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Adam S2V Studio Monitor Review

Stephan

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KEF R3 I'd also put on the list for passives. And maybe to give a better picture you could draw a diagram illustrating what exactly you're aiming for?
Don't have a diagram at hand, but what I try to do is to cover two rows of seats (3/4) with ceiling speakers for Atmos without losing to much height mounting the speakers. The ceiling is only ~2.2m to begin with.
 

andreasmaaan

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Don't have a diagram at hand, but what I try to do is to cover two rows of seats (3/4) with ceiling speakers for Atmos without losing to much height mounting the speakers. The ceiling is only ~2.2m to begin with.

Ok I see :) I guess there's some reason in-ceiling speakers aren't an option? The thing is, I reckon you'll find that the closer to the ceiling you put a box speaker, the more the reflections off the ceiling will interfere with the direct sound. Not to try to dissuade you from the Adams, but maybe a very slim on-wall type speaker might be a better choice if in-ceiling installation is out of the question?
 

Stephan

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I guess there's some reason in-ceiling speakers aren't an option?
They are, as long as they're not too deep. Ceiling is concrete, can't drill into it. On the concrete ceiling is a small layer of acoustic insulation followed by drywall. From there on I'm free to do whatever I want, so there will be some acoustic treatment added, but not too much due to low ceiling height. This is a new room, I'm still in the planning stage. My old HT room serves a different purpose now, so I'll have to figure out how to get the best out of the new smaller room. On the positive, I can start all over now since my Meridian DSPs from the old HT are now in the living room, so I can get some new toys. :D
 
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To those who are using the AES3 inputs on their S2V's: What are you using to convert the digital output from your computers to XLR and how do you control the volume? I am currently using my CMA400i's preamp output to feed my S2V's analogue input but would like to try to feed them a digital signal to avoid the first ADC stage. Please elaborate if possible thanks!
 

tuga

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To those who are using the AES3 inputs on their S2V's: What are you using to convert the digital output from your computers to XLR and how do you control the volume? I am currently using my CMA400i's preamp output to feed my S2V's analogue input but would like to try to feed them a digital signal to avoid the first ADC stage. Please elaborate if possible thanks!

This would probably do the trick:

https://www.minidsp.com/dirac-series/ddrc-22d
 

BDWoody

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To those who are using the AES3 inputs on their S2V's: What are you using to convert the digital output from your computers to XLR and how do you control the volume? I am currently using my CMA400i's preamp output to feed my S2V's analogue input but would like to try to feed them a digital signal to avoid the first ADC stage. Please elaborate if possible thanks!

I used this to do the same for my JBL's:

https://www.minidsp.com/products/usb-audio-interface/u-dio8

Volume control would be through software...and yes...thats pretty scary.
 

andreasmaaan

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To those who are using the AES3 inputs on their S2V's: What are you using to convert the digital output from your computers to XLR and how do you control the volume? I am currently using my CMA400i's preamp output to feed my S2V's analogue input but would like to try to feed them a digital signal to avoid the first ADC stage. Please elaborate if possible thanks!

Adam S-Control seems like it would be able to remote control the amp gain on the speakers via software, but I'm not 100% sure.

You could also use a global software volume control on your computer, e.g. via Equalizer APO, Reaper, or similar.
 

Joachim Herbert

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To those who are using the AES3 inputs on their S2V's: What are you using to convert the digital output from your computers to XLR and how do you control the volume?

Can answer this for the S3V only ;):

roon > wlan router > wlan repeater > ethernet > raspberry pi3 / allo digiOne > funk tontechnik spdif to aes/ebu cable > Adam 3SV

Volume is under software control by the roon dsp engine. This is done after conversion to 64 bit float, so no losses there. After dsp and before sending to roon endpoint data is converted back to original (or desired) bitrate and bitdepth and dithered in the process. This is as good as it gets in the digital domain.

This also should work using jriver mediacenter or audirvana running on a pc or mac. In this case I would use a USB to AES/EBU converter like the Singxer, the Audiophonics or the like from matrix and others. The cable I use between digiOne and the Adams uses a transformer to convert spdif consumer to aes/ebu. You can do without transformer, but this does not work with all devices.
 

Joachim Herbert

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Adam S-Control seems like it would be able to remote control the amp gain on the speakers via software, but I'm not 100% sure.

s-control seems to do sort of a restart of the dsp after changing a setting, so this is not practical.

You could also use a global software volume control on your computer, e.g. via Equalizer APO, Reaper, or similar.

This would work, but you need to make sure volume control ist done with a high bit depth as not to loose resolution in the process.
 

Joachim Herbert

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Would you not be losing resolution at lower volumes when adjusting it digitally?

No, if implemented properly.

Looks like I can control the volume using that knob but my question is how do you go from that one AES/EBU output to the two speakers? In other words why isn't there a left and right digital output like in analogue pre-amps?

You go to speaker 1 and daisychain to speaker 2. A single connection carries both channels. Left or right is selected on the speaker.

Another "knob solution" might be this one from Lake People. Knobs come at a cost these days :cool:
 

BDWoody

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Looks like I can control the volume using that knob but my question is how do you go from that one AES/EBU output to the two speakers? In other words why isn't there a left and right digital output like in analogue pre-amps?

Ahhh..

My speakers have a passthrough. So AES in to one speaker, then AES out from that speaker to the other. You can select from the menu which channel you are selecting...
 

Lao Lu

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This is a review and detailed measurements of the Adam S2V Professional Studio Monitor (powered speaker). It is on kind loan from a member. The S2V costs US $1,750 (each, NOT a pair).

This is one beefy, heavy and deep bookshelf speaker:


Yes, the cone was a bit dusty. :)

The back panel shows the inputs and output plus user interface:


We are now at a price point where digital input (and pass-through) are provided. I used analog input however for my testing.

There is an OLED display which while small, is workable. What is not workable is the non-intuitive user interface involving that clickable rotary encoder. Even after reading the manual and watching a video, I still could not figure out how to interact with it. I was however able to select Analog input with Pure mode which is the factory preset for "flat" response.

There is a USB connector for PC control. Went to download the app but it asked me to register. Fine, I do that. But then it wants the serial number. I gave it the serial number and if of course tells me it is in use. :( Do they think no one ever sells these speakers? Being smart, I put in a random serial number and got through. :D

The app was much easier to use but still has issues. None of the changes you make take effect. Good test to see if you are subject to placebo! You have to hit the grayed out "store" or "write" to get them to take. And that takes 5 to 10 seconds and involves some ticks and pops and fade up. Shame as the filters in there would be great for quick fine tuning and lowering room modes.

Measurements that you are about to see were performed using the Klippel Near-field Scanner (NFS). This is a robotic measurement system that analyzes the speaker all around and is able (using advanced mathematics and dual scan) to subtract room reflections. It also measures the speaker at close distance ("near-field") which sharply reduces the impact of room noise. Both of these factors enable testing in ordinary rooms yet results that can be more accurate than anechoic chamber. In a nutshell, the measurements show the actual sound coming out of the speaker independent of the room. All measurements are reference to tweeter axis with the grill removed.

Over 1000 points around the speaker were measured (from 20 to 20 kHz) which resulted in well under 1% error in identification of the sound field emanating from the speaker. Resulting database is 1.3 Gigabytes in size.

Spinorama Audio Measurements
Acoustic measurements can be grouped in a way that can be perceptually analyzed to determine how good a speaker can be used. This so called spinorama shows us just about everything we need to know about the speaker with respect to tonality and some flaws:

View attachment 50105

I know, I know. You think that step deep is because the speaker went into compression. Not so. The levels were already lower than what I use with passive speakers. But to stay on the safe side, I ran the entire ~3 hour measurement at less half the level and got the identical outcome. Levels were extremely low in the second try and the shelving behavior was there. The frequency is too low to have anything to do with directivity. I suspect this is a correction curve applied to the speaker on purpose, hoping that the room gain fills in the rest. What I can't explain is the anechoic chamber Adam provides:

View attachment 50107

Interesting enough though, we see a variation in response at the same point I measured a rise in response. I wonder if they used some kind of near-field curve to stitch here and the gain level is wrong there. They do show a tilt up the same way I have it at higher frequencies.

I plan to contact Adam and see if they have an explanation. And am open to suggestion and comments you may have on what may be going on.

Back to measurements, the crossover is at 3 kHz but you can't see it in the response curve which shows excellent blending of the two drivers. Likely DSP was used to fully correct the response but we take it however it comes.

Interestingly enough, the predicted in-room response is very good:

View attachment 50108

So that in-room shelving may be correct on-axis. We still have a dip though around 200 to 500 Hz so bass performance will still be a bit light.

That's it folks. The rest of the show is for people who want to dig really deep.

Advanced Speaker Measurements
Here is our zoomed in directivity:

View attachment 50109

We some error around the crossover area (3 kHz to 10 kHz) so a bit of room sensitivity is to be expected.

View attachment 50110

The manual systems to get rid of all reflections. Above graphs says be careful in doing so. They are balancing each other out to give a very smooth curve.
View attachment 50111


View attachment 50112

Eye-candy Speaker Measurements
Here is our contour plots which agree very well with the manufacturer measurements (theirs is much lower resolution):
View attachment 50113

View attachment 50114

View attachment 50115

Here is the company waterfall:
View attachment 50116

It is interesting in that it also shows the shelving response (top of the waterfall) which we have measured!

Speaker Distortion Measurements
You can see the true SPL levels in my first measurement presented above:

View attachment 50117


View attachment 50118

If one believes above, it is very low level of distortion.

Listening Tests
I didn't have time for extended listening and comparison. I had the cheap Pioneer SP-BS22-LR on the right and the Adam S2V on the left. Levels roughly matched, the Pioneer definitely had more bass. That is, until I increased the volume a bit and it fell apart while the S2V powered on with authority. So subjectively seems like measurements were correct in bass being low on purpose. To wit, I changed to second factory house curve mode on S2V and bass came in with vengeance.

Overall, the Adam S2v is very listenable. I would of course EQ that shelve out to get the bass where it needs to be.

Conclusions
The Adam S2V is a serious monitor with seemingly good design. The low bass probably has an explanation that we can find. Or else easily correct with an EQ (including the one built into the speaker itself). The S2V was the first powered monitor I have tested so far that did not run out of power. Nor sounded like a little point source.

I am going to put the Adam S2V on my recommended list.

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As always, questions, comments, recommendations, etc. are welcome.

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Are there any sonic improvements from an audiophile's perspective from switching to a digital input on these? Not going to invest 600$ or so if it's not worth it.
 

pozz

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Are there any sonic improvements from an audiophile's perspective from switching to a digital input on these? Not going to invest 600$ or so if it's not worth it.
There are no sonic differences.
 

pozz

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