Ableton Forum

clear, flat response.

genelec 8020a

whats the difference between the A and the B?

Adam A7

I just spent a month in NYC shopping for monitors in this price range, looking specifically for the flattest, truest response and best imaging.
My favorites in the end were:

Dynaudio BM5A mkii
Genelec 8020b

I bought the Dynaudios, but after keeping them in my studio for 2 weeks, I decided I needed something smaller, so I took them back and got the 8020b's.
I like the Dynaudios more, but the 8020b's are pretty incredible and the trade-off of quality for portability in this case is more than fair.
I'd highly recommend a sub if you go with the 8020b's. though. They only go down to 65hz, but the low is quite strong and clear most of the way down.

why would you want the smaller monitor?

I've used 8020's, different KRK's (Rokit G2 has wonderful performance for the price) and I've now settled for Adam A7X.
These things are great, and I love having the speakers go down to 40hz without a separate sub. My opinion is that
genelec's are too expensive for what they are, but you know what they say about opinions

I think you will get the best value for your money if you spend half of it on acoustic treatment
and other half for the monitors - that is if you have not yet done that. If I had to choose, I would
take the cheap KRK's in an treated environment over my Adam's in an untreated room.

adam a7

Focal gets really good reviews...

http://www.focalprofessional.com/en/cms-line/

I like the comment about treating the room. (if you rent this can be a challenge). So I lived with my hi fi speakers until I finished the room treatment. Then I bought Adam A7s. They may not be the most analytical speakers around but they sound lovely and for composing having a lovely sound is important to me.

When the problems of mixing on them become insurmountable I will be making so much money from my music I can afford to buy a second part of monitors. :^)


David

cacti wrote:why would you want the smaller monitor?

If you're asking that question, consider yourself lucky - you clearly have plenty of working space. I'm on the road a lot, so having the ability to pack the 8020's into a bag and stick them in a plane's overhead compartment is a big plus. They're also built like tanks, so I'm expecting them to last forever.

I never got to hear the Adam A7x. I'm really impressed with the lower end of the line, but, to my ears, the midrange is overrepresented in all of them. Vocals seemed to pop out front (to the detriment of other elements of the mix) in a way that didn't happen in a wide range of other speakers.

If room treatment is an option, I would highly recommend spending part of the monitoring budget on that as well. The quality of monitors that are available for under $500/pair is pretty astounding - especially if you understand how they're colored and learn their strengths and weaknesses. Alesis M1's, Mackie MR5/MR8, KRK VXT4's/Rockits, etc. are all about as good as you can get without creeping up to the $1000/pair range, and they're around or under $500/pair.

Adam A7.

Ribbon tweeters FTW.