REVIEW: ADAM Audio T7V vs. AX7 studio monitors
I had been eyeing ADAM Audio speakers for a while now, but still holding off until I got more impressions from others, knowledge about the competition and generally waiting until I saved up enough money!
[update: one of my readers pointed out that it is actually A7X not AX7! So I’ve updated the body text but not the headline, so not to disrupt the Google indexing :-P]
I had been eyeing ADAM Audio speakers for a while now, but still holding off until I got more impressions from others, knowledge about the competition and generally waiting until I saved up enough money! Let's face it, ADAM speakers are not the cheapest out there. I had been considering the AX range, which are considered crossover of high end home studio recordings and pro audio. But to pay €1098 for a pair of A7X, €778 for a pair of the 5-inch A5X or a whopping €518 for a pair of the smallest of the range, A3X was enough to make (an aspiring music producer in the making like) me feel sick!
Buy ADAM T7V from Thomann: https://www.thomann.de/intl/adam_t7v.htm?partner_id=81398
Buy ADAM A7X from Thomann: https://www.thomann.de/intl/adam_a7x.htm?partner_id=81398
The first time I went to Bax Shop in Amsterdam to check studio monitors, there was a DJ who gave me a tip to buy the ADAM Audio speakers. I don't know who he was, but I definitely kept it in mind. I listened to all speakers and the AX range were definitely the ones that stood out to me in terms of amount and smoothness of the detail, however there was something really off-putting about the bass of the A5X. It was boomy and I predicted that I would fatigue after some time of listening.
So I left it and a couple months later I returned to Bax to listen again with a fresh ear and new impressions. Since the last time, I had spoken to several other musicians and producers and more often than not, ADAM speakers had a good reputation. This time they had the new T series on showcase, which is the entry-level affordable consumer speaker to compete with the likes of Yamaha HS series, JBL LSR305, KRK RP series to name a few.
Anyway, with my heart set on one of the ADAM AX series, I decided anyway to do a blind test and listen to all the speakers in the room and rank them. To my surprise, I actually discarded the A5X! WHAT! Incredible. So when the shop assistant came by, I asked him to check the boost settings on the back because I remembered from last time that I felt something was off with the bass. He checked the right monitor and indeed, it was boosted in the bass, and in the treble! WOW, I was so proud of my own ears and glad that I could now make a more honest comparison.
In the end, it all came down to the ADAM AX and T. They both had such an honest and detailed sound, rich and never harsh. Some of the competitors were harsh in the treble (Yamaha HS), or overall muffled (KRK), or just not as exciting (Focal Alpha, HEDD).
DIFFERENCES BETWEEN T7V and A7X
The most obvious being the sound quality.. of course AX being cleaner, and more detailed in every way (stereo image and frequency response) than the T.
AX has stereo link.
AX has the bass port at the front (not back like on the T), along with the volume control.
AX has High/Low Shelf options (boost and attenuate) and T has High/Low Pass Filter, so no boost.
Price. A pair of 2 x T7Vs is already 150 Euros cheaper than 1 x A7X. No more needs to be said.
Besides that (and I won't go into technical specs, as you can compare on the ADAM Audio website), there are few differences. I think for the price/quality is absolutely unbeatable, and for that reason alone, I went for the T7V.
After taking them home, I listened to some CDs and the sound was brilliant! The bass was really rich and I was glad to finally have some nice woofers in the house, rather than bass-less desktop computer speakers! (TIP: listen to CDs or vinyls when possible! Even Premium Spotify streaming will not give you the listening pleasure in good speakers)
I only have 3 concerns about the T7V and they are as follows:
1. On the back there is a dB level control but there is no groove on the pot at 0 dB so you don't know can't know if you're exactly on 0 and no stereo link so you can't be sure if both speakers are the same level.
2. I heard some popping sounds from the speakers, which decreased when I bought new RCA cables, but I have a feeling it is the dirty electricity in my apartment. I need to verify it another time using new XLR cables and in another place! [update: the popping noise stopped when using a good audio interface and XLR cables in another location. HOWEVER, now with a good studio set up, I noticed some white noise from the speakers. So the speakers are not completely quiet! It is not noticeable when listening to audio, but if you’re sitting in silence with the monitors on, you can hear it. To try to reduce it, I set the gain on the back of the speakers to North-West (or at 10 O’clock) which is below 0dB and use the gain on my audio interface, which doesn’t increase the noise at all even on the highest setting.]
3. The woofer cone is not made with very very much attention as you can see the sloppy glueing. Not a deal breaker, I'm just being picky. (see photos below)
In summary, go for the A7X if you have the money! If money is no issue, T7V is absolutely the best entry-level near-field studio monitors on the market.
[As a side note, for a higher price bracket, the Focal Alpha 65 and HEDD Type 05 came a close second and third in the blind test after the A7X, for their detailed and flat frequency response, but I felt that compared to the ADAM speakers they were slightly 'dull'. Not a bad thing, but I think I would like to be inspired when making music and if I don't feel warm listening to even my favourite songs, then something is wrong.]
I paid €395 for a pair of T7Vs at Bax Shop.
Buy ADAM T7V from Thomann 1 x €199: https://www.thomann.de/intl/adam_t7v.htm?partner_id=81398
Buy ADAM A7X from Thomann 1 x €549: https://www.thomann.de/intl/adam_a7x.htm?partner_id=81398
Check out all Active Near-field Monitors at Thomann: https://www.thomann.de/intl/active_nearfield_monitors.html?partner_id=81398
Official ADAM Audio website: https://www.adam-audio.com/en/
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Recording Arp Frique for Red Bull Music Live Stream
For my very first session at Red Bull Studios as Assistant Recording Engineer, I had to set up the microphones for Arp Frique, a band that had soooo many members and I was lucky that I had Rinus, another engineer there to guide me :-) So many cables, so many different kinds of mic stands and microphones.. my head was definitely getting overloaded!
Photo above: the sound check, the day before the live stream.
Photo below: the mess in the live room!
The next evening, I couldn’t be there at the live stream itself, but managed to watch it live from Facebook, which got 100k views!
Re-live the session and watch below:
Or if you prefer to give YouTubea few more views, click here.
Here's the list of mics and pre-amps we used:
Room L: Coles 4038 Ribbon Microphone
Room R: Coles 4038 Ribbon Microphone
Flute: Zender | Blue
Voc 1 M: Sennheiser SM58 | 1073LB
Voc 2 AB: Sennheiser SM7B | GR-1
Voc 3 Niels: Sennheiser SM7B | GR-2
SH2000: J48 | D4
Perc OH L: AKG C414 | 710-1
Perc OH R: AKG 414 | 710-2
Conga L: Sennheiser MD421
Conga R: Sennheiser MD421
Timb L: Sennheiser MD421 Bottom
Timb R: Sennheiser MD421 Bottom
GTR: Sennheiser MD421U | API-2
Bass DI: Avalon (4) | LA610 |
OH: Neumann U67 | Neve-1
Kick: Sennheiser Beta 52 | API-1
Snare top: AKG C414 | Neve-2
Snare bot: Sennheiser SM57
HH: AKG 451
Tom 1: Sennheiser e904
Tom 2: Sennheiser e904
Floor: Sennheiser MD421
Voc 4 Bass: Sennheiser SM7B | GR-3
Voc 5 Ld Vox: Sennheiser SM7B
Voc Jasper: Sennheiser SM58
ARP: JDI | 710-3
Solina: JDI | 710-4
Sampler: L JDI
Sampler: R JDI
Recording & mix engineer: Thomas van Opstal
Assistant recording engineers: Rinus van Diemen, Janice Wong
Studio manager: Jasper Djosa
Red Bull Studios Amsterdam
Official website: http://www.redbullstudios.com/amsterdam/studio
Address: Atlantisplein 1, 1093 NE Amsterdam
GIG REVIEW: Pete Philly at Ekko, Utrecht
The first (and last) time I saw Pete Philly perform was 8 (!) years ago! After that, he stopped his collaboration with Perquisite and kind of disappeared. I spotted him recently on the Red Bull Music Netherlands Instagram channel where he announced new material and his comeback tour.. woah! I was really curious what he was up to and how his sound had evolved! He was playing quite small venues and they sold out really quickly, but since I follow him on Instagram, I saw that he was promoting a secret 'trial' gig at Ekko in Utrecht on his Instagram stories. The ticket was something like 8 euros so it was a no brainer! I bought tickets straight away.
Something that had evolved about Pete Philly was his overall swag. His clothes and moves were full of cool and charisma. He had his producer set up on a laptop behind and his 4 b(l)ack up singers, 2 girls and 2 guys who each had their own dance style which was funny to see.
He sang his latest singles Favorite Song and Come Together and for a small venue, really got the crowd going! Everyone was really dancing along. It was really great to see such a great reaction to an artist who needs to present himself again after so long.
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Check out more about Pete Philly:
Official website: https://www.petephilly.com/ and below his Red Bull Music Live Session.
GIG REVIEW: Camille at Ancienne Belgique, Brussels
I first saw Camille in 2009 in Melbourne when she toured with the album Music Hole, and without exaggeration it was one of the top 2 concerts I have ever seen in my life. Knowing this, and also listening to the latest album OUI, I was a bit skeptical that seeing her ever again would be ever as great as the first time (in my experience this is the case and now I don't tend to re-see artists). But I decided to hunt down a show anyway and see for myself. She was not touring anywhere in The Netherlands so I started looking at shows in France and Belgium. Finally I decided on a long weekend away with Bianca to Brussels including a concert to see Camille!
Firstly, the venue, Ancienne Belgique was really clean and caters for everyone. There were around 20 rows of theatre seats at the back (mostly filled with people with white hair!), then 2 or 3 balcony levels which were for the smaller members of the audience (like us and children!) and also place for disabled. I was actually very surprised to see how age-diverse the crowd was. Although if you asked me, I couldn't pin-point what kind of crowd Camille appeals to.
What I really liked about the concert was that it was a full show, with details on the lights, colours, clothes, and performance of all singers and musicians, not just the musicality. And this was really impressive. The percussionist had a drum with a light shining on it which looked like the moon. The percussionist had a whole kit with electronic drums with different samples. At one point, the whole band turned into a marching band and walked through the whole crowd. Then Camille asked the audience to come up and sing with her. Everything about the whole show was engaging and Camille herself was so crazy, but perfectly controlled. She is really a genius and true performer.
What added even more to the buzz was that the crowd was so amazing. They were respectful (not talking like the Dutch) and cheered SO loudly that the reverberation of the hall echoed everywhere and gave so much energy to the band and Camille herself.
I have to say, although I already kind of had an expectation about the concert, I was definitely NOT disappointed. In fact, very happily surprised, and next time I know not to ever ever doubt Camille..
With a strike of luck, I even picked up the set list :-)
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More about Camille:
Official website: http://www.camilleofficiel.fr/
If you are on a phone, watch the below (the song is called Je ne mâche pas) with headphones. It's shot so you can see 360 degrees and it is absolutely brilliant.