has anyone else around here had the pleasure of working with these things?? i just finished working a couple of sessions working with a pair of them (s3a) and i can already feel the non-existant money burning a hole in mypocket. the imaging, detail, transient response and bottom end is so spot on it's frightening.

p.s. anyone want to buy a pair of genelecs with overly bright tweeters broken in by years of abuse? brighter mixes guaranteed.

I've owned a pair of S3As for about a year. Before that I had Genelecs, various Tannoys, and NS-10s. My skills at mixing got a good kick in the ass when I got the Adams. They've made it easier for me to dial in a good balance with using less EQ than I might have before. Once I got comfortable tracking on them, the mixing process became even easier.

The only downside is that they aren't exactly the kind of speakers to crank up really loud for the band to rock out to. Just about everyone I've worked with since getting them has commented on this. Just too clinical for the band to feel out the take they just did. So, I'd recommend having another Genelec or similar-type setup to switch on for the client's enjoyment factor.

But, overall, Adams are really great, dependable tools to have.

I'm not sure what lots of people's problems with Genelec's are.

I've used them for years and really like them and like how my mixes sound using them. Yes, if you have them set to flat the high end is a bit much, but that's what those adjustments on the back are for! I always run them with the high end reduced and that seems to do the trick.

I've used 1030s, 1037s, and 1038s...IMHO they all need to have the high end tilted down, but other than that they are a solid clean monitor. I may have already told the story here, but the Dynaudios we put up as a comparison when we bought these sounded broken in comparison.

Now, the ADAMs...I've only heard these on a show floor, but I was impressed for sure. the next time i'm in the market for some new monitors I'm going to take a serious look at them. The MP-1s look very intriguing.

the one with the overload led at the rear ? yes it's looks very intriguing.

We have a pair of S3A's and a pair S2A's at the studio where I work. They are the best sounding moniter speakers I have heard in my short engineering career. So my judgment may not be one you would base a purchase on.

In the main room we also have NS10's and Horrortones for different perspectives.

All the engineers that work in the studio love them....but the only problem is that they can sound too good. Mixes that have sounded fairly balanced on the S3A's sometimes come off sounding a tad bass heavy on smaller speakers(which resemble I would presume, a large portion of the consumer speakers on the market).

I personally like working on the S2A's. They seem to have a little more clarity and are a little easier to get a nice stereo image out of in the smaller room.

The S3A's were also a little problamatic for the first 6 months or so. The ribbon tweeters fried twice before we realized the amp was randomly blowing them. Adam's service said there were several units sent out with bunk amps. The service was excellant tho and we havent had any problems since.

That's my experience with Adam speakers....they are rather expensive so if I leave the studio I probably wont have a chance to work on as quality a speaker.

If you have a home studio, they have a model called the "Artist" which looks like they may be somewhat affordable.

I'm mixing on S3A's right now. So far so good. They do seem to be pretty flat (especially in the low end) but we noticed this weird problem wherein instruments panned center lose treble and clarity. Has anyone else experienced this?

C

IPL wrote:
All the engineers that work in the studio love them....but the only problem is that they can sound too good. Mixes that have sounded fairly balanced on the S3A's sometimes come off sounding a tad bass heavy on smaller speakers(which resemble I would presume, a large portion of the consumer speakers on the market).

I think this might point to acoustic issues in the control room. For a while my mixes on S3As tended to sound a little light on the low end. After some experimentation, I figured out my room was a major influence on how low end was perceived on these speakers. Since then we installed a subwoofer to the NS-10s, and I've gotten used to switching between the two and have come up with a reliable system for mixing without having to go out and listen in the car or somewhere else. If I start on a mix with just the S3As and get everything together, I'll switch to the NS-10/sub to make sure the low end is how I want it, make adjustments, and it's pretty much done. A year later, I've gotten used to the S3As enough so that I can mix on them and be assured as to what is going on in the low end. I have a CD of material I'm familiar with that I use as a quick reference, and that helps as well.

Another thing that I've encountered is the difficulty of maintaining consistant results from going to project to project in different studios. That is why I think it's important to own equipment that you can take with you to use wherever you might be working so you know what to expect. If I had to mix something at an unfamiliar studio, I'll take the S3As and my reference disc and that eliminates a ton of second guessing and trial and error.

Seaside Lounge wrote:I'm mixing on S3A's right now. So far so good. They do seem to be pretty flat (especially in the low end) but we noticed this weird problem wherein instruments panned center lose treble and clarity. Has anyone else experienced this?

C

Again, I think this might point out something going on in the room. My S3As are mounted pretty wide on the console because there are a pair of NS10s mounted inside them. So, to truly hear the "sweet spot" I have to slide the chair back about two feet, listen, then slide forward to make adjustments. If I make adjustments while slouching over the console, they tend to be a little extreme when I scoot back a little bit. I think it's just a matter of spending more time with your speakers in your room and getting comfortable enough with them so that you can anticipate how they are going to respond when you do certain things.