Hey, was just curious, I often hear people talk about the a3x's as having too little bass response. I went to my local music shop today to get a comparison between the a3x's, the KRK RP5's and the Yamaha HS50's. I know the frequency response is a bit less for the Adams, but I wonder how truthful KRK and Yamaha are being with their responses. Just wanted to see what opinions people have of the three.

Initially, I heard the RP5's, and they sounded good, was really impressed by the bass. Secondly the HS50's, and after this I was left a bit undecided, the KRK's sound more bassy, which might be better for me (I produce house), but the Yamaha's sounded slightly cleaner to me; the KRK's often made things sound slightly detuned, although this could have been them set up poorly?

Anyway, as if actually taking the plunge and just buying a pair wasn't hard enough, the kid I was talking to recommended me the a3x's, which I didn't really have in mind when I went there. He compared the Adams to low end pro-sound, rather than the KRK and Yammy's which were more high end intermediate, perhaps. I was deceived into thinking that the 3 meant 3 inch cone, but it's actually 4.5, so they're not far off the other two in terms of size. Also, he spoke about the ribbon; are ribbons noticeably better than normal tweeters?

Anyway, after the whole experience, I'm more undecided than ever. My music style says KRK, balance says Yammy, gut says Adam's, which do you guys think I should go for? Bare in mind, I'm in a relatively small room, I can't have whatever I get too loud all the time, so going to 6's and 8's doesn't seem worthwhile for the extra cash.

Anybody who has owned all, or some, who can make comparisons would be hugely useful, thanks!

I've owned the Yamaha's and the A3X's and IMO, the A3X's are head and shoulders above. The HS50's sound fine, but they are harsh and I find that the A3X's really let you hear inside your mix. Space, compression and top end were always over done on the Yamaha's but the Adams (although less 'strict' to listen to) always ended up with a better mix when it translated to other speakers and headphones.

I'm on S3A's now, but I'd be confident I could get really great results going back to my A3X's, and I often do to change it up.

Good luck, you won't go wrong with the Adams. They might be gentle, but when you bring it onto another system, it's fun. Don't forget to A/B it with two different sets of headphones to get an idea of how things are behaving that the monitors don't cover.

The major criticism of the Adam's seems to be the lack of bass; although the frequency range isn't vast, is it still more than adequate? Some people seem to make out that not having masses of bass there will make things very difficult, but from my stance, it seems that without going to larger cones, or much higher price brackets, getting this bass is difficult. I'm aware it may limit me slightly, but it's not going to be the end of the world is it?

My way of looking it at it is I'd rather have a slight lack of bass, with wonderful mids and highs, than weaker mids and highs to allow for stronger bass, which is the feel I got from the KRK's.

The Adams will be great for a small room. Preferred actually. They are front ported and for their size put out a remarkable bass response. I own these as well as the HS80ms Yamahas. I think if you look at reviews of the A3x, they are not bass shy for their size, they are mid shy. Either way, they do translate well once you get used to them and they break in for 75 hours or so. You will do great with them . Best of it!