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Adam S2V Studio Monitor Review

Joachim Herbert

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Joachim Herbert

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The Lake People DAT RS 05. Seems like you have a digital volume control knob as well so seems like the perfect solution for the S2Vs!

I contemplated buying one of these. I do not see what LP might do better than roon or jriver does as to controlling loudness in the gigital domain.

Once you load the RS05 with a femtosecond clock, USB input and remote control it will cost you more than 1,300 Euro. That's a roon lifetime subscription plus a great sounding streamer plus a tablet to rule it all with still some cash left to spend for whatever.
 

hardisj

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@pozz asked me if I would be interested in testing this speaker once Amir was done with it. I couldn't pass up the opportunity to test a well regarded speaker and also help me 'calibrate' my measurement data against Amir's NFS results.

The plan was to test some of the different settings to see what effect they have as well as some other tests. The single unit arrived from Amir today (after some confusion on my end, wondering where the matching speaker was, lol). I sent Pozz the following and thought I would share it here as well:


I was thinking I would take the cabinet apart and test the individual drivers. So, I started down that path. The ribbon can be removed relatively easy if I disconnect the power indicator light (I didn't do that; just looking around). But it turns out the woofer isn't as simple as "remove screws, take out driver". That woofer is *IN* there. I removed all the screws and the trim ring comes off fine but the driver isn't budging and I'm hesitant to get forceful with it in fear of scratching the cabinet. I'm wondering if the allen bolt on the side is in some way clamping the driver to the enclosure. I'm going to look at Adam's literature to see if I can determine if that's what they've done or not.

I did a very unscientific listen, using my iPhone's output set to mono (again, single speaker). I was listening to the single speaker on my work bench in my garage, placed about 2 feet from the wall with me 2 feet away, dead on-axis to the 'tweeter'. This is the things that were noticeable.
  • Off-axis rolloff noticeable at about 15-20 degrees off-axis above 8khz but by 10khz it's more audible. So if I owned these I'd stay within that region for sure.
  • The bass is ... interesting ...The bass just was not there. I switched to the 2nd option (their natural curve or whatever they call it) and it seemed like it improved a little but maybe I just wanted it to. I can't say for sure. And there's no way to A/B/X this thing, unfortunately, so measurements will have to tell us what's going on there. More noticeably, and I have no way to put this in to words other than what I'm about to try: the bass around 50-80hz seemed forced. I can't say for sure that this wasn't perception but it literally sounded like I was listening to a little woofer trying to be a big woofer and just falling on its face. Even at moderate volume, nearfield.
I'm going to build a speaker stand soon and I'll take it upstairs to listen in my HT to see what differences may be observable there with the bass.

FWIW, my review music consists of a little bit of everything. I've got M.A.D.D. (music A.D.D.) so I don't listen to 10 minute songs like some reviewers. I also literally listen to band-limited pink noise in 1/3 octave steps along with test tones to help me determine speaker qualities like off-axis response and crossover phase alignment. It's easier for me to spot problems using this kind of material than it is with music. Whereas with music I listen for the tonal characteristics based on all sorts of years' experience with various sound systems. I use data to tell me the actual performancet but I use my ears to tell me if things make sense, listen for problems and to see how my own preference lines up with the data.

It'll be a bit before I get this tested. But once I do I'll either post results here or start a new thread.

- Erin

IMG_9287.jpg
 
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pozz

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hardisj

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LOL

True story: when I took it out of the box I thought to myself “Why is this so dusty? is Amir cutting wood in his living room!?”

I then tried to clean it up a bit.

A couple hours later I pulled up the data to see what the HF falloff looked like to compare with what I heard. Then I read the “dusty cone” part and had a chuckle.
 
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Is anyone else using these for listening to music instead of mixing/mastering? Would like to know what your thoughts are regarding their performance as a "Hi-Fi" speaker.
 

pozz

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Is anyone else using these for listening to music instead of mixing/mastering? Would like to know what your thoughts are regarding their performance as a "Hi-Fi" speaker.
I used them to listen to music all the time. No problems with output. My only complaint was the vertical directivity and, now that Amir's uncovered it, the bass shelf (not that I had any inkling it was there in my in-room measurements).
 
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I used them to listen to music all the time. No problems with output. My only complaint was the vertical directivity and, now that Amir's uncovered it, the bass shelf (not that I had any inkling it was there in my in-room measurements).

What Preset do you use them on for music listening? I keep switching from Pure to UNR as the later has more satisfying bass but Pure has more detail. I don't have the necessary equipment to tune them to my room so not sure what to set them on.
 

PresbyByrd

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What Preset do you use them on for music listening? I keep switching from Pure to UNR as the later has more satisfying bass but Pure has more detail. I don't have the necessary equipment to tune them to my room so not sure what to set them on.

It’s funny you would ask this. Last night I was measuring my room with REW. I had S3V’s set for ”pure” and decided to measure them in “unr”. Interestingly, the difference in my (very small) room was indistinguishable. This was also my subjective experience. I suppose there might be greater variance in different rooms and I honestly don’t think it’s a gimmick with Adam. But that’s how it worked for me. BTW, I do love the S3V’s for music.
 
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pozz

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What Preset do you use them on for music listening? I keep switching from Pure to UNR as the later has more satisfying bass but Pure has more detail. I don't have the necessary equipment to tune them to my room so not sure what to set them on.
I used my own preset to tone down the highs a bit and to EQ a few room response issues. So most similar to Pure. I didn't like UNR because of its U-shaped boost, which is fatiguing to my ears.
 

Joachim Herbert

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3SV here to ejoy music. Use it flat with one room mode at 42 Hz notched out (via roon, not built in eq) and love it. Did some listening with harman curve like eq but went back to flat setting.
 

Lolito

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Yes, ton of people interested on a7x measurements, they are 1000€ a pair, very tempting, but expensive enough to want to see measurements before test and or purchase.

This is a very important review. The product is in a category where there is a lot of interest. I would love to see the popular, widely available and much more affordable, at $750 each, A7X tested.
 

ReaderZ

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Yes, Is that each? I found them in Canada for $2359.00 but the retailer's web page does not indicate quantity.

EDIT:
wowowow $4718.00 per pair in Canada

Call and ask for what price they can do, usually you can do better than listed price for these more expansive ones.
 

Lolito

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You can get them for much less from Anderton's in the UK. I got a pair for just £805.66 shipped to the US.

That is more than 1000€, it comes with uk cables instead of EU, or they add a crappy adapter, and I can not deduct taxes... So my source is actually 200€ cheaper than that after taxes rebate. thanks for the effort though, I appreciate it.

Question is should I do 2x a7x, or maybe better 2x a5x and upgrade later to a sub? and then, about subs, do I want my neighbours to hate me?
 
H

Hifihedgehog

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That is more than 1000€
No, it's not. It's 919.57€. Getting the cables for your region would cost you probably 10€ or less since they only need the ubiquitous C13 female termination you would find on most home and office appliances.

1588883429066.png
 

Lolito

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It's 1021€ boy. And the plug part with problem is the other side. I know what cable they use sweetheart, but thanks!!
 
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