The most powerful member of Adam Audio's studio-grade A Series, the Adam A8H comes in a Left and a Right version. Each half of this midfield monitor duo boasts a tweeter, a dedicated midrange driver, a woofer, and a bass reflex port, providing a frequency response from an incredible 31Hz all the way up to 45kHz. The integrated DSP enables precise sound optimisation for any listening environment – owners of an A-series monitor have free access to Adam's A Control software, which offers intuitive and yet fine-grained control over all their devices' parameters. Connected to a computer (Windows or MacOS) via a simple network cable, the speakers can be minutely calibrated. Other high-end A Series features include the tweeter's special waveguide, which provides controlled sound dispersion – for accurate mixes right in the sweet spot. The unique material composition of the woofer and midrange driver is also designed to ensure minimal distortion even at high output levels. Adam Audio has delivered the goods yet again with this affordable solution for true stereo midfield studio monitoring.
Each Adam Audio A8H midfield monitor is, as its name suggests, fitted with an 8" woofer, which is driven by a 1.5" voice coil. The cones of the woofer and the 3.5" midrange driver are composed of several layers of a precisely engineered mineral fibre composite, which, together with the woofer's specially developed magnets, gives the A8H a remarkably clear and powerful bass response. Adam's proprietary X-ART tweeter uses a special HPS waveguide (High-Frequency Propagation System) for controlled sound dispersion: At the crossover frequencies, it also ensures horizontal alignment with the midrange driver's dispersion, creating a stable stereo image and a larger sweet spot. On the vertical plane, similarly, reflections caused by the rest of a studio's equipment are reduced. To prevent unwanted resonances, the waveguide is made from a special low-resonance glass-fibre composite.
On the rear panel of the Adam Audio A8H, users will find not only an XLR, an RCA, and a network connection, but also a 4-band equaliser equipped with with RGB LEDs that indicate the selected settings, which include options to boost the bass by 2dB or cut it by 2dB or 4dB. Another button allows producers to select voicings for the frequency response: While UNR offers listeners a slightly coloured response for an accessible, vibrant sound, Pure provides a wholly neutral and linear response for uncompromisingly accurate monitoring. Selecting Ext, in turn, allows users to patch in additional voicings via the A Control software, which requires a computer connection via the Ethernet port; A Control is also capable of many further filter adjustments to optimise the sound for any listening environment.
The Adam A8H is a powerful 3-way monitor designed for a wide range of professional audio applications. Music producers are the key target audience here, as the A8H offers them a flexible solution for monitoring their mixes: It offers not only a linear and neutral frequency response for precise mastering, but also a more contoured, musical sound profile, which is ideal both for reducing ear fatigue over longer sessions and for a sense of consumer listening settings. The integrated DSP is also well-equipped to ensure optimal sound adjustment to the room's acoustics. And with an extended frequency range of up to 45kHz, a pair of Adam A8Hs is capable of accurate work on even the most audiophile productions: It should be noted that this is the left-sided variant (Art. 540729), corresponding to the right-hand version (Art. 540739).
ADAM Audio was founded in Berlin in March 1999 and has since been involved in the development, manufacture, and distribution of speakers specifically aimed at the professional audio industry. The company was founded following the development of the X-ART tweeter, itself based on the Air Motion Transformer created by Oscar Heil in the 1960s. Advanced Dynamic Audio Monitors (ADAM) has rapidly set new standards in the world of studio monitors. The company employs over 50 people in its Berlin factory, is distributed in over 75 countries, and has sales offices in both the USA (Nashville) and the UK. The list of renowned studios using ADAM monitors is long and still growing. ADAM Audio has been part of the Focusrite Group since 2019.
The Adam A8H's already comprehensive options for sound optimisation – via the 4-band equaliser on the rear of unit, as well as the filter settings in the A Control software – are complemented by a nice additional feature here: The package includes a 60-day trial version of Sonarworks SoundID Reference software, which allows calibration curves to be loaded onto the Adam A8H's DSP, to optimise the sound to the listening environment – which can be measured in advance. During this optimisation process, the monitor's DSP handles the processing, leaving more computing power available for the more important production tasks. Room measurement requires a microphone with an omnidirectional polar pattern (sold separately): For particularly accurate measurements, the use of a dedicated measurement microphone is recommended.
ART – Accelerated Ribbon Technology
Unlike conventional dome or cone tweeters that use a piston action to move air and reproduce sound, Adam Audio's ART tweeters (manufactured in X-ART, S-ART, and U-ART versions, with the X-ART implemented in all the A Series monitors) use a pleated ribbon that moves air four times faster, hence the name Accelerated Ribbon Technology.