Adam A7 vs Genelec 8030

Dr Dub · Post by **Dr Dub** » Fri Aug 10, 2007 5:48 pm

I have bought the Adams, like i thought about in another Post.
At first, i was shocked, how terrible many things sounded. I got used to it a bit,
and now i think they are really acurate and have great highs. I can do better
mixes with them then with my previous Monitirs (ALesis Monitor One).
But i could return them for 2 more days and get the Genelecs instead (a bit
more expensive...shit).
I was undecided between these two. I think the Genelecs sound perhaps a bit
nicer (good for jamming and composing), i like the way they are robust and portable, and perhaps i want monitors which are just a bit nearer to the normal
hifi-sound then the adams, so they translate easier...

Anybody worked with both monitors? Any thou8ght on this?

Thanks in advance!

amcnally336 · Post by **amcnally336** » Fri Aug 10, 2007 9:12 pm

Well, if you are looking for a good translation, you want a monitor that does NOT color the sound. If the monitor colors the sound to make it more "HI-FI sounding, then you will NOT get as accurate a translation because your mix will sound hi-fi on the monitors, but, in reality, are not being mixed flat...if you get what I am saying. The unfortunate corallary to this is that with monitors such as the Adams, bad mixes sound...well, bad. If you are using monitors to also listen to your favorite music collections, you may be surprised at the amount of "bad" mixes out there. If this is the case, then you really have to seriously consider what your priorities and goals are. If you want good "all arounders" that can also serve you as stereo speakers, you may very well want to consider changing monitors. It is almost universally acknowledged that the Adams DO NOT color the sound and offer perhaps the best representation of the mix for any monitors near their price range. This transparency allows the mix to sink or swim on its own merits. If it sounds good on transparent speakers, the it only naturally follows that it will generally translate better than a mix done on monitors which color the sound. Of course, if you are really into it, you could always get a second, cheaper set of monitors for "everyday" listening, and this also allows you to do an A/B comparison of your mixes to be more certain they will translate. Personally, I think you should stick with the Adams if translation is important to you, and if you really want to learn to mix properly. They may not be as "flash-bang" sounding as other monitors, but that is exactly the point...let the music/mix stand or fall on its own qualities, not those of your monitors (unless, of course, you have high dollar clients you want to immediately impress

...they always seem to like Mackie-bling, bling!
Peace

DJ VAKIS · Post by **DJ VAKIS** » Fri Aug 10, 2007 10:53 pm

Dr Dub wrote:I have bought the Adams, like i thought about in another Post.
At first, i was shocked, how terrible many things sounded. I got used to it a bit,
and now i think they are really acurate and have great highs. I can do better
mixes with them then with my previous Monitirs (ALesis Monitor One).
But i could return them for 2 more days and get the Genelecs instead (a bit
more expensive...shit).
I was undecided between these two. I think the Genelecs sound perhaps a bit
nicer (good for jamming and composing), i like the way they are robust and portable, and perhaps i want monitors which are just a bit nearer to the normal
hifi-sound then the adams, so they translate easier...

Anybody worked with both monitors? Any thou8ght on this?

Thanks in advance!

Genelec are good.I use the 1029

lesterdiamond · Post by **lesterdiamond** » Fri Aug 10, 2007 11:04 pm

that post makes the adams sound mighty appealing

Goran@Irrupt · Post by **Goran@Irrupt** » Sat Aug 11, 2007 10:01 am

i have two pairs of Adam's in my studio and i love them. i think you should keep them and spend the money you would add for Genelec's on something else.
the word of advice, get yourself a proper monitor stands. you'll be delighted with the sound of Adams.

w

sweetjesus · Post by **sweetjesus** » Sat Aug 11, 2007 11:24 am

WebSite! wrote:i have two pairs of Adam's in my studio and i love them. i think you should keep them and spend the money you would add for Genelec's on something else.
the word of advice, get yourself a proper monitor stands. you'll be delighted with the sound of Adams.

w

sorry offtopic dont mean to hijack thread but dispatch festival sounds interesting

Goran@Irrupt · Post by **Goran@Irrupt** » Sat Aug 11, 2007 12:50 pm

sweetjesus wrote: sorry offtopic dont mean to hijack thread but dispatch festival sounds interesting

thanks! and this year it's all about Monolake baby!

i'll post the full lineup of this year's edition soon. it'll be wicked!

w

michkhol · Post by **michkhol** » Sat Aug 11, 2007 1:32 pm

I had a chance to A/B Adams and Dynadio and Adams lost with flat soundstage.

stjohn · Post by **stjohn** » Sat Aug 11, 2007 1:37 pm

cheers mcnally ...solid words,
ive been thinking about changing from ym alesis mk2s to adams, ive heard dubious things on the genelecs. like the are slightly questionable in the low end region unless you have alot of monitoring space.....

CR78 · Post by **CR78** » Sat Aug 11, 2007 3:38 pm

I had Gen 1030a's. Sold them for the A7's. So much less ear fatigue on the ADAMS after an hour or two in a room that is properly treated.

My devalued U.S. two cents.

nebulae · Post by **nebulae** » Sat Aug 11, 2007 4:59 pm

I think the Adam A7 is the monitor of choice ATM for very good reasons...they're flat and they are accurate. If your mixes sound shitty on those, and you can make them sound good, then you can trust that your better mixes will sound that much better on other systems.

CR78 · Post by **CR78** » Sat Aug 11, 2007 7:43 pm

nebulae wrote:I think the Adam A7 is the monitor of choice ATM for very good reasons...they're flat and they are accurate.

Exactly. Just like their are still some folks using the original NS10's. Flat and colourless for a reason.

jngpng · Post by **jngpng** » Sat Aug 11, 2007 8:35 pm

CR78 wrote:
nebulae wrote:I think the Adam A7 is the monitor of choice ATM for very good reasons...they're flat and they are accurate.
Exactly. Just like their are still some folks using the original NS10's. Flat and colourless for a reason.

NS10s aren't flat at all. They just happen to be a good approximation of the average hi-fi speaker, so they translate well. The Adams are in a totally different league IMO.

CR78 · Post by **CR78** » Sun Aug 12, 2007 12:04 am

jngpng wrote:NS10s aren't flat at all. They just happen to be a good approximation of the average hi-fi speaker, so they translate well.

You're right. I stand corrected.

O/T p.s. Hope you're loving your FF400. I love mine. What kind of latency are you getting with it on your MB(what buffer size)? Just curious.

ilia · Post by **ilia** » Sun Aug 12, 2007 1:21 am

Here are my devalued cents:

I worked on Tannoy 6.5's for many years, and while my mixes translated well, I was always kind of struggling with the monitor, like what the hell is going on there in the lower mids? am I really having this mud? nothing ever sounded quite good on them.

Then for a while I had S1A's on loan, and I was constantly in awe. Literally, I'd put Kid A on them and it brought tears to my eyes. I'd heard the record hundreds of times before, but now everything was finally, um, in its right place. I think I was able to make my most sophisticated mixes during this time, and I also had the highest high from just listening to music at low volume.

So now I have A7's at home. They are clear enough, but not spectacular like S1A (or S2.5A!) and they also don't give me any grief. In fact I kind of don't think about the speakers at all, I just use them.

My limited experience with the Genelcs 8030 was that they sound decent but a bit more hi-fi-ish than the A7's. Whether you want that or not is probably a personal choice.

Adam A7 vs Genelec 8030

Adam A7 vs Genelec 8030

Re: Adam A7 vs Genelec 8030