The Adam T5V (see image) offers lesser in the lower frequencies but maximum portability and compactness.
If you’re looking for a pair of active nearfield studio monitors for music production that offers you exceptional sound quality for critical listening, appealing aesthetics, and all of these in a compact package without breaking the bank, the ADAM T5V, T7V, and T8V are options to take a look at.
In summary, all three monitors are sound investments to make for building a project studio at home, using them as your reference monitors in more elaborate studio settings, or even taking them with you for a weekend songwriting session in the back of your car (although the Adam T8V would probably about a bass guitar with a flight-case). Launched in 2018, they feature 5inch, 7inch, and 8inch mid/bass drivers, respectively. The Adam T8V is also the largest and priciest of the three and gives you a maximum bass response. The Adam T5V offers lesser in the lower frequencies but maximum portability and compactness. The Adam T7V is something of a balance between the three. All three have received rave reviews and multiple awards from leading industry specialists.
Sound interesting? Now let’s have a closer look.
Design
The Adam T5V, T7V, and T8V come with near-identical aesthetics. While some don't find this 'posh' enough, the minimalist, no-nonsense, black with simple white branding oozes (their hometown) Berlin vibes and is something of an acquired taste. The build quality offered in this price range is very competitive. The overall finish leaves no room for doubt as far as quality is concerned. Neither does the confidence of the 5-year warranty these speakers come with.
Overall, you'd be hard-pressed to find any differences in design between the three on paper until you take size and weight into consideration. The Adam T5V, T7V, and T8V increase in ascending order in this regard.
The one legit gripe some users have had are the seamless volume knobs on these monitors in the back. While not a 'flaw' per se, the lack of any indents on these, combined with the fact that they’re not easily accessible, can make setting volume levels a little difficult.
Dimensions
Adam T7V's (see image) dimension is 13.7" x 8.3" x 11.5” ( 347 mm x 210 mm x 293 mm) and weighs 15.7 lbs (7.1 kg).
Adam T5V: 11.7" x 7" x 11.7" (298 mm x 179 mm x 297mm)
Adam T7V: 13.7" x 8.3" x 11.5” ( 347 mm x 210 mm x 293 mm)
Adam T8V: 15.8" x 9.8 “ x 13.2“ (400 mm x 250 mm x 335 mm)
Weight
Adam T5V: 12.6 lbs (5.7 kg)
Adam T7V: 15.7 lbs (7.1 kg)
Adam T8V: 21.6 lb (9.8 kg)
Check out the Operation Manual of Adam Audio’s T Series.
Sound Quality
Let me tell you something right off the bat.
The sound quality performance you'll end up getting from a speaker will always depend on your room acoustics - particularly room dimensions and speaker positions.
The impact of the combination of these two is actually so strong that in most cases, it doesn't even make sense to utter a single word on sound quality without speaking of them.
This is also why it's not unusual to see completely different reviews of the same speaker.
In one case the speaker might be placed in a sweet spot inside the room and hence the user might be satisfied. In other cases the same speaker might be ill placed and hence user might even have returned it.
The point most people miss here is that it mostly isn't even about the engineering behind the speaker itself. It's about where you place the speaker inside which room.
So, in order to solve this problem, I've partnered with Acoustics and Audio Engineering PhD Andrea Cicero from AC Acustica and created Soundton - a simple, 2D, browser accessible online speaker placement calculator.
With Soundton, now there's a way to figure the sound quality of most speakers before you buy them.
Read more about its working principles at soundton.com/documentation/.
The end colormap provides you the locations with the best (green) and worst (red) acoustics.