Adam T5V, Focal Alpha 50 or Tannoy Gold 5
- Thread starter adam79
- Start date
grimtraveller
If only for a moment.....
What would you do if 20 people replied, 6 in favour of each monitor and two saying they'd used all 3 and they were all excellent ?
Similarly, what would you do if 20 people replied and between them all, they all came down shitting heavily on the three {ie, maybe 7 hated the Adam, 5 hated the Focal and 8 couldn't stand the Tannoy} ?
You'd be in exactly the same situation !
I guess that's just a roundabout way of saying that when it comes down to it, choosing monitors is a gamble because even if you test out a few in a store, it's not the place you'll be mixing and monitoring. Unless you have a way of taking all three to your pad and giving each set an extensive workout in varying conditions like you will do when you settle on a set, what you'll mainly get from people advising you is preferences of which ones we like or don't like.
I know that's probably about as helpful to you as being locked in a room with a hungry tiger but what I would advise is that of the three you've narrowed your choice down to, pick one, forget the others and go about cultivating a relationship with your new set. Get to know them and how they interact with your environment and if some things aren't satisfactory, then work out how to get around that {lots of great advice here !
} and don't try to dream of what might have been.
It's always a gamble.
Similarly, what would you do if 20 people replied and between them all, they all came down shitting heavily on the three {ie, maybe 7 hated the Adam, 5 hated the Focal and 8 couldn't stand the Tannoy} ?
You'd be in exactly the same situation !
I guess that's just a roundabout way of saying that when it comes down to it, choosing monitors is a gamble because even if you test out a few in a store, it's not the place you'll be mixing and monitoring. Unless you have a way of taking all three to your pad and giving each set an extensive workout in varying conditions like you will do when you settle on a set, what you'll mainly get from people advising you is preferences of which ones we like or don't like.
I know that's probably about as helpful to you as being locked in a room with a hungry tiger but what I would advise is that of the three you've narrowed your choice down to, pick one, forget the others and go about cultivating a relationship with your new set. Get to know them and how they interact with your environment and if some things aren't satisfactory, then work out how to get around that {lots of great advice here !
} and don't try to dream of what might have been.It's always a gamble.
grimtraveller
If only for a moment.....
Ha ha, it's funny Jimmy, I was going to say the opposite, "don't buy the Adams because there's only room in town for one Adam !"
But my humour is suspect !
TalismanRich
Well-known member
JBL 305s, although I generally like ribbon tweeters. I haven't gotten to listen to the Adams in a long time, so I can't really compare the two.
The right way to check out monitors is to listen to them. Bring a CD with a few reference tracks, plus some tracks you've mixed and recorded. You want something well balanced, so that any aberrations show up easily.
Going simply on internet comments is a bit of a crap shoot.
The right way to check out monitors is to listen to them. Bring a CD with a few reference tracks, plus some tracks you've mixed and recorded. You want something well balanced, so that any aberrations show up easily.
Going simply on internet comments is a bit of a crap shoot.
keith.rogers
Well-known member
It's pretty hard to make a decision without first listening, and maybe OP has, and that's how these 3 came out on top, but as already said, it really needs to be at home, so if you can buy locally with the option to return, that would be ideal.
I have my Yamaha HS5s which I really like. I recently moved my older computer/interface to my home "office" and thought about moving the HS5s along and looking at upgrades. I'd bought the Yamahas in a rush when my (earlier model/generation) JBL 5s had one fail in the middle of a project, and I felt safe with the brand. Now that I'm used to them, I found it hard to listen to anything else in the store! (I really found those Adam's grating, though I guess maybe that's a good sign, but I left completely perplexed, without buying anything...)
I have my Yamaha HS5s which I really like. I recently moved my older computer/interface to my home "office" and thought about moving the HS5s along and looking at upgrades. I'd bought the Yamahas in a rush when my (earlier model/generation) JBL 5s had one fail in the middle of a project, and I felt safe with the brand. Now that I'm used to them, I found it hard to listen to anything else in the store! (I really found those Adam's grating, though I guess maybe that's a good sign, but I left completely perplexed, without buying anything...)