Adam tensor epsilon

[The Vinyl Adventure]

Well, this makes things interesting!


http://i728.photobucket.com/albums/ww282/hamish_gill/01976f55.jpg

Tried then with the majik as a pre amp ... Pretty good...
Tried them with my TD pre ... Mind blowing!
Absolutly stunning!
I have them on loan, I'm gonna sit with them for as long as I am allowed ... And frankly try very hard to find fault...

[John]

Well I think you found your speakers Hamish, now to just find a way to own them

[The Vinyl Adventure]

Well I think you found your speakers Hamish, now to just find a way to own them

Indeed...
Mate, these are something else! And they bloody well work in the room!
I have always liked the Adam actives, since I first heard the big tensor alphas a few years back... Just never thought they would be ever within my grasp ... Im not gonna say what I have been offered them for but it's not retail ... Oooooh the temptation!

[John]

As Oscar Wilde said
I can resit everything except temptation

[Joe]

As Oscar Wilde said
I can resit everything except temptation

As I said
I can resit everything except exams.

[The Vinyl Adventure]

And the worst thing... Hannah says they are really nice too... ...
This is frankly a disaster

[John]

And the worst thing... Hannah says they are really nice too... ...
This is frankly a disaster
:lolsign:

[roob]

Lovely looking speakers dude, go on how much?

[The Vinyl Adventure]

£4800 retail
I wouldn't be paying that though!

[roob]

:eek:Chokes on piece of cake.

[aquapiranha]

£4800 retail
I wouldn't be paying that though!

You owe me for a new keyboard coz you made me spit coffee in this one...

Joking aside, I think active is the way to go. A long time ago when I had some money I nearly bought some ATC 20-2 blind.... (or was it deaf? can't remember now)

:lol:

[roob]

Seen a ex demo pair for £3K.

[The Vinyl Adventure]

Yep ... These arnt those ...

These things are properly addictive listening!
When people say effortless ... These with anthony's pre are that!

[retro]

My first serious speakers were DIY, 2-way active Dynaudio.Today I still hear their sound.Quick,well controled drivers,did I said so quick :).A completely different sound.I believe that you're thrilled with the sound.And there is also an unnecessary component (amp) and money can be redirected to good tube preamp.This system may sound great at the end,and tube preamp will give him a soul.Take your time and enjoy in them.

Regards,

[The Vinyl Adventure]

Much tidyer, Hannah will be pleased!

http://i728.photobucket.com/albums/ww282/hamish_gill/7bd2ca7b.jpg

http://i728.photobucket.com/albums/ww282/hamish_gill/a8dce9b3.jpg

[SteveW]

I turn my back for one f....ing minute.

[The Vinyl Adventure]

Ha! :)

I buckled under the pressure of my missis moanings!
I am very happy now... Soundstage ... Oh my the soundstage ... It's like complete imersion into the sounds!
There are some sorta gentle metallic sorta cybal sounds in 'morse' by nightmares on wax... The literally sound spherical and sorta come out the speakers at you... I have never heard that happen!

[SteveW]

Ha! :)
The literally sound spherical and sorta come out the speakers at you... I have never heard that happen!

:eek:
I'll have whatever he's smokin.

[Mike]

Oh no, a Buddha's head!... don't let my missus see that, there's no room for more Buddhas around here! :doh:

[Mark Grant]

And the worst thing... Hannah says they are really nice too... ...
This is frankly a disaster

If you can afford them and are getting a good deal buy them :)
They do look nice.

( sort that wiring out though)

[colinB]

How lucky are you to have a missus that encourages you to buy beauties like that.
Some speakers look pig ugly and some just look like works of art. Those fall in the later category, ive always liked them. Well done sir.

[aquapiranha]

Oh no, a Buddha's head!... don't let my missus see that, there's no room for more Buddhas around here! :doh:

Nice looking speakers, they look 'heavy'

[The Vinyl Adventure]

If you can afford them and are getting a good deal buy them :)
They do look nice.

( sort that wiring out though)

If only I knew a friendly cable manufacturer ;)
Yeah, il give you a buzz tomo buddy, 2 mains leads and a some phono to xlrs cables required :)

[The Grand Wazoo]

Hamish, have you bought these yet? Did you know Focal do a range of active speakers?

[Rare Bird]

£3K.


Suppose i'll have to bite my tongue..

[The Vinyl Adventure]

Yeah I have bought them...
Got some new granite plinths for the stands to sit on today...

http://i728.photobucket.com/albums/ww282/hamish_gill/dfdd15f9.jpg

http://i728.photobucket.com/albums/ww282/hamish_gill/75a60dd8.jpg

Some photos of interest?

Controls on back

http://i728.photobucket.com/albums/ww282/hamish_gill/37cb0818.jpg

One of the little windows on the back that shows the sand filled in the cabinet walls

http://i728.photobucket.com/albums/ww282/hamish_gill/2b4b6b1b.jpg

[The Grand Wazoo]

ah, OK - sorry, I thought they were still on loan.

[The Vinyl Adventure]

Suppose i'll have to bite my tongue..

Would you not spend £3k on a pair of speakers and 4 perfectly matched amplifiers that worked perfectly in your room?

[Techno Commander]

Would you not spend £3k on a pair of speakers and 4 perfectly matched amplifiers that worked perfectly in your room?

It does sound frighteningly reasonable when put like that.

[The Vinyl Adventure]

and apart from anything, aesthetically speaking, bloody beautiful speakers at that ... i didnt think it sounded to unreasonable either ....

[The Vinyl Adventure]

The joys of being an iresponsible young person with disposable income

[Rare Bird]

Glad your happy with em .

[The Vinyl Adventure]

I fully intend to make enough money not to have to .... But I know what you mean, there are many things, like having kids, that I know will make me look at this sort of thing differently... So I'm doing it whilst I can justify it :)
An yeah, cheers, I am over the moon with them, especially with the new psu powered majik... It's all working very well for me now!

[REM]

Hi Hamish

Classy looking speakers, what dimensions are the granite plinth things and where do you get them?

TIA

[DSJR]

I'm glad it finally took someone with a pair of all-in-one active speakers to prove Ashley right... ;)

I do like the adjustment possibilities for fine-tuning the speakers to suit the room too and approve of the two-system approach - one for messing with and one for "best."

Whatever we dinosaurs on here think - I reckon these Adams and speakers like them will become the new "HiFi" in those homes that want a good sound.

[Labarum]

The all-in-one concept is exactly right, Dave.

I listened to some active studio monitors in the local music shop the other day. Fabulous for the price. Pity about the looks. They might be fine in the lounge of a 20 or thirty something single or couple, but I want my lounge to look a little different. To that extent it would be wonderful to have only a TV and a pair of speakers on display.

A small computer can be bolted to the back of the TV, and that's it. Job done.

[markf]

I use a set of Dynaudio 52 speakers as my study isn't large, I find the small monitor works
well in that environment, now if I moved into a bigger room I would try something else.
Active wouldn’t really be any help to me as I already have a good amp.

[Ali Tait]

Brian,you could get the speakers that you want,and drive them with some Tripath amps.Some of these are tiny,and could either be bolted to the back of the cabs,or even inside.

[Labarum]

Brian,you could get the speakers that you want,and drive them with some Tripath amps.Some of these are tiny,and could either be bolted to the back of the cabs,or even inside.

I could, but I wonder how such a tiny amp would drive a small insensitive modern speaker; and I don't think I would want to be messing with something like a Harbeth.

Another way to domesticate studio monitors is to stick some acoustic foam on the front with velcro. You would have to choose the model carefully. Wilmslow Audio sell the foam and tell me some have bought it for that purpose.

Or, since I have a big hole behind the telly to a cupboard containing the router, VOIP/DECT phone base unit, PC, printer and junk I could hide a power amp there.

[Ali Tait]

The TA 2022 board for instance,will output 90w or so.You can also buy boards with four channels,bridge two for each channel to double output power.

[Labarum]

The TA 2022 board for instance,will output 90w or so.You can also buy boards with four channels,bridge two for each channel to double output power.

OK. I was thinking of a much lower powered "Chipamp".

[The Vinyl Adventure]

Hi Hamish

Classy looking speakers, what dimensions are the granite plinth things and where do you get them?

TIA

They were made as a custom thing to be used with some naim sl2...not for me... I could find out, but if you want somthing cut out of granite, let me know dimensions and il get you a quote

[The Vinyl Adventure]

I'm glad it finally took someone with a pair of all-in-one active speakers to prove Ashley right... ;)

I do like the adjustment possibilities for fine-tuning the speakers to suit the room too and approve of the two-system approach - one for messing with and one for "best."

Whatever we dinosaurs on here think - I reckon these Adams and speakers like them will become the new "HiFi" in those homes that want a good sound.

Its been an odd route to these ... Fairly well driven by Hannah. Is love to have the time nd space to find some rally well mathed speakers to a really nice amp... ... But now I have done this, I can't see me going back, this is the perfect solution for me.. And I agree, I think in the modern home, it could catch on...
I think I have got it right with these speakers... But I got a good deal on them.. It could be, for a lot o people, a gamble putting so many eggs in one basket... I have seriously limited my upgrade path.. Which could be an issue for some... For me, now, happy I have done the right thing, and would, from this experience, encourage others to try similar in thier room

[Labarum]

The other day I listened to some cheaper Adams, with the ribbon.

It was my least favourite sound. I preferred the Genelecs and best of all the Dynaudios.

Have other listened to this sort of speaker, and can they express a preference?

[The Vinyl Adventure]

The little dynaudio actives .. I can't remember what they are called ... About £800 ... A bit bigger than the little white Adams ... I agree ... The little dyns are very good ... One of my local dealers was running a pair in his shop, I convinced him to buy a 7520.. That made them really sing!

[Labarum]

The little dynaudio actives .. I can't remember what they are called ... About £800 ... A bit bigger than the little white Adams ... I agree ... The little dyns are very good ... One of my local dealers was running a pair in his shop, I convinced him to buy a 7520.. That made them really sing!

http://www.dv247.com/studio-equipment/dynaudio-bm-5a-mkii-monitor--72905

[The Vinyl Adventure]

That's them... Sorry for my slightly dodgy typing last night

[kininigin]

hi hamish,have you listened to any active pmc's?

[The Vinyl Adventure]

nope... ... i did think about looking into them as it goes ... but i sorta got a bit moist for the adams :)

[kininigin]

i would love to hear how they (adam's) sound and they look amazing.

A bit out of my budget though i have only ever felt comfortable spending around £500-800 on any one item so im not sure if i can improve dramaticaly over what i have atm spending this amount.

This is all something to think about in the future though as im happy with what i've got.

[The Vinyl Adventure]

i suspect you would like them ...
i guess we have similar systems now - valve pre into active speakers... it seems to me a sort of best of both worlds aproach if that makes sence...im pretty certain it was your comments i read with interest when you bought the micro 25 and put it with the actives ... its what gave me the idea to run the adams with my valve pre.... it seems to work very well indeed!
oddly enough, i also have an antec custom pc, a 1210 and a beresford dac... ...

you dont want to by my spare majik ds do you... then we would be proper system buddys ;)

[REM]

They were made as a custom thing to be used with some naim sl2...not for me... I could find out, but if you want somthing cut out of granite, let me know dimensions and il get you a quote

Custom + granite = sounds expensive, I'll pass for now but will bear it in mind for the future, thanks anywayz

Cheers:cool:

[The Vinyl Adventure]

i drink with a chap whos wife is a manager at a granite cutting place ... shehas always said she would look after me if i ever wanted anything so just let me know and il find out...
these ones werent from them, but i got my granite slabs for free :)

[Marco]

I'm glad it finally took someone with a pair of all-in-one active speakers to prove Ashley right... ;)


Bollocks... That hapless old duffer wouldn't know a good sound if it jumped up and bit him on his bum! Obsessive 'measurement types' like him are hopeless at judging what good sound is because they're too busy fondling their oscilloscopes :lol:

Hamish has simply found his ideal solution, and a sound that he's happy with, so good luck to him. It's a difficult room to get put a hi-fi system in. Enjoy, dude.

I guarantee, though, that the Tensors would piss all over AVI's toy computer speakers because they're in a different league!

Marco.

[The Vinyl Adventure]

I guarantee, though, that the Tensors would piss all over AVI's toy computer speakers because they're in a different league!

Marco.

:eyebrows:

i cant really comment as i havent heard the avi's.... but i can tell you one thing.. i dont need a sub with mine!

[Marco]

Haha, indeed.... Probably because they've been voiced by someone who knows what they're doing and that hasn't measured the life out of them!

What size are the Tensor's bass-drivers, dude?

Marco.

[Labarum]

I guarantee, though, that the Tensors would piss all over AVI's toy computer speakers because they're in a different league!


Colourful language aside, Marco, have you spent some time listening to ADM 9.1s, and have you written a critique/appreciation of them on this forum, if so can you please link it?

[Marco]

Hi Brian,

With respect, I don't have to write a critique/appreciation of them to know what they sound like.

Has Ashley spent some time listening to or written a critique/appreciation of the valve amps some of us use here, or big vintage Tannoys, on HDD? No.

But that doesn't seem to stop him rubbishing them and "legacy hi-fi" whenever he feels like it! As they say, what's good for the goose is good for the gander ;)

Marco.

[The Vinyl Adventure]

Haha, indeed.... Probably because they've been voiced by someone who knows what they're doing and that hasn't measured the life out of them!

What size are the Tensor's bass-drivers, dude?

Marco.

7"... only little... but its what you do with it i say... ... ... .... ....

the bigguns have 2 13" drivers per side ... they give absolutly astonishing realism in a big enough room, but they are rather large .... mine are pretty much a down sized version suitable for my size room.
adam them selves (aparently) say that each model is designed for bigger and bigger rooms, the smaller ones giving similar quality in a smaller room to the big ones in a bigger room... i personnaly am not so sure, having heard the alpha's jaw dropping performance ... but mine certainly dont disapoint

[Marco]

7"... only little... but its what you do with it i say... ... ... .... ....


Indeed - they're still half an inch bigger than AVI's tiddlers, and that half an inch can make all the difference in terms of bass 'penetration', I believe... <says he stifling a wee sniggerette> :eyebrows:

Marco.

[The Vinyl Adventure]

they are made of kevlar too... that way they dont blow about in the wind like some big drivers ... ... ...

[Labarum]

Marco, I am used to Ashley sounding off, but I expected more Gentlemanly behaviour of you.

[Marco]

Indeed, Brian.

I appreciate that, but I was just making a point, as unfortunately Dave (DSJR) seems intent on 'promoting' Ashley and AVI actives whenever he can, for reasons best known to him, when he knows full well I can't stand the man or the products his company makes these days. They're also the complete antithesis of the type of equipment AOS, and the majority of its members, value.

Anyway, let's leave it there now :)

Marco.

[kininigin]

i suspect you would like them ...
i guess we have similar systems now - valve pre into active speakers... it seems to me a sort of best of both worlds aproach if that makes sence...im pretty certain it was your comments i read with interest when you bought the micro 25 and put it with the actives ... its what gave me the idea to run the adams with my valve pre.... it seems to work very well indeed!
oddly enough, i also have an antec custom pc, a 1210 and a beresford dac... ...

you dont want to by my spare majik ds do you... then we would be proper system buddys ;)

ha system buddies,i like it.Well if your willing to let the majik go for £100 then ok i'll take it ;)

I took a bit of a risk when i got the tapco's but glad i did.It's good to see your happy now as it can get frustrating sometimes.

How are you powering the adam's? im using some standard cheap leads atm and am considering some mark grants but am a little uncertain if there would be much difference.

I have some mk i/c which are great but have never tried power cables.

[DSJR]

Marco, please edit your post above.

I'm not intent on "promoting" anything or anyone unless I feel the products are worthwhile. ATC, PMC and Adam are very highly rated pro monitor speakers, although comments have been made by a grateful Adam as a company regarding the HUGELY inflated prices/margins domestic gear sells for when compared to so much pro stuff these days. The people/firm who shall not be named know these products well and use these to judge their products by.

What's the fugging use. I spend my whole life in doo-doo, so a little bit here makes no difference to me.



In DSDL's language - "I hear and obey!!!!!!!"


I'll shut up now on this....

[The Vinyl Adventure]

ha system buddies,i like it.Well if your willing to let the majik go for £100 then ok i'll take it ;)

I took a bit of a risk when i got the tapco's but glad i did.It's good to see your happy now as it can get frustrating sometimes.

How are you powering the adam's? im using some standard cheap leads atm and am considering some mark grants but am a little uncertain if there would be much difference.

I have some mk i/c which are great but have never tried power cables.

£100...Yeah you can shuv that where the sun dont shine matey ;) :lol:

frustrating indeed, especially when you have a missis with a penchant for interior decoration!!

i shall be getting mark to do me some leads at some point soon... i gotta get my spark mate to put me some dedicated mains in with a socket for each of them... when that happens im going to get some leads from mark ... il let you know how i get on.. although id say its worth a punt, marks cables pretty inexpensive for what they are and he will let you send them back if you dont feel it!
the leads that came with the adams are pretty meaty to be fair so im not in to much of a hurry...

as a reading man, you would be welcomed in to our home... my missis is from somewhere round tilehurst... your more than welcome to come have a listen to any advantages marks cables make when i get them if you liked?

[DSJR]

May not be any better, but when I had both sets of active ATC's I took both power leads to one point (I think I was naughty and crammed two 16A three core cables to one MK mains plug. I didn't connect the mic cable drain wire (XLR pin 1) at the speakers but did at the XLR equipped preamp (ATC SCA2) and joined the screen and negative conductor in the phono plugs on the standard preamps I used (hope this makes sense).

[The Vinyl Adventure]

A bit over my head dave... What was the perpous of all this

[DSJR]

To get a better sound my dear man..... ;)

[kininigin]

£100...Yeah you can shuv that where the sun dont shine matey ;) :lol:

frustrating indeed, especially when you have a missis with a penchant for interior decoration!!

i shall be getting mark to do me some leads at some point soon... i gotta get my spark mate to put me some dedicated mains in with a socket for each of them... when that happens im going to get some leads from mark ... il let you know how i get on.. although id say its worth a punt, marks cables pretty inexpensive for what they are and he will let you send them back if you dont feel it!
the leads that came with the adams are pretty meaty to be fair so im not in to much of a hurry...

as a reading man, you would be welcomed in to our home... my missis is from somewhere round tilehurst... your more than welcome to come have a listen to any advantages marks cables make when i get them if you liked?

Thanks for the offer hamish i would love to hear your system as none of my mates are into hi fi and i have only heard what i have owend.

I actually lived in hereford before moving to reading so next time im up that way i could possibly do a detour depending on how i travel there,i usually go with my brother and he has kids so tends not to have too much spare time but could allways get a train back.

hi dave im sorry but you have completly lost me.

[The Vinyl Adventure]

Has it been only recently you moved? Was Hereford once where it says reading?

Yeah, drop us a pm if you in the area...

[The Vinyl Adventure]

Yeah dave, I don't know what you mean either

[kininigin]

Has it been only recently you moved? Was Hereford once where it says reading?

Yeah, drop us a pm if you in the area...

will do hamish and no i have lived here a few years now

[DSJR]

When you buy XLR balanced interconnects, all three wires are connected at both ends. if both the preamp and speakers are connected to mains earth, a hum loop can occur. In my case, ATC separated the speaker signal earth from mains earth via a resistor to minimise hum-loops, but I had a slightly better sound by only connecting the signsal pins (2 and 3) and leaving pin 1 disconnected at the speaker end..

In the case of my preamps with phono connectors, I wired the phono plugs with the negative conductor and screen connected together to the phono plug screen and at the speaker end, again, +ve to pin 2 and -ve conductor to pin 3, the screen/drain wire disconnected.

Worked well for me but irrelevant now all the ATC's have gone.

[Rare Bird]

If your using a Balanced to Unbalanced XLR interconnect whats the point eh!

[DSJR]

The ATC's I had didn't have phono sockets and the Adams may not either. With phonos at one end you're not using a balanced connection, but that's the way I was told to do it and I was hum free and safe...

[The Vinyl Adventure]

I have no hum with balanced to RCA ... I'm currently using cables made from micro phone cable aparently

[DSJR]

Mic cables are what is usuallu used.

Glad you seem to be enjoying them (the speakers and whole system) Hamish :)

[The Vinyl Adventure]

I was thinking of trying some of marks cables....?

[DSJR]

I like the silver-plated "mic" cables he does. Crisp but not harsh and "shiny" in my setup and I suggest the better plugs if he can fit them whan making them up.. (The HD1000's may not lend themselves to your application from pre to speakers I found)

Not for you in the setup you have, but may be useful for anyone else who decides on active speakers with XLR inputs or remote power amps using sources that don't like long interconnects to amps/speakers (the Croft preamp of mine doesn't much like several metres of wire between itself and the power amp with 20K input impedance -

http://www.spl.info/index.php?id=345&L=1

(link nicked from elsewhere. Thanks to "Bull.ed" for posting it)

[Marco]

Marco, please edit your post above.

I'm not intent on "promoting" anything or anyone unless I feel the products are worthwhile. ATC, PMC and Adam are very highly rated pro monitor speakers, although comments have been made by a grateful Adam as a company regarding the HUGELY inflated prices/margins domestic gear sells for when compared to so much pro stuff these days. The people/firm who shall not be named know these products well and use these to judge their products by.

What's the fugging use. I spend my whole life in doo-doo, so a little bit here makes no difference to me.



In DSDL's language - "I hear and obey!!!!!!!"


I'll shut up now on this....

S'ok, we're cool now! ;)

Marco.

[DSJR]

Don't worry.

I had a great session on headphones and I love the fact that I don't need to turn the volume up myself to hear what's going on :) (that fettled Quad 33 is amazingly good and an absolute pleasure to use and listen to - I take it for granted that the fettled X10-D is good (it is, very) but the 33 was always the ugly sister which it's not now..)

[loosend]

...........and presumably the one you've just typed too!

Hamish, have you bought these yet? Did you know Focal do a range of active speakers?

Just got the cms65's on friday, would have liked the solo be's but they have ugly cheeks.....which may be able to accomadate a butt plug between them:eyebrows:

The thing that could be a shame in the future is if too many hifi nuts go active then active prices wilkl rocket as hifi is sort of bling really, if the pro studio gear dealers start thinking the same way as the hifi guys we are fooked! Well those of us that have realised how good actives are the rest of u can sit in ur caves with ur black frizbies trying to catch bats! :)

We should keep this little secret to ourselves really Hamish!

[The Vinyl Adventure]

The studio versions of mine are about £2500 I think... Or at least the most similar ones... The s2x.
They don't have the sand filled cabinet walls or the nice finish though

I dunno what that says about the hifi industry compared to the pro industry, but I reckon it says somthing!!

[The Vinyl Adventure]

... But yeah, I agree... No one buy actives ... They are crapy really ;)

[loosend]

I agree I hate mine overly warm, conjested a soundstage as wide as my head!

http://i747.photobucket.com/albums/xx118/danworth81/SqueezedHead.jpg?t=1279459682

[Marco]

The thing that could be a shame in the future is if too many hifi nuts go active then active prices wilkl rocket as hifi is sort of bling really, if the pro studio gear dealers start thinking the same way as the hifi guys we are fooked! Well those of us that have realised how good actives are the rest of u can sit in ur caves with ur black frizbies trying to catch bats!


Now let's not stray into any forms of absolutism, chaps! ;)

Hamish has found a solution that works really well in his room, and I'm very pleased for him. However, I doubt I'd ever swap my Lockwoods and copper amp for any solid-state active set-up - never mind giving up vinyl for computer audio (perish the thought)....! Good luck though with it, Dan :)

Hamish, just enjoy what you've got for now. When you eventually move to a bigger house with a better listening room (in terms of space) than you have at the moment, you can reassess things then if necessary.

Marco.

P.S "black frizbies" rool :ner:

[flapland]

Hamish

I have a pair of Adam Audio Active Classics and love them. They are the earlier versions with the Aircraft Aluminium Baffle which I think is some kind of sandwich of corrugated aluminium between two further sheets of aluminium. Fancy but not as fancy as the Tensor cabinets with there sand filling. Picked up for less than a grand off someone of the Wigwam.

Out of interest are the power amps based on B&O ICE modules in the Tensors like mine or something a bit beefier.

Flapland

[The Vinyl Adventure]

I nearly went for the compact classic mkii's but I couldn't refuse these at the price...

I'm not sure... There is stuff on the Adam web site that says the amps have been designed by Adam with the specific drivers in mind... But I guess that doesn't mean much, it still could be based on someone elses design ...
I'd be interested to know if you found out!

Marco, bigger house = bigger Adams until these... When that happens I have won!

http://img231.imageshack.us/img231/2724/adamoss.jpg

[The Vinyl Adventure]

.... ;)

[Marco]

Hehehe..... Who knows what the future holds, eh? Just remember this little 'factoid': everything in hi-fi is a trade-off - therefore all we're ever doing is choosing our compromises! ;)

Marco.

[flapland]

Hamish, what is all of that krypton doing around the Adams..... I know to power the all of the active power modules they require.:lol:

By the way love to know how cheap the Tensors where or would that be to embarrassing to the source/supplier.

I nearly went for the Focal Solo 6 BE but as stated earlier got a offer i couldn't refuse. The Adams have replaced PMC TB1s driven by a MC2 T500 power amp so still in the pro-audio camp.

Flapland

[The Vinyl Adventure]

Indeed... Although in fairness, probably not those fucking monstrous things!!

[flapland]

By the way Hamish and others do any of you know a good source of quality balanced cables around 9-10m long. I have Adam Hall Microphone cables at the moment which I good but I suspect I can do better for under £250 a pair. I have looked at Vovox cables which look very good but to get under £250 I would have to buy them from a European dealer.

Thanks all.

Flapland

[The Vinyl Adventure]

I have been assured by my dealer that the mic cable they gave me is as good as anything, but I might well get mark to make something up for me ... Mark grant is about as good a value as cables come I think... Give him a go

[flapland]

Thanks Hamish I will do a bit of research on Mark Grant. Thanks for th PM by the way.

[Steve Toy]

On the subject of those AVI toys that give all actives bad press given Ashley's inimitable marketing style (over substance at that), unlike Marco, I have actually heard them albeit in their Nine Point Nought guise but who's holding their breath over the difference the Point One could possibly make?

The sonic base line of the ADM9 (.0)s was very low indeed (I guess not bad for a grand all-in) but certainly no replacement for decent so-called 'legacy' kit, not even in the wildest stretch of Ashley's imagination.

A triumph of single-source shilled hype over an otherwise unremarkably bland product.

It's a posh IPod docking station without the dock. It's certainly not hi-fi.

But then I wasn't listening 'correctly'... :eyebrows:

Hamish's Tensors are surely in a different league.

[Marco]

Hi Hamish,


I have been assured by my dealer that the mic cable they gave me is as good as anything...


That's typical thinking in the pro sector, when it comes to cables, which can in some cases have merit. However, it depends on the benchmark used.

I would definitely try some G1000HDs, with the appropriate connectors, as I'm sure you'd be in for a nice surprise, sonically... My own personal experience with those and mic cable suggests this is likely to be the case ;)

Marco.

[The Vinyl Adventure]

They gave me this stuff as aposed to selling me something else... So I tend to think there is some merit in what they say... Like I said though, I still want to try other options and mark is indeed the logical option

[Mark Grant]

I would wait for something balanced Hamish :)

Will be a while, but I will have something balanced and very high end eventually, is taking some time though.
Will be different to the usual microphone cable that is often used as balanced cables.

[DSJR]

Marco, I don't think the coax HD100 will work in this application, but I'd be delighted to be proved wrong..

Steve, your speakers have enough passive-crossover artifacts of their own without you slagging off an active alternative which will sound bland by comparison (by omission). Anyway, there are plenty of active monitors around at quite reasonable prices which I am certain will totally annihilate your Heco's used with any amp and with sources placed on anything. You can get very used to an incorrect sound and hearing it reproduced correctly may not be impressive enough unless you have some live acoustic gogs to refer to - one reason I forgot about HiFi when I had my big ATC's back in the day as I no longer needed to compare reproduced with live sounds.

I think Hamish has done a great thing which may just begin to break a prejudice and ignorance or two regarding active speakers in general and audiophoolery in particular.

By the way Hamish, you'll find Van Damme make a lovely tour-balanced cable which has decent copper and a few silver strands too. I find their wires very neutral in tone, well made and as "musical" or "spacious" as the music played allows... You really don't need to spend more...

[Marco]

They gave me this stuff as aposed to selling me something else... So I tend to think there is some merit in what they say...


That'll likely be because they don't believe in the difference cables make beyond a certain point, which is fine. However, you can do better than mic cable in that application, trust me ;)


Like I said though, I still want to try other options and mark is indeed the logical option

Best plan is to wait for the balanced cables to come out, as Mark has suggested.

Marco.

[Steve Toy]

Dave, you are talking like Ashley. Has he been brainwashing you?

No they are not bland by omission of artifice, they are bland by omission of insight. They lack image depth, dynamic range, timing, texture, nuance and harmonic structure.

They chuck the baby out with the bathwater in their pursuit of accuracy.

The Hecos are transparent enough to showcase what's behind them.

Crossover distortion is nothing compared to signal loss upstream.

Oh, and I know what live music sounds like thanks. It sounds nothing like ADM9s

[Marco]

Steve, your speakers have enough passive-crossover artifacts of their own without you slagging off an active alternative which will sound bland by comparison (by omission). Anyway, there are plenty of active monitors around at quite reasonable prices which I am certain will totally annihilate your Heco's used with any amp and with sources placed on anything. You can get very used to an incorrect sound and hearing it reproduced correctly may not be impressive enough unless you have some live acoustic gogs to refer to

<COUGH!> I'll let Steve answer that one! :eek:

However, you're not suggesting that the little AVI computer speakers sound somehow more 'correct' than a quality pair of proper-sized speakers, are you? Define an "incorrect sound", as opposed to a 'correct' one.

Incidentally, have you heard Steve's Hecos? You certainly haven't heard the system fronting them or the kind of sound he's got going on, and are making some rather dangerous assumptions.......

Marco.

[Marco]

Dave, you are talking like Ashley. Has he been brainwashing you?


Indeed, and I'm sorry to say it's pissing me off, just a tad! :rolleyes:

Dave, you're sounding like a clone of the HDD audio forum. Please sort it out.

Marco.

[Joe]

All this fuss over something that contributes only about 5% of a system's sound.;)

[Steve Toy]

Joe, active speakers by their very nature contribute more than 5%.

If you want to be clever you'll need to be a bit less eager.

With ADM9s it's a lot more than 5% because you've got the amps and DAC all rolled into two cute but ineffectual packages.

[The Vinyl Adventure]

Don't I need balanced conections at both ends for balanced cable... Thats not gonna happen...

I'm gonna go out and listen to some of these speakers ... The only thing I know about this guy is hear say... But one thing I heard that he said, which I won't repeat, was very unpleasant, and goes pretty much against most of my belifes even outside of hifi...
That said, I'd still like to hear these speakers for my self!

[Marco]

By all means do so, Hamish. I'd be very interested in your thoughts - especially on how they compare to your Tensors.

I myself have not heard ADM9s (and therefore haven't conclusively rejected them), but I suspect that yours will be the fourth pair of trusted ears to return a somewhat negative verdict - certainly compared to what is sonically possible by other means ;)

Jerry (jandl100's) view of them as producing "anodyne elevator muzak for the undiscerning" still sticks in the mind! :eyebrows:

As for Ashley James saying unpleasant things about anything in audio which doesn't further his best business and financial interests, that comes as no shock whatsoever!


Don't I need balanced conections at both ends for balanced cable... Thats not gonna happen...


Good point - your valve preamp doesn't have balanced connections. In that case, dude, you need to try some G1000HDs instead of those mic cables.

Marco.

[alfie2902]

You guys are upsetting my speakers
http://i561.photobucket.com/albums/ss55/alfie2902/MyPCSystemAVIADM9.jpg

:lol:;)

[Marco]

Alfie, we know you can take it by now! :lol:

And besides, they're not in your main system, are they? ;)

Marco.

[alfie2902]

I would be very surprised if the Adams & TD pre didn't take the ADMs to pieces!

1.2k ADMs Vs 4.8k of Adams + ?.?k of TD pre! (not sure of cost) 7 or 8k for both may-be? not really apples compared to apples though is it.

As you know by now I'm not an AVi fanboi, Don't agree with alot of what Ash says, Don't agree with some of their marketing methods, Don't take alot of the claims about these speakers seriously, but I still enjoy them & they still sometimes surprise me how good they can sound!

At the end of the day though they're a 1.2k Dac, amp, speaker system. No more no less. They may punch a little above their weight but I'd be truely shocked if they got anywhere near Hamish's set up!

[Marco]

At the end of the day though they're a 1.2k Dac, amp, speaker system. No more no less. They may punch a little above their weight but I'd be truely shocked if they got anywhere near Hamish's set up!


Indeed - and yet I'd bet Jamesy-boy would vehemently disagree! :doh:

It's his pitching of ADM9s as 'giant-killers' and slayers of all 'legacy hi-fi', which angers me most, as it is nothing but blatant lies, usually cloaked in technobabble, designed to hoodwink the gullible. And I abhor liars and anyone who is disingenuous with a passion!! :steam:

*That* is why the blinkered old duffer and his products will ALWAYS get a hard time from me on AOS.

Marco.

[Steve Toy]

You won't be the only one sticking the boot in there Marco!

[Labarum]

And where, then, should someone be looking, if in need of a good small pair of speakers?

[DSJR]

<COUGH!> I'll let Steve answer that one! :eek:

However, you're not suggesting that the little AVI computer speakers sound somehow more 'correct' than a quality pair of proper-sized speakers, are you? Define an "incorrect sound", as opposed to a 'correct' one.

Incidentally, have you heard Steve's Hecos? You certainly haven't heard the system fronting them or the kind of sound he's got going on, and are making some rather dangerous assumptions.......

Marco.

Passive speakers in general have HUGE losses. Yours are only as good as they are because the drive units are so efficient and you've had the best components possible fitted in your crossovers. I'd still love to see how your rabbit-hutches (your words :)) compare in tonal balance to modern 15" DC prestige designs, which sound quite mellow (unlike the Dimension series which take your fillings out as I remember)..

My BC2's have driver and crossover difficulties, the answer then was to gently reduce levels at these frequencies enough to draw the ear away. I don't often notice it unless the recording is bad and my ears are having a bad day, but it is there and is the main reason why the BC1 version remains an industry classic for its outstanding midrange, which was slightly compromised in the higher power handling BC2.

the other way to do it is to use a simple crossover, allowing huge overlap with the squeak and shout associated with many of the early "FE" speakers like Royd and Rega made for example back then.

For normal sized speakers, going active is a very good thing to do IMO and can save on piles of expensive boxes and racks to put them in. The speakers Steve slates are only slated IMO because of the man who markets them and actually insulting to the very talented guy who designs the electronics and who never defends himself outside of the HDD forum and then only rarely (THAT's the reason why I still support this brand).

I don't think I wish to comment further on this (I know you won't mind :peace:).

[Steve Toy]

...But they still sound shite, lacking in musical insight and dynamics etc despite the hype. I agree that Martin Grindrod has never stepped out of line and may well still be a registered member here unlike Ashley.

[alfie2902]

...But they still sound shite, lacking in musical insight and dynamics etc despite the hype. I agree that Martin Grindrod has never stepped out of line and may well still be a registered member here unlike Ashley.

No Steve they don't sound shite & are not lacking in insight or dynamics for a speaker of its size!!

They might not be giant - killers, or anything new, or that different from others on the market, but what they do they do very well indeed! There's lots you can say about the big claims, shill marketing, etc but the speakers themselves are very good for the money! IMO.

I would still have no hesitation in recommending them to someone putting a system together for say £2k. Around their price point they do perform very well IMO.

If I compare them to £10k worth of amp & speakers I have in my main system then the little ADMs don't quite cut the mustard, but to expect them to would be silly!

I understand why you feel you must slate them, due to what's said elsewhere etc, but the speakers are not the problem!

Anyway this thread should be about the ADAMs, so sorry Hamish. Would love to hear some sometime :)

[The Vinyl Adventure]

I haven't even been on this hdd forum, but it's pretty clear he is making some big claims... I don't really have a major issue with marketing. With all the nonsence you see on tv about various skin and hair products I have just learnt not to read it. Even Stan makes marketing claims on here, saying his dac is the best value for money etc... Of course that's probably true, but to a die hard cambrige audio fan it's probably nonsence.
The thing that strikes me about the hifi industry though is that everyone knows everyone... From being a punter and on here for a while the degrees of separation from pretty much anyone who is anyone in the hifi world are down to about 2. Eg I chat on the phone to Dave Cawley who knows the guy who designed my first cd player mr KI signature ... Norman an Ian from uhes are good mates of mine they know Ivor whatsit from linn and have probably met te guy who designed my current cd(ish) player.... As bizare as that is in reality it's not unusual at all in the hifi world.
Now to go into that world an make claims about a product above it's level is expected... It's marketing, but to do it on forums is always going to lead to the polarised opinion you lot demonstrate!
I can see a place for speakers with everything built in... I don't think i would do it, apart from maybe in a conservatory or kitchen/dining room... I like to think I have an upgrade path for my main system... Hence me having a "hifi break down" over thinking about the Adams... Of course I was proven wrong... I don't feel like I need a upgrade path anymore. And that might be the case for somone if they bought a pair of these adm9.1 things .... But at the money they cost I doubt I would be satisfied. And I doubt this Ashley chap is either ... If he is into marketing as much as he is, and reckons they are good enough to beat all legacy stuff then he would have priced them much higher, surly?
As it stands, they appear to be a reasonable value solution to a problem that many people have (including me) - they are small, do what normally needs a rack of kit to do, and they do it for £1200? .... I can def see a place for them in the market place, it's just a shame for them they have someone behind them that gets so badly on peoples tits that they are written off before audition!

[The Vinyl Adventure]

I don't mind the thread hijack, it's interesting!

I think perspective is what is required, those of you in opposition to these speakers have had you expectations raised to high by what has been said! I sell budget hifi, and I know just how bad £1200 worth of hifi can sound!
If these speakers has been marketed more to portray thier value, then I doubt they would cause all this fuss...
As a punter you has to take all marketing with a pinch of salt, if you fall into it's trap, then expect to be let down... Its the way of the world unfortunately!

[Marco]

Spot on, Hamish! :clap:

And with this factual observation:


As it stands, they appear to be a reasonable value solution to a problem that many people have (including me) - they are small, do what normally needs a rack of kit to do, and they do it for £1200? .... I can def see a place for them in the market place, it's just a shame for them they have someone behind them that gets so badly on peoples tits that they are written off before audition!


....we'll leave the ADM9 discussion there :)

Marco.

[John]

All systems have some kind of comprimise In the end if you ear good enough you set up a system to your own bias " Hopefuly others will like it too, but in the end if you enjoy it, then thats good enough"

[alfie2902]

I think the point is, That we i.e confirmed audiophools that hang around forums & are prepared to spend big money on Hi-Fi (well as much as we can afford then a little more) are not his target market tbh.

As you say the Hi-Fi world is very small concerning us enthusiasts, but there is a big market of people who are not quite so obsessed, they don't hang around forums & probably pick up a copy of WHF, who would like a nice system that they can play & forget about for 5 or more years. To this market the ADM offers alot & sound as good as most of what they've heard & come in a very small, neat WAF friendly package!

Before most people buy something these days they consult the great 'google' & after a short while find a product that is controversial & the claims of 'Giant Killer' etc along with 'legacy' make the lesser enthusiasts ears prick up! After a visit to the AVi website there's this new product that fits into todays iPod lifestyle with plenty of WAF, lots of mentions of Apple etc & they just plugs into your PC! & sounds even better than a pile of old seperates! God what's not to like?

May-be I've read this all wrong, but AVi are selling alot of these speakers & to who? because there's not many on the forums that admit to owning a pair! All publicity is good publicity & threads like this & inter forum battles just play into the marketing ploy!

Hi-Fi enthusiasts are a dying breed (20 years ago there was Hi-Fi shops on town centre high streets) & Ash is finding a new market at the £1-2k price point & his marketing may just be very clever!

[Marco]

Alfie,

Good post, but Ashley James is nowhere near as 'clever' as he thinks he is!


I think the point is, That we i.e confirmed audiophools that hang around forums & are prepared to spend big money on Hi-Fi (well as much as we can afford then a little more) are not his target market tbh.


Then why did he register here (before he was banned) and on pfm, and various other audio forums, which are populated by the very "audiophools" you mention, aggravating beyond words all and sundry in the process with his blinkered bullshit, if those people were not his target market?

Either the man has a hide thicker than a rhino and gets off on battling with people with diametrically opposed mindsets from his, for battling sake, or he thinks that somehow he's doing the product good by adopting the policy of 'no publicity is bad publicity'.

As a businessman I would normally recognise the benefits of the latter approach, but in AJ's case I'm almost certain that his abhorrent personality, sneering arrogance and disingenuous claims have turned off far more people to ADM9s than his so called 'ingenuity' has had the opposite effect!

His target market aside, there would've been plenty of people on the various audio forums he has infected with his detestable marketing bile and condescending lecturing, who would've bought ADM9s (as you're not the only one who would've had a use for them), but rejected and dismissed them out of hand purely because they loathed HIM, not the product. And that's supposed to be clever? :mental:

I'm afraid that his people skills are zilch and that does not bode well for the long-term success of any business when fronted by a character like him. There's an old and very true saying in sales: 'people buy from people'. Ashley James is not a person you'd want to buy anything from, no matter how good it was!!

Marco.

[loosend]

By the way Hamish and others do any of you know a good source of quality balanced cables around 9-10m long. I have Adam Hall Microphone cables at the moment which I good but I suspect I can do better for under £250 a pair. I have looked at Vovox cables which look very good but to get under £250 I would have to buy them from a European dealer.

Thanks all.

Flapland

Will at Silver High Breed has just brought out a new interconnect the Quintessence, he is making me a set of 4m balanced at the mo for my Focals, I already have the Avatar tsc for my KRK's and they are excellent.

May be worth a try and will be under £250

Has anyone else tried these at all?

Hamish its a shame u dont have a balanced pre as I would have sent my SHB's up to u to have a go, if u do go fully balanced in the future just let me know if u want to try them out :)

[flapland]

Hi Bushytip

Unable to find anything on the SilverHighBread site re XLR cables but will watch them and Mark Grant as they both appear to have great feedback and have or about to launch Balanced cables.

Can't afford anything this month anyway after buying lots of vinyl.

Flapland

[Labarum]

Passive speakers in general have HUGE losses . . .

the other way to do it is to use a simple crossover

Dave, if I understand correctly some of the most successful passive speakers have been in the BBC tradition with complex crossovers, but still remaining easy to drive - please say a little more.

[DSJR]

I can't really without digging my hole even deeper.

Having a fairly complex crossover (the BC1 isn't really that bad if you ignore the super-tweeter part), the bass on BBC derived designs can suffer, along with sensitivity. BC1's are 83dbW and mine are approx 87dbW. Like all good speakers, the key was the drive units and in those days, very good hearing with an end goal - to reproduce speech well, which most of these speakers do. I should add that modern incarnations of the BBC ideal do rock&roll now to a very high standard.

BC1's et al were often used suspended from ceilings and so the bass "problem" domestic users have wasn't anything like as bad. The Grade 1 active monitors the Beeb used were outstanding in many respects though and far better than the general purpose noise boxes that were BC1's and LS3/5A's (confirmed by a number of BBC engineers from Broadcasting House I knew a million years ago...

Any more thoughts on *our* little bargain-bucket passive monitor???? :lolsign:

[Labarum]

Any more thoughts on *our* little bargain-bucket passive monitor???? :lolsign:

I'm sitting on the sofa looking at the available space. Even if I stand them on their sides I am not sure there is room. The Maxims are about as big as I can go.

I am summoned to domestic work . . .

[loosend]

Hi Bushytip

Unable to find anything on the SilverHighBread site re XLR cables but will watch them and Mark Grant as they both appear to have great feedback and have or about to launch Balanced cables.

Can't afford anything this month anyway after buying lots of vinyl.

Flapland

The balanced ones are a tenner dearer, u can just email for a quote

Does seem wierd he doesnt put them on the site, I do know his son is the geek so maybe he is slacking!!:)

I am using £400 a meter deltec black slink in another system and it is also silver plated copper in a slightly differeent geometry but equally as pleasing

Bastard cables they cost u the earth andf then u find a set which slaps u right in the face for a fraction of the price! :)

Dan

[Beobloke]

The Maxims are about as big as I can go.



If you want active, then, it sounds like you need a pair of Maxamps!

[kininigin]

well a couple of pairs of G1000HD turned up today (excellent guy to deal with)and i have these cables running throughout my system.

I 've been listening to music most of the day with a look of amazement on my face,i knew these cables were good but with no other cables restricting what they do im appreciating them alot more.

As many others have said before they come across as very natural with an even tonal balance.

The thing that has impressed me the most though is the soundstaging,there's more width,height and depth.On some albums i have listened to today when i closed my eyes i swear i could reach out and touch the different instruments.

I've seen there's a thread regarding cable burn in and to give my two cents these cables sound great from the word go to me so if they improve over the next week i'll be even more happy.

Hamish i deffinately reckon you'll be happy with these cables driving your adam's.Im not sure how long you would need them to be but mine at 1.5m seems to be perfectly fine.

[The Vinyl Adventure]

I know them all too well my mate! I took the photos of them on marks site!
Never underestimate the legend that is mr mark grant, the quality of his cables is only surpassed by his service and general good blokeness :)
I shall def be trying some when I can afford them! Glad your happy with them!

[Mark Grant]

http://i728.photobucket.com/albums/ww282/hamish_gill/01976f55.jpg



Bumping this up as I visited Hamish last week, these speakers are excellent :)

Plenty of bass for smallish speakers and they look fantastic. :cool:

Hamish wont be needing any new power amplifiers for a while :)

Mark.

[Marco]

Nice one, Mark - I'm sure you guys will have got on really well :)

Did you take down any of your 'extra-special' cables? ;)

I'm sure Hamish's speakers are excellent!

Marco.

[The Vinyl Adventure]

Cheers Mark!
im still 100% happy with them, and i have had them a good few months now ... a very good sign in my books

cables are on the horizon marco ... should be interesting to compare in my system what they do ... the ones i was given were said by ian from ultimate to "have the least effect on the sound out of all the different cables and connectors we tried"

[Labarum]

Do those ribbons screech? I heard lesser Adams and didn't like them at all, and I have lived with titanium dome tweeters for 25 years.

[Marco]

Hi Hamish,


cables are on the horizon marco ... should be interesting to compare in my system what they do ... the ones i was given were said by ian from ultimate to "have the least effect on the sound out of all the different cables and connectors we tried"

If they've been factored into the equation in terms of optimising/tailoring the sonic signature of the Adams, then you may not like the effect of the Mark Grants, as in general, they tend to tell it 'as it is' - and that 'as it is' may not be what you like (or want) to hear..... If you follow me?

Therefore your findings in that respect will be most interesting! :)

Marco.

[The Vinyl Adventure]

Hi Hamish,



If they've been factored into the equation in terms of optimising/tailoring the sonic signature of the Adams, then you may not like the effect of the Mark Grants, as in general, they tend to tell it 'as it is' - and that 'as it is' may not be what you like (or want) to hear..... If you follow me?

Therefore your findings in that respect will be most interesting! :)

Marco.

i think they are pretty neutral, they are based on studio monitors that are seemingly becoming fairly widely accepted as some of the best ... so my hope is marks cables will just let a bit more detail through ... also they are factored in with the use of kit that is very different to my pre amp and im getting good results which leads me to belive that the cables i already have are also neutral ... speculation of course, but its a fairly logical assumption in my head

[The Vinyl Adventure]

Do those ribbons screech? I heard lesser Adams and didn't like them at all, and I have lived with titanium dome tweeters for 25 years.

i dont think so, i havent heard anything that upsets my ears ... and same as above, if they can use speakers with exactly the same tweeters in the likes of abbey road ....

http://www.adam-audio.com/en/company/in-the-field

http://www.adam-audio.com/en/company/in-the-field

... then im inclined to think they are capable of neutrality if nothing else...

the now superseded adam a5 used what looks like a different tweeter to that of everything else in thier range ... perhaps that was what you heard ... the new equivalent (to the range the a5's were in) range appear to use the same tweeter as mine ... perhaps thats because the older tweeter was prone to this screechyness?

[Marco]

Sounds logical too me too, Hamish! The proof of the pudding, as usual though, will be in the listening... I look forward to hearing your thoughts :)

Marco.

[Reid Malenfant]

I look forward to hearing your thoughts :)
That would be a new one :eyebrows: Mind reader Marco, be afraid, be very afraid :eek:

:lolsign:

[Marco]

Hehehehe... My talents know no bounds! :flasher:

Marco.

[The Vinyl Adventure]

yeah, there is no guarantees in this hifi shite eh...