 lacks, that allows you to adjust both speakers volume with one control. They have a grille. Don't ask me how, but i'd run the risk of puncturing the driver without it. I live off the electricity grid and only have a limited amount of power, so energy consumption was a factor. I also paid cash for the A5s, but would have needed to use my credit card for the A7s. 

 The A5s were $990 Australian. The A7s were $1500 but now $1600AU. The Mackie HR824 Mk2 ranged in price from $2500 to $3000 when i quickly googled it

 I'd highly recommend the A5s for a desktop situation providing you like the prominent treble and sound signature that i assume is consistent of speakers with ribbon tweeters. 

 I checked with the dealer today about the availability of the Sub7 that i intend to buy when it becomes available in Australia. Over $900Au. Ouch.


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## Acix

If you have the money and a nice big room, just go for the S3A.
 They sound superior...


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## leveller1642

Quote:


  Originally Posted by *Acix* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_If you have the money and a nice big room, just go for the S3A.
 They sound superior..._

 

Freakin Hell!!

 Tri amped 150w RMS X 3 ( 2 x 7" drivers + ribbon tweeter)

 $6000US a pair. (sale price)

ADAM Audio S3A | Sweetwater.com


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## athenaesword

Quote:


  Originally Posted by *leveller1642* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_The A7s would definitely be better. Twice the power and deeper bass. 

 I chose the A5s for a number of reasons. They have a feature that the A7 lacks, that allows you to adjust both speakers volume with one control. They have a grille. Don't ask me how, but i'd run the risk of puncturing the driver without it. I live off the electricity grid and only have a limited amount of power, so energy consumption was a factor. I also paid cash for the A5s, but would have needed to use my credit card for the A7s. 

 The A5s were $990 Australian. The A7s were $1500 but now $1600AU. The Mackie HR824 Mk2 ranged in price from $2500 to $3000 when i quickly googled it

 I'd highly recommend the A5s for a desktop situation providing you like the prominent treble and sound signature that i assume is consistent of speakers with ribbon tweeters. 

 I checked with the dealer today about the availability of the Sub7 that i intend to buy when it becomes available in Australia. Over $900Au. Ouch._

 

you mean you recommend the A7s. yeah I just spent the last 3 hours on gearslutz checking out a gazillion posts, and clearly the A7s are really something. 

 btw where do you get your A7s for 1.6kau? the best I could find was 1.8kau. I'm not from Aus, but I have a friend who's coming back to Singapore soon and can help me carry these back.


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## electropop

I've heard the A7's and A5's, though in different settings.. 

 I've now owned the A5's for about half a year, and haven't heard a better sounding passive- or active monitor in below 1k pricerange. 
 I must say that the Mackies, though, sound like they have weird boosts in some parts of the sound-spectrum that irritated me on some recordings.. Adam's are on the bright side, but never fatiguing. They also forgive decently; I have some music in 320kbs format and some even below that.. No major problems, if properly ripped, though you always tend to lose some dynamics.

 I like the A5's more. I even adjusted the room-eq settings in both to my liking. The preamp or room acoustics play a huge role here though.

 I'd like to know though, how you (leveller1642) have them set up physically, and what room eq -settings you are using.

 Thanks

 -K


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## dcheming

In a similar vein(2-way active studio monitors with Heil tweeters) are the Mark & Daniel monitors:

Mini+

Ruby

Maximus

Aragorn

 Not sure how they compare to ADAM monitors, but just thought I'd throw them out there.


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## leveller1642

Quote:


 I like the A5's more. I even adjusted the room-eq settings in both to my liking. The preamp or room acoustics play a huge role here though.

 I'd like to know though, how you (leveller1642) have them set up physically, and what room eq -settings you are using. 
 

They do sound great don't they? I am very happy with mine. 

 I haven't touched the EQ setting or the tweeter level. They are about 1.2m away, about 1.2 apart from each other and at chest level and aimed upwards. My room/cabin is very small and I suspect has lousy acoustics, so the nearfield situation is ideal for me. 
 I am trying to get a Sub7 subwoofer, but have not yet been able to source one. I have been told i can adjust the crossover level on the sub to about 90 htz and get higher volume levels without the A5s sounding congested.


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## electropop

So you're using them on desktop? Me too. That's actually the only problem for me now: The integration of A5's and a Sub8.
 The desk sets problems regarding the low-frequencies. 90Hz sounds quite decent in a desktop environment. If you turn it down, the speakers tend to resonate on the low-frequencies, but the bass isn't as clean though. 
 I've found a sweet spot at around 75Hz for the crossover, +1 on the tweeter-volume and +/-0 on the <150Hz room-eq compensation. I tried meddling with the tweeter-volume setting, since many "pro-reviewers" tend to like it at about +3 or something. That DID give the speakers a much more transparent and airy sound, but in my situation, made the integration almost impossible.. 
	

	
	
		
		

		
			





 -K


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## BaboonGuy

Have you guys seen these for desktop use? They're small desktop stands that point the monitor upwards towards the ear. You can get them for about $60 on bhphoto.

A5 Pro - Accessories | ADAM Audio GmbH

Adam Professional Audio | Desktop/Table Stands | A5 STANDS - B


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## Necrolic

Quote:


  Originally Posted by *leveller1642* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_The A5 has a feature called "Stereolink", which evidently links the volume controls of the two speakers together. Assuming the A7 lacks this feature, does this mean each speaker of the A7 must be adjusted individually_

 

Only if you aren't using a preamp.


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## jtaylor991

For balanced volume control, there is the passive TC Electronics Level Pilot.


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