Adam A5 Monitor Review - Reviews - Music Tech Magazine

Given the success of the Adam A7, the company’s new A5s have a lot to live up to. Huw Price sounds them out.

Price: £498.00
Manufacturer: Adam
Website: http://www.adam-audio.com

A5
Manufacturer Adam
Price (Per pair) Pro £498, Piano £530
Contact Unity Audio 01440 785843
Web www.adam-audio.com

T he drive units in the A5 are very similar to the A7’s. The woofer has the same sandwich construction of carbon fibre and Rohacell, but the woofer diameter has been reduced from 6.5 inches to 5. The ART tweeter/midrange unit is even more interesting. ART stands for Accelerated Ribbon Technology, and it’s based on an ‘Air Motion Transformer’ invented by Dr Oskar Heil back in 1972.
Unlike the aluminium foil component found in regular ribbon tweeters, the ART tweeter consists of a folded diaphragm that squeezes air in and out in response to an alternating current. This apparently offers much greater efficiency than piston drivers as well as a faster response, improving transients. The power of the built-in amplifiers has been halved to 25 watts for each driver, but 50 watts per side is still pretty substantial.

Access all areas
We saw it first with the A7 and we can see it again with the A5: the power switch and volume control are on the front panel. We’re sorry to bleat on about this, but given the obvious ergonomic advantages of making the key controls accessible, the fact that most manufacturers still locate them around the back is bewildering.
Some engineers get a bit nervous when it comes to balancing the volume controls on two speakers, but the A5s have a Stereo Link feature. This enables the volume of both speakers to be adjusted from a single master volume. Either speaker can be the master, and the volume control of the slave should be set to the centre detent position.

Link line
A stereo RCA cable connects the output of your sound source to the input of the master, while a mono RCA Link cable connects the output of the master to the unbalanced audio input of the slave. However, this restricts you to unbalanced operation, so you can’t use the balanced XLR inputs.
The rear panel has three controls for adjusting the frequency balance. Tweeter Level raises or lowers the overall signal going to the tweeter by +4dB. This shouldn’t be confused with the first of the Room EQ controls, which provides 6dB boost or cut from 6kHz. The second Room EQ control adjusts the bass, with shelving equalisation below 150Hz.
These are purposeful and professional-looking speakers that would create quite an impression on any meter bridge or workstation. Those of us who do a lot of location recording or prefer to take our own speakers to studios will appreciate the protection provided by the metal grilles. The five-year warranty should further set your mind at rest. The front-ported cabinets come in matte black (Pro) as well as gloss white (Piano) finishes. Adam also manufactures desktop/table stands that have been specifically designed to optimise the performance of the A5.

In focus
We liked these speakers immediately. Not because they’re hyped or voiced for entertainment, but because they’re effortlessly open and transparent. The highs are super-clean without sounding bright, and acoustic recordings have a discernible three-dimensional quality.
Like all good monitors, the A5s can be ruthless with poor recordings or mastering, but that’s a plus. Imaging is way above average and the rapid transient response brings percussion to life. Bass is punchy, tight and about right for the size of the cabinet.
Our only reservation is something odd that happens below 100Hz: a strange buzzing or vibration kicks in that sounds like a breathy rattle. With most acoustic or rock material it’s hardly noticeable, but hit the A5s with a heavy electronic bass line or sub-100Hz sine wave and it’s very clear indeed. It’s a shame, because in every other respect we’re really sold on these speakers.

WHY BUY
Front-mounted power switch
Effortless sound quality
Effective EQ controls
Stereo Link

WALK ON BY
Unexplained bass resonance

VERDICT
The A5s are very close to being ideal small monitors, so hopefully Adam will fix resonance issues as soon as possible.
★★★★★★★ (7/10)

SEE ALSO
Monitor Reviews
ADAM A3X Review
Choosing & Using Monitors (Feature)
Monitor Design (10MM)

Score: 7

This review first appeared in Music Tech Magazine issue 70
Filed under Home, ADAM Monitor Reviews, Hardware, Reviews, Studio Monitors

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Adam Adam A5 Monitor Review

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