Adam Active Bargain

davedotco

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The last models of the Adam Artist range are finally being cleared from the supply chain.

Thomann in Germany are selling the last few Artist 5 for a shade over £400pr (inc free shipping), to put that in context, the more utilitarian pro version, the A5x, costs around £700.

These are the 'house trained' versions, good quality piano laquer finish in black or white, and for those of you of a delicate disposision, grills.

I would rate these speakers as having a capability comparable (or better) to the Acoustic Energy AE1a, they will sound different of course and different people will undoubtably have different preferences, but as a fan of Adam (I own Artist 6) I can assure anyone reading this that at the current price, they are an absolute steal.

https://www.thomann.de/gb/adam_artist_5_hochglanz_schwarz.htm

ADAM1-450.jpg
 

Pedro2

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If these sound anywhere near as good as the AE1a (and I believe that it's quite possible), then these speakers are the absolute steal that you mention for one simple reason; the AE1a are amazing value at £1000 and the Adam's are selling at under half this price.

I must admit that when I bought the AEs, I was all set on auditioning several actives from the likes of ATC, Adam, JBL etc but didn't get beyond first base. I compared the AE1a with my ATC passive SCM11 and much preferred the former. I also knew that ATC actives would cost me much, much more. I'm extremely pleased with the AE's; they're a cracking speaker and great value for money. The Adam Artist looks in the same ball park but at an even better price!
 

davedotco

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The Artist5 uses the same active components as the 'pro' A5x, which sells in the very competitive pro market at around £700. Given the superior finish of the Artist I would expect it to be a little more expensive, probably much more expensive were it marketed as a hi-fi product.

Whether you would consider it to be 'better' than the AE1a would depend on you, the X-Art tweeter is a superb unit which gives the artist the edge at high frequencies but the balance of the AE1a is a little different, so it would depend on your preferences/prejudges.

The front panel level controls/power switches are not great visually, though they are much less obtrusive on the black finish.
adam-audio-artist-5-gloss-black-3d-model-max-obj-3ds.jpg
 
davedotco said:
The Artist5 uses the same active components as the 'pro' A5x, which sells in the very competitive pro market at around £700. Given the superior finish of the Artist I would expect it to be a little more expensive, probably much more expensive were it marketed as a hi-fi product.

Whether you would consider it to be 'better' than the AE1a would depend on you, the X-Art tweeter is a superb unit which gives the artist the edge at high frequencies but the balance of the AE1a is a little different, so it would depend on your preferences/prejudges.

The front panel level controls/power switches are not great visually, though they are much less obtrusive on the black finish.

Yep, if only they could make that control panel white for the white version because in black it's horrendous.
 

davedotco

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drummerman said:
No grilles?

All Artist Series come with grills as standard, none of the pro series do.

In general few if any 'pro' monitors have grills. Personally I find this a bit odd, LS50 series speakers seem to be acceptable, studio monitors apparently not.
 

Paulq

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davedotco said:
I would rate these speakers as having a capability comparable (or better) to the Acoustic Energy AE1a, they will sound different of course and different people will undoubtably have different preferences, but as a fan of Adam (I own Artist 6) I can assure anyone reading this that at the current price, they are an absolute steal.

How would you describe the differences sonically between these and the AE1's? May be tempted to order a set and have a listen. At worst, they shouldn't be too difficult to move on again.
 

Paulq

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Pedro2 said:
This crossed my mind too Paulq!

Only problem is that at the moment, I’ve got the Akurate in for an upgrade and it’s going to use up all of the hi fi tokens for the next few (several) months.

Found this review from a few years back

http://www.hifiplus.com/articles/adam-artist5-powered-desktop-monitor-speaker-playback-60/

Hi Pedro2

It's a tricky one as the Tweeter in the Adams is reputed to be one of the best there is. Having heard several ribbon tweeters there's something very compelling about them and the high-end accuracy that they are able to reproduce.

They are not the most aesthetically pleasing though as has already been commented upon.

I'll sleep on it and see if any other comments are forthcoming on them.

I'm very keen to hear your views on the Katalyst Akurate - let me know what you think
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davedotco

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Paulq said:
davedotco said:
I would rate these speakers as having a capability comparable (or better) to the Acoustic Energy AE1a, they will sound different of course and different people will undoubtably have different preferences, but as a fan of Adam (I own Artist 6) I can assure anyone reading this that at the current price, they are an absolute steal.

How would you describe the differences sonically between these and the AE1's? May be tempted to order a set and have a listen. At worst, they shouldn't be too difficult to move on again.

Something I generally shy away from. One persons 'warmth' being anothers bass 'bloat' for example.

Also I have never heard Artists and AE1a models side by side, not even in the same environment so this is quite difficult. In general terms, I would describe the Adams as a bit 'dryer', more neutral than the AE1a, which given their target audience, exhibit a little bit of the classic 'hi-fi' warmth or body.

It is often difficult for those enthusists brought up on classic hi-fi type sound to come to terms with the presentation of 'pro' type speakers, which tend, in the better examples anyway, to be more neutral and transparent. Once you get used to this degree of honesty, it is hard to go back to the 'character' of more traditional budget and mid-fi.
 

Andrewjvt

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davedotco said:
Paulq said:
davedotco said:
I would rate these speakers as having a capability comparable (or better) to the Acoustic Energy AE1a, they will sound different of course and different people will undoubtably have different preferences, but as a fan of Adam (I own Artist 6) I can assure anyone reading this that at the current price, they are an absolute steal.

How would you describe the differences sonically between these and the AE1's?  May be tempted to order a set and have a listen. At worst, they shouldn't be too difficult to move on again.

Something I generally shy away from. One persons 'warmth' being anothers bass 'bloat' for example.

Also I have never heard Artists and AE1a models side by side, not even in the same environment so this is quite difficult. In general terms, I would describe the Adams as a bit 'dryer', more neutral than the AE1a, which given their target audience, exhibit a little bit of the classic 'hi-fi' warmth or body.

It is often difficult for those enthusists brought up on classic hi-fi type sound to come to terms with the presentation of 'pro' type speakers, which tend, in the better examples anyway, to be more neutral and transparent. Once you get used to this degree of honesty, it is hard to go back to the 'character' of more traditional budget and mid-fi.

I'd 2nd the last paragraph
Don't be put off though as it's not as ice cold steel as you'd imagine.
 

Paulq

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Andrewjvt said:
I'd 2nd the last paragraph Don't be put off though as it's not as ice cold steel as you'd imagine.

I must admit I am Andrew. I am a big fan of the AE1's and reluctant to take a gamble if they are as Dave describes (and I have no reason to doubt his appraisal of them).
 

Andrewjvt

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Paulq said:
Andrewjvt said:
 

I'd 2nd the last paragraph Don't be put off though as it's not as ice cold steel as you'd imagine.

I must admit I am Andrew.  I am a big fan of the AE1's and reluctant to take a gamble if they are as Dave describes (and I have no reason to doubt his appraisal of them).

There are plenty of places to listen to them and Do ab switching.

I'd recommend funky junk
By far the best demo room I've seen.
 

Andrewjvt

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nopiano said:
An amazing bargain, and with those level controls, would be possible to suit almost any environment.  I’d love a pair for the study if I could somehow sneak them past swmbo! 

Married to swmbo?
 

tonky

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Really looking forward to your feedback. I have a Naim Unitilite (which I really like) and Epos es 14 speakers. Great combination.

Have been thinking of a Naim muso QB - flexibility - movability USB - Spotify etc. But the Adam speakers (436£ the pair) Seem a great buy.

I'm supposing that it should be easy to use them with the Naim Unitilite if I want to ( What's the best way to connect to the Adams from the Unitilite?)

Eventually Id use a seperate streamer to the Adams

Cheers tonky
 

Pedro2

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Will be great to compare the two sets of actives knowing that the Adams can be returned without hitting your wallet.

I think there will be a number of us looking forward to the comparison and I’m keeping an open mind on which one you’ll prefer.

ps got a hefty delay on the Akurate upgrade as Linn are refusing to accept any sent in for 6 weeks from dealers who don’t do the full range of kit. Talk about 1st and 2nd class service....

Enjoy your listening experiments!
 

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