You know I long suspected that the whole mindset of choosing speakers for your room size was a bunch of whooie and then I saw Fletcher post the same thing a while back (not that he is the end all be all of audio or anything).

I think you should buy the speakers that you like to mix on and forget about the size of the room (obvious restrictions in space for sofet mounted mains aside).

From what I have heard others say I am very sure the speakers for me are the S3A's but this has nothing to do with the dimensions of my room. For the record I could not swing them right now but I do not regret my decision to go with the S2A's in the least bit....

Anyway you have to decide on what you want out of a speaker but as long as your room is in good shape (can you say Realtraps??) choose the speaker for what they do not how they match your room dimensions.....

YMMV of course....

I don't know, I have never heard them with your ears...

heh

Seriously I think the whole idea of speakers being a personal decision is a little overblown. Yes some people will not dig the S2A's just like some people will not dig a Neve 1081... but it would not be the 1081's fault if you can't get a good sound out of it.

The 1081 just like the S2A is a tool and a high quality one. All tools have their limitations and their strengths, high quality tools have less of the former and more of the latter but ya still got ta get to know'm.

I can't tell you if the PNC's are better but I know that the S2A's are a high quality tool that any good engineer could use to make music with......

I recently did a comparison between Adam S2.5A, Dynaudio BM15A and PMC TB2S-A. First I tried the Adam P11A instead of S2.5A, but they couldn't match the others and they are also quite a bit cheaper as well.

Between the others, well, it's all a matter of taste. The PMC speakers are clearly the most different ones. They really didn't appeal to me as much as the two others. I felt I lost some dynamics and bottom end, but there were things about them that I liked as well.

The Dynaudios sounded a bit more open than Adams, but they were also sometimes a bit harsher, I believe too harsh. In the end I couldn't decide which one I preferred. They are both very good speakers...well...all three actually, but it's between Adam and Dynaudio for me now.

You guys talk as if the S3As are the best ADAM ....
Clearly you have not heard the S4CA's. I saw studios trade the S3A like they were a bad habit, within in a hour of audiophile listening with the S4cas...
adjoining subs, with mid range folded.... S4A's even have a big full sub aria.
I even spoke with a mastering , as the MP1 did not even sound as good, go figure...
My next comparo will bypass the S3As in my room and go for the S4ca/ S4as
I was told of a movie studio sound that traded the S5A's for the better sounding S4CA's . I liked the voiceover place with the full range S4A's tho.....
So those will be a the next choice for me,
dfegad screw the 3's
....why do I get sucked into these things......

S4s, antelope clocks, barefoot monitors, focals, porticos, shadow hills pres, pye and GML compressors.... aaaargh! curse all you GS!!!

Hmmm. The thing with the Adam's speakers (I tried the S2a, S2.5a and S3a in my studio and I chose the S3a) is to work on them. An hour of listening will say only so much. On my first impression (in my room) the S2.5a's sounded "best" (whatever that is) but after doing a mix on each, the S3a's where in a league of there own, followed with quite some distance by the S2.5a's. The S2a's where no contest at all and sounded harsh with too much lack of bottom. Again, that's in my room with my ears. I'm sure the S2a's are great speakers, as is proven by the reaction of some of the users here, but didn't do it for me.

Greetings,
Dirk

sooo... S4As or S4CAs? any real diff?

I just worked on both, S3-A and S4-A, for two weeks (worked on both before). I think the S3-A beats out the S4-A in terms of delivering details and panorama and "even-ess" in sound (by a little bit). The S4-A just have the advantage of beeing more full-range IMO. They might sound more impressive on the first listen, but not "better" in the meaning of delivering details. But still, it´s a great monitor.

thank you sir.

In general I think having Multi sets of Monitors is best. I don't like to stay on one set for long periods of time. I like to switch from NS 10's to Dynaudio BM 15's then to Auratones. Once I start getting use to pair I change. This only apply's when mixing.
The other purpose a multi monitor set provides would possibly be for other clients who are use to NS 10's, or what have you.
This might have been a little off subject.

www.bluethumbproductions.com

I think the above is kind of the standard way to look at monitors, has been for a while in my experience.

I used to feel this way as well but.. well... I don't have alot of time on them yet but I am pretty darn sure that I have found a pair of speakers that I can safely use solo. For me the worry of sticking on one monitor for a whole mix was that the mix would be skewed towards the sound of that monitor but I don't think that is the case with the S2A's, for me anyway.

Time will tell but I have heard people say that mixes on the ADAMs translate very well to other systems and (again with my limited experience) I think this may very well be the case. I am looking forward to taking a whole project through tracking to outside mastering to see how the whole thing sounds.

My hunch is it will be one of the best projects I have done, now that I can finally hear what the hell I am doing....

heh

I am a happy camper....

Works the opposite for me. I really want to grow a relationship with my speakers to the point that I can sit behind them and know what I'm hearing. After several sets, the S3a's do that for me. On the last album, of 10 songs, about half were spot on (apart from some taste related things the client wanted to change). I even did one mix that went straight to mastering, no outside check... This was completely out of the question before I had the S3a's.

Greetings,
Dirk

I've never heard that, and I'm pretty sure I know where every pair of S4CAs and S5As are in the US...

dB
ADAM Audio USA

I have listened to the Adam 3A's and loved them. They might translate fine to certain systems, but on small systems some of the mids might be a little louder than what you hear in the studio (a guitar too loud, snare too loud). That is why I have a small speaker set to give me a different perspective.

www.bluethumbproductions.com