mohragk
Member
In lieu of proper measurements and objective reviews of the iLoud Precision range, hereby my subjective impressions on the iLoud Precision 6 variance.
I had the chance to AB test them in the local music store where they had set up a rig where one could switch between most of the Adam Audio speakers (T7V, T8V, A7V, A8H etc), a Neumann KH 120A and (after asking nicely) a set of iLoud Precision 6's.
Coming in, I was biased towards the Neumann's given their track record and objective measurements, but very curious how they compared to the new iLoud P6's since they claim to be as flat in response as those (or even better) and provide a lower bass extension compared to the Neumann's. I was also interested how my current T7V's would stack up.
Wat I noticed immediately is that the Neumann's have a very "dark" sound signature. Really meaty in the low-mids, you could tell right away they are excellent for vocal heavy and rock stuff. They have a pretty alright bass extension but the highs are much more muted compared to the iLoud's (or any of the Adam speakers). The Adam all were much brighter compared to the Neumann KH 120A's. The Adam T series definitely lacked that lower-mid detail. Only the A7V and the A8H provided more meatiness and low-mid detail. I do find the Adam stuff a bit too bright (I have the highs set at -2db on my T7V's), the Neumann's missed a bit of that sparkle and the iLouds were a happy in-between.
Subjectively; the iLouds were overall just nicer to listen to. More pleasing. They have that meatiness and detail in the lower-mids like the Neumann's do, but also provided a bit more brightness and especially a lot more bass. You absolutely don't need a subwoofer with the iLoud Precision 6's, which you would probably want the Neumann's. Only the 8 inchers from Adam could compete with the bass response of the iLoud's.
They also had more depth to them -- while the Neumann's and the Adam sounded like the sound was coming from a projection screen in front of your, the iLoud's had more dimension to that. Sounds decayed away from you instead of just dying out.
The iLoud's also sounded a lot more dynamic, the Neumann's felt a bit compressed. Maybe because of the muted highs that transients aren't perceived as sharp compared to the rest. They just weren't as exciting to listen to as the iLoud's.
In the end I was pretty surprised at how different the Neumann's sounded compared to the iLouds. I expected them to be much closer together, since the Neumann's have a very flat response, and the iLoud's claim to have a very flat response. Maybe the Neumann's had some eq applied to them I was unaware of, or (quite possibly), the iLouds do have more of a v-shape to them. Hard to say without any actual data.
I do picked the iLoud Precision 6's over the Neumann's. I use them in a Hifi/living room setting and am not using them for critical/analytical work. I did apply the X-monitor "comfort" curve to them, just to tone down some of that brightness (go figure). I am very pleased with my choice, although I do wonder how the KH 150's would stack up against the iLoud's? Maybe in a couple of years when my bank account has recovered a little.
I had the chance to AB test them in the local music store where they had set up a rig where one could switch between most of the Adam Audio speakers (T7V, T8V, A7V, A8H etc), a Neumann KH 120A and (after asking nicely) a set of iLoud Precision 6's.
Coming in, I was biased towards the Neumann's given their track record and objective measurements, but very curious how they compared to the new iLoud P6's since they claim to be as flat in response as those (or even better) and provide a lower bass extension compared to the Neumann's. I was also interested how my current T7V's would stack up.
Wat I noticed immediately is that the Neumann's have a very "dark" sound signature. Really meaty in the low-mids, you could tell right away they are excellent for vocal heavy and rock stuff. They have a pretty alright bass extension but the highs are much more muted compared to the iLoud's (or any of the Adam speakers). The Adam all were much brighter compared to the Neumann KH 120A's. The Adam T series definitely lacked that lower-mid detail. Only the A7V and the A8H provided more meatiness and low-mid detail. I do find the Adam stuff a bit too bright (I have the highs set at -2db on my T7V's), the Neumann's missed a bit of that sparkle and the iLouds were a happy in-between.
Subjectively; the iLouds were overall just nicer to listen to. More pleasing. They have that meatiness and detail in the lower-mids like the Neumann's do, but also provided a bit more brightness and especially a lot more bass. You absolutely don't need a subwoofer with the iLoud Precision 6's, which you would probably want the Neumann's. Only the 8 inchers from Adam could compete with the bass response of the iLoud's.
They also had more depth to them -- while the Neumann's and the Adam sounded like the sound was coming from a projection screen in front of your, the iLoud's had more dimension to that. Sounds decayed away from you instead of just dying out.
The iLoud's also sounded a lot more dynamic, the Neumann's felt a bit compressed. Maybe because of the muted highs that transients aren't perceived as sharp compared to the rest. They just weren't as exciting to listen to as the iLoud's.
In the end I was pretty surprised at how different the Neumann's sounded compared to the iLouds. I expected them to be much closer together, since the Neumann's have a very flat response, and the iLoud's claim to have a very flat response. Maybe the Neumann's had some eq applied to them I was unaware of, or (quite possibly), the iLouds do have more of a v-shape to them. Hard to say without any actual data.
I do picked the iLoud Precision 6's over the Neumann's. I use them in a Hifi/living room setting and am not using them for critical/analytical work. I did apply the X-monitor "comfort" curve to them, just to tone down some of that brightness (go figure). I am very pleased with my choice, although I do wonder how the KH 150's would stack up against the iLoud's? Maybe in a couple of years when my bank account has recovered a little.
