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Midfield monitors comparison!

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I'm creating this thread in order to discuss which midfield studio monitors are the best in terms of sound, price, looks, value for money, etc.

I'll start by comparing two great brands, Focal and Adam.

I havent had the pleasure to listening to the old Adam A77Xs (now discontinued because of the new A series), but they were ~$850 each, and the look amazing, anyone has experience with them?

adam-audio-a77x-studio-monitor-1500.jpg


About Focal, I recently bought the Alpha 50 Evos and they sound great, and by this I mean specially the imaging, you can perfectly hear where the instruments are positioned if you close your eyes, specially left-right wise, not so much deph, but still quite good.

I've seen that Focal has midfield monitors for every of their series, being the Alpha Twin Evos the cheapest; anyone has tried these out? Are they like mine but sound better and bigger?

alpha_twin_evo_couple-_34_586x586.jpg

How about the more expensive ones? Like the Shape or Be ones?

Any other midfield you have in mind? ^^
 

dfuller

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I havent had the pleasure to listening to the old Adam A77Xs (now discontinued because of the new A series), but they were ~$850 each, and the look amazing, anyone has experience with them?
I have; they were terrible. Super scooped and boomy.

Any other midfield you have in mind? ^^
Neither of these are actually midfields, they don't have the output capability. "True" midfields are speakers in the output ballpark of the KH420 or 8361A.
 

thewas

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Neither of these are actually midfields, they don't have the output capability
Also not the narrow and controlled to relatively low frequencies directivity.

"True" midfields are speakers in the output ballpark of the KH420 or 8361A.
Exactly.
 
OP
gamersensual14
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Neither of these are actually midfields, they don't have the output capability. "True" midfields are speakers in the output ballpark of the KH420 or 8361A.
I see, well you know what I mean here: speakers that are listened to at 2 meters of distance that normally have more than two ways and that normally are huge ^^.

I have; they were terrible. Super scooped and boomy.
Oh I see, what a disapointment, I would expect more from Adam, are you excited for the new A series? Maybe the new A77H is better.
 

dfuller

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Realistically, the cheapest speakers I'd consider "capable" at midfield distances are KH310s with a pair of subwoofers.
I would expect more from Adam
I wouldn't. Every single pair I've used has been awful.
 

Somafunk

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I have Dynaudio lyd 48’s and Dynaudio 18s sub in a 4.4m x 3.3m x 2.4m treated room and listen about 2m away from them sat in middle rear of room, dunno if you could call the midfield though, I’d place them on the edge of near/mid field and I imagine they’d scale up a fair bit in a larger space to reach satisfying levels.
 

Triliza

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Always wondering if the problem using active speakers (the low priced ones) is strictly the SPL restriction or are there other reasons too (soundstage e.t.c.)? For example, lets say you buy something like Genelec 8320a and try to use it farfield, lets say 4m (13 foot), with a sub. Lets also assume that one doesn't need more then 70-75db at that distance (peaks on music can be a problem I guess) . How will all that play out, will it be a total disaster?
 

GregManningMusic

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I have; they were terrible. Super scooped and boomy.


Neither of these are actually midfields, they don't have the output capability. "True" midfields are speakers in the output ballpark of the KH420 or 8361A.
I have mixed #1 Billboard records on my Adam A77X. They suit my mix philosophy. They sit in a well treated room about 2 meters from my ears. I mix at around 85dB. Volume and distortion are not a problem. Horses for course I guess…
 

Ellebob

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Always wondering if the problem using active speakers (the low priced ones) is strictly the SPL restriction or are there other reasons too (soundstage e.t.c.)? For example, lets say you buy something like Genelec 8320a and try to use it farfield, lets say 4m (13 foot), with a sub. Lets also assume that one doesn't need more then 70-75db at that distance (peaks on music can be a problem I guess) . How will all that play out, will it be a total disaster?
They will sound good in the midfield and farfield as well. If you like their sound in the nearfield you will like it in the midfield and farfield. There is two criteria for nearfield, midfield, etc. One is SPL level, depending on your desired volume a nearfield will play in the midfield or farfield just fine, but not as loud. The other criteria for nearfield is that the sound from all the drivers (woofers, tweeters, etc) is combined at that listening distance. If you were to have a very large speaker and only sit 1 meter away you would predominantly hear the driver that is closer to your ears. Picture a tower speaker sitting on a desk.

I've had the 8020 in my home and my seating is about that distance depending where you are sitting. They sound great as long as I am not trying to crank it. I have the Kef LSX II in that spot right now and they sound good as well. I do recommend a sub with the 8320, it doesn't go that low so adding a sub will give a fuller, richer sound and take some work off the 8320 woofer. There is nothing that makes a speaker sound bad once it reaches a certain distance.
 

teashea

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KH420's.....................
 

fpitas

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I'm creating this thread in order to discuss which midfield studio monitors are the best in terms of sound, price, looks, value for money, etc.

I'll start by comparing two great brands, Focal and Adam.

I havent had the pleasure to listening to the old Adam A77Xs (now discontinued because of the new A series), but they were ~$850 each, and the look amazing, anyone has experience with them?

View attachment 209348

About Focal, I recently bought the Alpha 50 Evos and they sound great, and by this I mean specially the imaging, you can perfectly hear where the instruments are positioned if you close your eyes, specially left-right wise, not so much deph, but still quite good.

I've seen that Focal has midfield monitors for every of their series, being the Alpha Twin Evos the cheapest; anyone has tried these out? Are they like mine but sound better and bigger?

View attachment 209349
How about the more expensive ones? Like the Shape or Be ones?

Any other midfield you have in mind? ^^
The horizontal arrangement of the woofers immediately made me suspicious that these were more for looks than listens.
 
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