Help needed choosing studio monitors (BM5 mkIII, A5X/A7X, HS7, Alpha 65 Evo, ...)

The Lounge Other Gear
#61

I demo’d sonarworks through my Shape Twins, I was definitely happy with the sound post-correction.

In my room, the Shape Twins showed a lot more presence in the low-mid range with the bass and highs dropping down noticeably. Sonarworks made a significant difference to the top end.

I recently added a Sub10 which has filled in the low end significantly! I don’t own sonarworks license though so I haven’t measured the room again yet. I’ll probably pick it up soon

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#62

@Mumdad, @Ciaba, thanks guys! :+1:

Yeah, hiss sucks. The KH 120 A’s are much quieter than the BM5 mkIII’s I exchanged for them but even they aren’t dead silent. I can hear the hiss when the room is quiet and I specifically listen for it, but it’s quiet enough that it blends seamlessly into the ambient. Their hiss hasn’t bothered me once yet, and when music plays, even at very low volume, it’s a total non-issue.

@Parasol, @resonant_space, glad you are enjoying your A7V’s! I’m happy the new generation of ADAMs rocks.

I haven’t had a chance to really dig into them yet. Still getting used to them. But I’ll share my first impressions:

  • Very high-quality packaging. Yes, it’s still a cardboard box with molded white styrofoam that holds the speakers in place, but boy does everything feel snug and premium. When I opened my BM5 mkIII’s the styrofoam was splitting in some places because it had been held so loosely by the flimsy cardboard box and must had bounced about during transport. With the KH 120 A’s you could tell that the packaging was carefully engineered. I was pleasantly surprised.
  • The cabinets are all metal (aluminum, I think). Solid like a tank, nice texture.
  • I appreciate that there is a switch on the back that controls the brightness of the “On” LEDs that are on the front panels. A nice feature for dimly lit studios. The LEDs can be turned off completely, too, if desired. I remember I returned my Arturia Keystep because it’s “+/- Octave” LED was so bright I couldn’t stand it. And it would blink too which was really distracting :crazy_face:
  • The sound is very clear. All the detail is there and in a very balanced way, as far as I can discern. Music has depth, ambience, texture. I don’t have to make an effort to hear the nuances. Everything is presented clearly, precisely. One thing I am really liking after using headphones for a long time is that the sound feels like it emerges from the environment and not from a “source”. The soundstage feels wide and spacious. In the commercial music that I listen to I can clearly hear the placement and the movement of the elements.
  • I like the compact footprint of the monitors. They fit right in on my desk and I have good speaker-to-ear distance.
  • One thing that is a bit strange is that when I adjust the volume on my interface both speakers crackle while I turn the volume knob. But once the knob is set and left alone the crackling disappears. Have any other KH 120 A owners noticed this? None of my other monitors used to do this with the same audio interface. Not sure if it’s a problem, though.
  • Now that I have these monitors, I feel the need for room treatment even more. I cannot trust my room in its current state. I haven’t played around with the switches on the back of the monitors yet, though.
  • The sub bass is not going to blow the windows out. The BM5 mkIII’s punched the gut harder for sure.

I hope this is useful!

That’s good to hear! Glad they stand behind their products.

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#63

Having had a few setups in my room for the last 5 days, I’ve got a few findings in case they’re of use to anyone!

For anyone considering the AX7s… I found Sonarworks made a substantial difference to them, a vast improvement. I would almost say it’s a ‘must’ for AX7s. Great speakers, modern sounding, but didn’t have enough front to back depth for me, and sounded somehow a bit synthetic, also lacked a bit of low end extension.

For anyone considering an Adam sub7 as a decent looking small budget sub… it isn’t. So so much port distortion, I hated it.

For anyone considering Focal Shape Twins, they’ve got a lovely depth to the sound: listening to something recorded in an expensive room, you feel like you’re hearing that room. Reverbs are handled beautifully, and width is great. Low-end extension is nice. Listening to things I know and love well, I had an emotional response with these speakers — things that should sound beautiful, do so. The most analytical? No… but you can hear everything and craft things in a more 3d space than the Adams. Sonarworks made a noticeable, but much less dramatic difference to these Focals. It adds more clarity and crispness to the high end, which I suspect will improve further with burn-in, and evens out the mid range.

I ended up choosing the Focals, which is a surprise as I’ve loved my T7Vs and always promised myself a pair of A7X. The Shape Twins are not perfect monitors, but they’re my favoured choice without spending £3k plus, and they’re part of a decent family of speakers that can expand my setup if I go the atmos route (which I hope to do after moving house / studio!).

The other massive winner is Sonarworks. I’m addicted to it and don’t think I’ll ever go without it now! My room is fairly well treated and dry-sounding, but it’s helped highlight a bit of comb filtering / a room mode that I’ll be looking to work on, and also it really irons out any speakers/ listening position etc. I highly recommend it.

The question now is, should my T7Vs be kept in the studio on a different wall for synth tracking… or should they be re-purposed as great bedroom or living room speakers… hmmm.

#64

Resurrecting this thread from about six months ago.

I picked up a pair of Yamaha MSP5s off a mate. Oh my godly goodness, they are AMAZING.

I upgraded from my trusty Presonus Eris 2.5s. They were nice, small, light, easy to set up and reliable. But they were hindering my production. I did not realise how much so until I tried the MSP5s.

I’ve produced a few tracks since getting them and the difference in my mixes is like night and day. Before my tracks sounded woolly and synthetic, now they’re much dryer and more upfront.

Get yourself some decent monitors. Trust me.

These monitors are heavy though - just under 8kg EACH. The box nearly broke the back of the delivery driver coming up our old stone stairs. And they both require power, no daisy chaining like on the Presonus Eris 2.5s.

Oh, and the bass ports on the front. I tested them with one of my tracks - from the start I was blasted in the face with air. It was AMAZING. Never felt bass like I do on these puppies.

#65

:+1: Treatment is critical. It makes a tremendous improvement to any room.

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#66

Room treatment with average monitors can be better than great monitors in an untreated room. If you can get room treatment and good monitors, then this is a real treat for the ears.

I had KH310’s for 3 years before investing in room treatment, suffice to say that I only actually experienced the Neumann’s for the first time when the treatment was installed.

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#67

I can only imagine the difference treatment makes. These speakers plus treatment would be perfect, and as we’re moving into the new house soon, I’m going to look into discreet/artistic options. :smiley:

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#68

Well placed treatment really does have a staggering effect. The difference between mixes in a treated/non treated room are night and day.
Glad to hear you can get it sorted in your new gaff :slight_smile:

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#69

Looking for artistic alternatives to the usual acoustic room treatment, hope they are as functional as they are stylish.

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#70

These are more diffuser-absorbers and may only have a limited effect on specific frequential behaviour. I’m no expert, but you’ll most likely need a mix of these and the plain long rock wool type absorbers (these can be covered in funky, loose weave material if aesthetics are important), bass traps etc. to get a good balance to the room. Ceiling clouds also have a huge effect on reflections. The room dimensions and shape will also play a big part in what you should be aiming for.

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#71

Ceiling clouds… Sounds like a nursery.

Once we’re in the new house I will measure the space, considering where my desk will be, and evaluate. :slight_smile:

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#72

I would be interested how the a4v compare to the a7x’s of Adam

anyone any ideas?

#73

The character of the A4V and A7X side by side sounded very different to me, I feel like the size of the unit has very different resonances.

To my ears, the A4V sounded a lot more present in the low mids (“warm? boxy?”) where the A7X had a thicker low end and more present high mids (“scooped? clear?”)

I think A7V and A7X would be more appropriate to compare