ADAM A7 REVIEW
ADAM decided to enter the price arena, and they did it by having the cabinets built in China. However, the A7 is assembled in Germany like all other ADAM speakers, and employs the same high quality ribbon element found in speakers like their entire (much more costly) P series. The A.R.T. (Accelerating Ribbon Technology) tweeter is a very efficient design that delivers space and depth and air without being bright. The 6.5 driver has a mid-forward sound to it, but surprisingly good bass response and strong lower mid info as well.
The ADAM sound really is unique: dont expect them to sound like a standard silk dome tweeter. I find them to deliver front to back info in a very unique way, as do all of the ADAM speakers. If a vocal is behind the snare a little bit in your mix, the ADAMs will slap you up side the head and point this out to you. Interesting mixing tool indeed, a unique presentation that once you learn it, its hard to get away from.
Conclusion: As a go-to monitor for home and project studio / small control rooms, the A7 delivers. As a second reference in a large room, I find their depth and front to back info to be unique and likely would be different in a complementary way to your main pair.
EVENT OPAL MONITOR REVIEW
When RODE of Australia bought Event the first thing they did was scrap the current mission; every single model was discontinued and the new Event set out on a mission to create a near field active studio monitor that was low distortion and high output with great detail and realism. The short review here would be job well done then! as the Opal has turned out to be a very strong offering in this price bracket and certainly way more speaker than most have ever heard in an 8 design. Many months of focus for this company have certainly paid off in a way that is very beneficial to us all.
Equipped with proprietary drivers designed from the ground up, Opal utilizes a high excursion 8 glass fiber driver as well as a 1 beryllium dome tweeter. The onboard amp offers max 600W + 140W respectively to each, enormous compared to most offerings. An analog EQ section is slickly located in an access panel on the face of the units, offering gentle sound shaping for your room. Opal accepts ¼ or XLR inputs via the combo jack on the rear. There are 2 front ports on this curvy cabinet which is designed to prevent resonance and reflections. They come with a rubber mount system that can work in vertical or horizontal positions, and the tweeter can be rotated as well. I like the look of them, they look like studio monitors and are kind of muscular in appearance.
Talk about being able to hear INTO the music! The first time I put up the Opals next to some more costly speakers that I am familiar with, I was blown away at how much they revealed down to the smallest reverb tail. Transients were extremely snappy, snare drums and acoustic guitars are cracking away like they should. The body of the midrange and lower mids is nicely present, this is not a scooped mid sound like many 8 offerings suffer. The low end is where the Opal also kicks other designs to the curb. In my well treated control room (hey, its small but Im proud of the excellent sound in here!) there is this deep and natural extension that is telling me everything. The Opal claims to reach nicely to 35hZ and they indeed do. There is no way I would ever desire a sub with them (never mind the phase issues you can introduce with subs and the fact that I just dont mix with subs here). The X-Coil technology enables the 8 driver to deliver fast and accurate response while maintaining super low distortion. Im telling ya, you can instantly hear that these things have almost no audible distortion and a unique clarity. Also, I just cannot hear these ports which is another gripe I have with other brands. Absolutely silent, no chuffing and puffing here.
The 1 tweeter is smooth but open sounding and not a bright or annoying sound. This is not a fatiguing or tizzy sort of metallic sound, Event nailed it with this tweeter in my opinion. I can sit in front of Opals all day without getting a headache which is good. Air is easy to hear without a boost in the top end. I am convinced the large waveguide is a huge part of this WIDE top end response, spacious sound awaits you for sure.
The EQ section is gentle but useful and does not introduce a sound of its own, nor does it rely on digital conversion like most others (no DSPall analogyay!). It also enables full, half and quarter space settings to tailor to room size and placement.
The Opals get loud, really loud. In fact in my room I really can't bear the extreme SPL it puts out while NOT hitting the limiter. Amazingly they remain clean and clear, and apparently the limiter threshold is well above any reasonable listening level.
Conclusion: A serious window into your music, the Event Opal delivers on low distortion and a deep and linear response that gives you all you need to make great mixes. The attention to this one speaker is proof that Event is back and deadly serious about knocking out the competition with this exceptional near field offering.
FOCAL CMS 50 MONITOR REVIEW
With front ported solid aluminum enclosures the CMS series is surprisingly heavy, thats the first thing I noticed is wowsome serious heft here for 5 speakers. The CMS series utilizes an inverted dome tweeter like their other pro series designs, but instead uses an aluminum / magnesium design vs beryllium. The 5 driver is a polyglass design, and a total of 130W bi-amped power is on board. There are notch filters and other room EQ settings on board, and volume is adjusted from the face. A seriously cool rubber pad is included to help stop coupling with your stands / desk. The look of the speakers is very impressive and bold.
For home studio use one could almost say look no further if this is the top of your budget. Does the 5 driver put out enough bass? Obviously not as much as larger designs are capable of, but its the extremely revealing nature of this speaker top to bottom that makes it so great. The midrange just seems so linear, and the tone is pleasing. The inverted dome tweeter design is unique and provides a smooth sound that is revealing and provides a very decent sized sweet spot. Bass is certainly impressive for this size, and volume is as well. There are limiters built in which protect the speaker, at the time of this writing the Focal rep has assured me theyve never had to replace a driver which of course is a big reason WHY limiters are installedless repairs or issues. The EQ settings can be quite useful, and switching them in doesnt seem to overly affect the tone of the speaker.
Conclusion: A linear sound and clear detailed midrange are the main reasons to reach here. If youre a bigger is better fan then the CMS50 is maybe not quite for you, there is no fake hype going on with these but I find them adequate even without a sub. You really do hear your music more than the speaker, a lot of speaker going on here for not too much cabbage.
FOCAL CMS 65 MONITOR REVIEW
The bigger brother in the CMS series, weve got another front ported hefty solid aluminum enclosure here for a beast of a speaker. The CMS 65 features Focals inverted dome aluminum / magnesium tweeter and a 6.5 polyglass driver, being pushed by a total of 160W of onboard amp. There are notch and shelf EQs available to tweak to your rooms needs, volume is controlled from the face of each speaker. It also includes the super groovy rubber mounting pad to decouple the speaker from the desk or stand. A built in limiter will engage before you blow the speakers up, yet seems to sonically stay out of the way nicely.
The CMS65 is a show stopper in this price range in my experience. With a freq response of -3dB @ 45hZ (!) they also put out some seriously real bass response and volume. I did not expect them to deliver the depth they do at this size (these arent exactly tiny speakers though). Even shooting them out against 10 monitors for a while proved them to be quite revealing in the lower registers in my room. Again, this CMS range though has this amazingly clear and detailed midrange sound that just runs circles around others. That inverted dome tweeter, while not achieving quite the smoothness of the beryllium style found on the more expensive Focal models, delivers a sizeable sweet spot and detail that is a high achievement for sure. The 65 do have a punch to them in the low mids that is noticeably more revealing as well, kick drums and bass guitar can easily be discerned and dealt with like a good studio tool such as the CMS 65 should.
Conclusion: In this price range the words no compromise are not only welcomed but they ring truer than I think any other speaker of this type I have heard. I know theyre not uber expensive (not cheap either) but they sure act like they are. Focal have milked this design in ways that will likely eat into some of their higher end offerings.
FOCAL SOLO6 BE MONITOR REVIEW
I gotta note up front that if you're one of those people who thinks ____ and ____ and ____ and ____ speakers (see a pattern here?) are too bright, look no further than the smooth Solo 6 Be from Focal. I'm not sure why, as they share the same drivers and crossover points, but this speaker even sounds radically different from the Twin6. High frequency stuff is all there, and it's not a "dark" speaker, but there is a laid back and forgiving top end response that is very unique. Most people who are critical of monitors seem to directly attribute it to the high frequency response, or at least that is a main complaint. This is one of those few speakers that when that seems to be the major concern for a buyer that I can reach for without complaint. They have no limiters on board which means you can crank them! These speakers get seriously loud, louder than anything their size I've heard.
The following "review" is actually an email I wrote to FOCAL after spending time with the Solo6's, and their response.
Me: Hey Simon just thought I'd toss you my observations of the Solo6 Be pair I've been burning in for 4 days now. They have a more "muscular" sound by comparison, the midrange is a bit more dense and the low mids seem to have a bit more presence by comparison. The Twins have a more 3D sound, I hear more space and air around individual sources. The Solo6 are a bit flatter by comparison, not a bad thing, just different. The low end is actually pretty comparable between the two, again the Twins are just more EFFORTLESS though. In other words, the second driver allows the mids to keep their own place better while low end material like kick and bass are bumping strong. With all settings flat the Solo6 tweeters are smoother and draw less attention to themselves, the Twins are bright and more forward sounding by comparison (with more air of course). Of course you can turn the top end down on the Twins and get closer, however there is an upper midrange presence that has more to do with the 6.5" mid driver that cannot be affected by turning the top end EQ all the way down. If I had to guess I'd say it's around the 3k range. Both get incredibly loud, but again the Twins win on being able to maintain more midrange clarity using the dual drivers. Great speakers the Solo are...!!! There are ways I prefer them, but I still believe the Twins to be the better pair for my room with their extra 3D sound and cleaner bottom end delivery. The only question I have is, what are the crossover points on each model? I cannot find this info in the pdf manual. - War
Simon / FOCAL rep: Hi Warren, you are absolutely spot-on! This is probably the best description I've seen of the differences between the Solo6 and the Twin6! (not kidding) The Solo6 lives in the shadow of the Twin6 and some people hesitate to get the Solo6 because they fear not having enough bass. As you heard, it does
not really have "less bass" it's just not as punchy and dynamic but it goes as low. The xover points are the same on both which is 2.5k on the Twin6, the second 6.5inch operates only below 300Hz - Simon
Conclusion: A must have speaker if you love smooth top end response, the Solo6 also deliver bass response and volume comparable to the more expensive Twin6. Mixing on the Solo6 proved very successful for me as well, which is what counts too. Their more traditional 2 way design can be an advantage over the Twins in more ways than one, and again I am amazed at the tonal differences between these models which share components. Clarity from top to bottom with just enough niceness to make them great listening speakers in general, the Solo6 are not to be considered inferior to the Twins...just different.
FOCAL TWIN6 BE MONITOR REVIEW
As I write this review, a pair of Twins are on top of the desk and I have no plans to remove them.
There are a few things you should know about them that make them quite special in several ways. First, there is NO LIMITER on boardnada! My biggest complaint about active monitors has always been that the built in limiters do not really allow you to push any real volume. The Twins are the exception, finally a speaker manufacturer with the balls to allow us to crank them as we choose. I am certain that one of the reasons why the Twins are cleaner sounding than other speakers is that the signal does not have to hit the additional limiting electronics (well anything in the path would detract from the pure signal). The Twins could easily double as a small PA system with their volume capability. Second, the #2 woofer in my room has eliminated ever having to entertain the idea of a sub (which I dislike having to ever use anyhow) as they reach very low. Thirdly, the beryllium tweeter is very smooth and snappy and from a normal distance I do not hear any hiss (pet peeve for some). The biggest thing to note though?
The characteristics really start to shine through after about 4 days of solid break in.
When I first put them up I found them to be a bit bass shy, and ended up using the +3 setting on the low end shelf EQ. I also found the top end a touch pointy, and preferred the top end EQ at the -1 setting. I knew they were great speakers, but after speaking with FOCAL about my initial impression I was advised to break them in. I put in Stone Temple Pilots Core album and looped it and shut the door (didnt want to get sick of that record, still a great one!). Every day I would pop in and listen loud, soft etc. It was after the fourth day (roughly 100 hours) that I walked in, sat down and said now theres too much bass!. I set the low end EQ flat and there it was, just a perfectly full and revealing low end. Also, the top end smoothed out and I set the top end EQ to the center detent (off) and that is where it stays now.
Focals mantra is Listen to your music, not to your speakers and I have to say that at this point no words have rung more true to me. The imaging seems more outside of the speakers, I dont really hear the enclosure but just the music. Loads of separation in the midrange too, vocals that I know pop out in other systems are popping out and floating there nice and 3D like. Crap mixes Ive made in the past are not glossed over, and current mixes are coming together quicker with zero issues translating to the car or home stereo (which is what the game is all about). Any speaker that can do what the Twins do on track 8 / Blood,Sugar,Sex, Magik (The Righteous & The Wicked, the intro can tell you a lot about the depth of a speaker with its huge room resonance and extremely tuned down bass guitar, not many speakers can deliver this).
Conclusion: Clean, revealing, 3D, true, deep, smooth and LOUD are all words I would use to describe the Twins. Since they come to life after 100 hours of burn in, I offer 100 hours of burn in at no charge. Its worth it so I do it. If you have the cash it is time to hear what youre missing.
KUSH AUDIO GAIN TRAIN REVIEW
If you are looking for simple, straight forward desktop analog volume control and monitoring of critical audio, I can already tell you the Kush will fulfill your needs and then some. This small, table-top style analog only volume controller comes in the classic "ubk brown" finish and has chrome buttons as well as a "nipple like" knob that is very unique. It won't look like anything else anybody has seen sitting around any studio before, the style is all its own. There are TRS ins and outs, the Function Junction add on box sports a DSUB jack for multiple I/O use. The Main Gain on its own will provide stereo in / out from one source to one pair of speakers, and give you MONO and individual left / right mutes (a rare feature!). Adding the Function Junction brings talkback w/ internal mic (feeds the headphone outs only), 2 headphone outputs, and 2 more stereo source inputs and the ability to switch between another 2 sets of stereo speakers (for 6 total). It connects to the Main Gain via the 15 pin port on its left side, or via a cable (you must provide) if desired.
The sound of the unit absolutely kills, I have to say. Not in a "makes everything sound better way" either, I mean in a way that it should operate...true to the original source. In testing vs my monitor controller here, the Main Gain won on accuracy, left / right tracking relationship at all levels of the volume pot, resolution and detail of sound, as well as the headphone amps being very clear and loud. The talkback mic was surprisingly lo-fi, although I have to say the fact that it MUTES the audio does still give it a leg up as far as the artist (A) noticing you are actually talking to them and (B) understanding what you say.
Conclusion: Talking strictly audio in the purest sense, for critical listening the Kush Audio Main Gain delivers true fidelity in an unhyped way, up and down the scale. Individual left / right mutes and MONO summing bring the basic functions one needs, and you can always expand with the Function Junction for multiple speaker setups, as well as providing very high quality headphone amps for engineer and artist.
PRESONUS CENTRAL STATION REVIEW
Ive been using the Presonus Central Station for several years now in my DAW setup, and have been pleased the entire time to use it. This single rack space solution packs more punch than just about any console master section ever could, and you can route pretty much any intos to any out-tos easily. The metering is big and can be read easily from across a football field, I like that! The Central Station features its own D/A conversion and SPDIF / TOSLINK connections, up to 192k at 24 bit. There are balanced TRS ¼ connections all over the thing for your ins and outs, and unbalanced RCA inputs for CD players and DAT machines. There is a built in talk back mic, and a preamp with phantom power if you want to bring your own mic to the game (you should).
In use with the remote option (CSR-1) it just makes sessions flow smoothly. The built in talk back on the remote is seriously convenient, but I must warn you the switch and relay make a very resonant PING when engaged that can be pretty annoying for those on the receiving end. Do yourself a favor and use an external mic which will eliminate this issue (issue being that the mic is housed near the switch and relay and picks up on the resonance!). That is literally my only complaint and an easy one to remedy really. A small complaint I have is that the first 2 marks out of 20 the left to right tracking isnt very tight. In other words, there is a slight stereo skew when first opening up the passive pot. After the first 2 marks though it pulls together tight with no noticeable float. I use the dim switch when monitoring and simply consider the second marker to be my lowest setting, works like a charm.
Overall the sound is pretty darn clean, likely cleaner than most console audio paths (the Central Station is a passive signal path). The digital conversion on board is quite decent, it surprised me how nicely it hung with the likes of Lucid DA9624 units. Being able to route cue mixes, CD players or the main mix to artists in headphones is great too. The A/B/C switching is flawless with no noticeable clicks etc, very smooth switching. The C output is meant for subwoofer use as it does not disengage either the A or B output but rather runs parallel with it. If you really wanted to use C for a third stereo pair, you could disable A and B easily and then turn C on no problem. The headphone amps on board are OK, nothing spectacular but loud enough for most tracking situations and useful to have at times.
Conclusion: The feature set and sound are a lot in any price range, Presonus really thought this one out very well and all major features for monitoring are covered here. Yeah there are a couple of tricks to getting the most out of it, but its so minor compared to the gains you experience by letting the Central Station take over your monitoring duties and talkback system.
YAMAHA MSP3 MONITOR REVIEW
The baby brother in the MSP series, the MSP3 is actually pretty amazing for their size. It could either be the ultimate computer speaker setup or a nice home studio monitor when space and budget are limited. First of all, even though its called the MSP3 it has a 4 woofer (strange yes) and 7/8 tweeter, and has a 20W amplifier as well as basic tone and volume control on the face of the unit. It accepts XLR or TRS ¼ balanced or RCA unbalanced, and you can plug into each and select LINE 1 or LINE 2 as source (a nice feature for part time song writers using their computers to record).
The MSP3 is surprisingly robust sounding and loud for such a small design. If youre writing songs in your bedroom and tired of using cheap computer speakers to mix (only to find how lacking those mixes are) then these wont take up much more space but will deliver a sound that is far more workable. Even the bass response is clear and deep, especially for a 4 design. They have a fairly revealing nature about them that gives great info for a decent mix.
Conclusion: As a computer speaker or entry level home studio monitor they are perfect, I also think they can make a great second reference for pro studios who want to hear translation on small speakers (which I find 4 designs to be a nice reach for).
YAMAHA MSP5 MONITOR REVIEW
Yamahas MSP series of monitors is one of those rare performers that well, maybe doesnt get enough talk on audio forums but those that own them know they are something special in this price range. The MSP5 features a 5 woofer and 1 titanium dome tweeter mounted in a sleek, ported molded metal enclosure, is bi-amplified (40W low, 27W high), has simple high and low contour controls and accepts balanced XLR or unbalanced ¼ inputs.
The MSP5 I find to be a whole lot of nearfield monitor for the money. It has a detail in the midrange that is quite revealing, the bass response is very strong for a 5 design but also not FAKED like many speaker makers do (to impress you on the sales floor). The titanium tweeter has a familiar and traditional tone to it that has never seemed fatiguing either. The build quality seems very good (to date Ive never seen a failure) and they have a nice heft to them for fairly small speakers. Midrange is hard to get right, and the MSP5 just does a great job there. They get loud enough for small speakers (maybe a little louder than you think) and remain clear at high volumes compared to other inexpensive small speakers.
Conclusion: As a main home studio monitor, or as a second reference monitor in a professional environment, I think the MSP5 is the most speaker in its class for unhyped but traditional sound. Their translation is easily learned, they provide the essentials for a good mix.
YAMAHA MSP7 MONITOR REVIEW
The big brother of the MSP5, the MSP7 offers twice the amplifier, a larger woofer (6.5) that reaches down deeper and sports more overall volume, and accepts XLR input only. The enclosure is the same metal molded style only larger, and is front ported. There is a low cut switch which allows you to select flat, 80hZ or 100hZ to integrate nicely with a sub (like the SW10).
Another winner in my opinion, the MSP7 delivers still in a nearfield position but is capable of a larger and louder reproduction. Similar to the MSP5 in its linear response without sounding hyped, the MSP7s added bass response and volume is welcomed for bigger rooms. Being a larger woofer design it isnt quite as midrange focused as its little brother, but its not a sacrifice at all considering the overall bigger picture of the mix the MSP7 can deliver. No hype on the bottom again, and plenty of clarity in the mids as well as a traditional 1 dome tweeter that doesnt take long to learn and I do not find fatiguing.
Conclusion: For more volume and bass reach for the MSP7. It is a serious competitor for speakers from dedicated monitoring companies at 1/3 the price.