We tested the ADAM A8X speakers!

We tested the ADAM A8X speakers!

The protagonist of our latest test was a pair of German-made ADAM A8X speakers. ADAM speakers have been used by sound engineers for professional sound mixing for more than 10 years. Over time, the manufacturing company has come out with models of more affordable price for home and hobby hi-fi fans as well, although it is still one of the more expensive speakers.The most powerful two-way monitor in the AX series is the A8.

Tape tweeter

The subwoofer is powered by a 150-watt amplifier and the tape tweeter by a 50-watt amplifier. The tape tweeter, developed by Dr. Oskar Heil, is the most defining accessory of this type of speakers. ADAM engineers have adopted and further developed this technology. The essence of X-ART (Extended Accelerating Ribbon Technology) is the pleated membrane, in which the folds are compressed or expanded due to sounds coming to their surface. The air is sucked in or out harmoniously, producing a more accurate sound as described by the manufacturer.

The speaker

The A8X features a carbon fiber subwoofer and a 56mm X-ART tweeter. Its front, two-port design extends the frequency response to 38 Hz. Due to the shape of the subwoofer cone, we will get fast and definite bass sounds. There are, of course, inputs on the back panel, as well as EQ and tweeter controls. It has three back panel controls that help you customise the sound to suit your own taste and the characteristics of the room.

PWM custom amplifier

Pulse Width Modulation (PWM), also known as Class D gain or switching amplification technology, converts an incoming signal into a series of rectangular waves of the same frequency. The width of the rectangles changes over time, this waveform is much easier to mount. The main advantage of PWM amplifiers is their extremely high efficiency (> 90%). The result is a much lower temperature, which makes the use of heat sinks unnecessary.

Let’s test them!

We listened to several different styles of music on the ADAM A8X speakers. We can also report positive and negative experiences. The benefit of the speakers is that they give an extremely detailed sound image, even from different listening positions. The instruments sound exceptionally clear, the basses are firm filling the whole space. We first listened to Bon Jovi’s popular hit It’s my life. The lower ranges sounded flawless, but the instruments playing in the middle and upper ranges seemed too faded. The tweeter “whistled” in certain upper ranges, which somewhat degraded the sound image. The Phantom of the Opera on DVD was our next choice for the test. The musical, that probably was a success as Gerard Butler and Emmy Rossum were starring, included great opera arias. Our assessment of the performance here was similar to the previous ones. The deeper tones were impeccable, but the female soprano’s voice and mid-range instruments and vocals were less pronounced. The sound effects, on the other hand, felt definite, creating a fantastic and realistic feeling. While playing Metallica’s track Enter Sandman, we encountered this flaw again, the guitars quite simply becoming side actors.

Our opinion

The A8X is a contemporary speaker with clear and definite sound, although, we felt some “ear fatigue” already after a few hours of listening. It is popular among professional sound engineers for sound recording and sound mixing purposes, so we can’t call it a bad speaker. However, it is important to note that in a room with an ideal acoustics, the speaker pair will certainly perform more convincingly. We tested it in a rudimentary studio made up of a basement room, so we think this may have contributed to the negative assessment we had.

Advantages:

-Excellent detail and depth

-Ports on the front

-Can be placed both vertically and horizontally

-XRT tweeters

Disadvantages:

-Mid-range range doesn’t perform well

-No mounting holes

-High price

G.H.