A7's finally arrived...1st impressions.....

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thajeremy

thajeremy

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my first impression out of the box was that I was suprised at how small they are compaired to my Wharfedale's. The speakers themselves look smaller....not just the enclosure. I like that the controls are on the front where the Wharfedale's are on the back.

Now I hook them up and work on a mix that I was fairly happy with before with the Wharfedales...WOW.....Where did all that bass come from...bass guitar was too loud, kick was too loud...and it just seemed almost muddy. So I did a quick 30 min re-mix just to see what happens. took the mix to my car and WOW....Where did the bass go??? The mix sounded VERY VERY THIN.....

Now there is no question that I am hearing things with the A7's that I had not heard with the 8.2A's...and this is good....the problem is that I had been working with the Wharfedales for a good 3 years now and I have a pretty good idea of what will translate over to the car stereo the way I want it to. I can remember clients saying "turn the kick up some...I cant really hear it" and my reply would always be "just wait till you hear it in another stereo or in your car...you will hear the kick then." And it was true....in another system you could hear the kick and bass they way I intended...just not in the monitors.

I am very happy that I got the monitors....not so sure that I will need the sub that I ordered which wont be in stock till next week though...I think Im going to have to re-train myself on what translates well and what does not. hopefully it wont take too long.

anyone else have any similar experiances when upgrading from budget monitors to higher end?
 
yep

thajeremy,
My experience mirrors yous exactly.

I had mixed for 8 years on some passive Alesis monitor ones.
I guess through the years I had learned them like the back of my hand and taught my brain and ears what "good" was for a mix to translate.
Others who were not familiar with the speakers could not relate to the sound coming from them if they were sitting in on the mix session.

I bought some new speakers this year similar in form factor to the A7s and the first impression was HOLY COW! where is all this sound coming from! Huge amount of low end, HUGE amounts of frequencies through the middle. It almost sounded thick and mushy. I never realized how much I was not hearing. Going back now to the old speakers they sound very scooped and small.

Anyway I was in a panic for a while until my ears adjusted and I started making new mixes.
I mixed to what I wanted the songs to sound like and when auditioned over different systems the mix still sounded intact. (making mental allowances for the lack of low end on computer speakers etc)

I began to notice how small adjustments in EQ really affected things so much more. It has really helped so much the mixing process. This last album I mixed was the nicest one I have ever done.

I say this to encourage you to just give it some time to let your ears and brain acclimate to auditory overload for a while until you become used to hearing so much sound. You will then be able to still zero in on problem areas and make better mixes.

My experience obviously
 
yeah i went from the tascam vl-x5's to a7's and i was struck by the separation i could hear between the instruments in mixes, details and nuances that i couldn't hear before, etc. one useful exercise i did was taking mixes that i had from before that didn't translate well to other listening environments like in the car and listening to them on the a7's. it's good to know what kind of cues you'll get from monitors to show you that a mix is off and i can say that the adams give me good indications of mix issues that won't translate well on less tolerant speakers.
another great thing about the adams is that they are great to listen to well recorded music on for referencing or just casual listening.
 
Im wondering if the sub is going to be overkill though....there is so much low end that Im not used to hearing that the addition of a sub is just going to be that much more...Im wondering how adding the Adam sub to the Wharfedale's would be....I had some really good mixes on them...I just had to know what would translate well..and what would not....I think the Adams are going to improve my mixes by a great deal once I learn them like I have the Wharfedale's.
 
i'm wondering the same. i'm pretty surprised at how much bass these guys have. i monitor at relatively low volumes, so it's not like the woofer has to work very hard. my understanding is that beside the lower extension, part of the benefit of the sub is to keep the woofers on the monitors from having to generate so much of the sound and work so hard, which can muddy up those frequencies.
i'll probably pick up a sub at some point, but i don't think i'm going to spring for the adam-- probably something a little cheaper, but still good like a blue sky.
 
thajeremy said:
I had been working with the Wharfedales for a good 3 years now and I have a pretty good idea of what will translate over to the car stereo the way I want it to.
Click to expand...

yeah 3yrs thats a long time, it must feel kind of awkward upgrading?
2-3yrs and it possibly gets to be like a "comfort zone"....
3yrs is a long time imo... I doubt it will take anywhere near 3yrs to familiarize with the new speakers.

congrats on the A7's upgrade. 30days testdrive? or you already familiar with them from work?
 
COOLCAT said:
yeah 3yrs thats a long time, it must feel kind of awkward upgrading?
2-3yrs and it possibly gets to be like a "comfort zone"....
3yrs is a long time imo... I doubt it will take anywhere near 3yrs to familiarize with the new speakers.

congrats on the A7's upgrade. 30days testdrive? or you already familiar with them from work?
Click to expand...



thanks man...but nah...its not a testdrive....They are mine...and as far as being familiar with them....this is the first time I have seen a pair other than in pictures....
 
Jeremy, here's a tip that you've probably already considered... it's good that you're comparing systems by using one of your own mixes, but have you tried a reliable pro reference CD or two? I have a few favorites of my own (e.g., Steely Dan's Two Against Nature) that allow me to get a better sense of what's changing when I want to compare speakers or monitors. In my case, such pro recordings are so much better than my own that I can really hear what's happening.

Good luck,
J.
 
Congrats man!
I've had the A7's for a few months and had some similar experiances. But I came from stereo speakers hooked up to an old Pioneer amp. It worked but it took alot of coasters to get to where I knew them. I think the biggest thing for me to get over was to just trust the A7's. The detail is excellent! Makes me wonder how much better some really expensive monitors would be. And if my ears are trained well enough to hear the differences. But I'm rambling.....Congrats again mang!
Peace........
 
:DYea, verily:

I just took my A7s out of the box and hooked them up. I've never yet twiddled the front dials--had to reason to do twiddling as the sounds were nice and clear. Best CDs I've ever made are from the A7 monitors.

Yeah, you can spend a whole lot more on monitors....but I expect this 4th set of monitors, and first set of actives, to last me a long time.

I don't know if a sub is necessary--I don't use one. I do have a six speaker car system and that just seems to enhance the sound. And, the Yam 1600 I use has some mastering algorithms and some intense EQ algorithms to mess with.

I still have my Events plugged into my sound system but ALL mixing goes via the Adam A7s

Cheers,
Green Hornet:cool:
 
thajeremy said:
took the mix to my car and WOW....Where did the bass go??? The mix sounded VERY VERY THIN.....
Click to expand...
so you had a LOT of bass in your mixing room and NO bass in the car?

this sounds like a "you need more bass traps" problem to me......what's your acoustics situation?

nothing brings out problems in ones' mixing space like good monitors. ;)


cheers,
wade
 
mrface2112 said:
so you had a LOT of bass in your mixing room and NO bass in the car?

this sounds like a "you need more bass traps" problem to me......what's your acoustics situation?

nothing brings out problems in ones' mixing space like good monitors. ;)


cheers,
wade
Click to expand...

I have 6 - 4" rock wool pannels and 12 - 2" 703 panels, divided between 2 rooms (1 - 24 X 13 and 1 - 13 X 13) All of the 4" panels are on stands rather than hanging so that they can be moved when needed....I think its more of a lack of bass in the Wharfedale's....When using the Wharfedale's, if I set the bass to where it sounded good in the room...there was too much bass on other systems. I just learned to mix to where the bass sounded good, then EQ out the Kick and Bass guitar a few dB to get a decent mix on other systems....I remember having people sit in on mixing sessions and they would say "I can't hear the kick"...I was usually waiting on them to say it and would quickly reassure them that you would be able to hear it in the car.... :p

I dont think that will be the case any longer....Kick and Bass are comming through loud and clear....
 
:cool:The J:

A few things I've run into. Since I record all the tracks directly from a synth or the drum box, I run into some "mud" because of the patches I selected. The Motif has very enhanced patches; these patches can be altered, like cut off some of the reverb. [Almost never have to add reverb to the patches.]

The mud, I think, comes from combining patches that both have LOWS. My drum box also can do a bass line=more lows. However, I can change the key of the drum box patches and "raise" up the "lows."

If I can get the combination of sounds to mellow out on their own, I don't have to fiddle with EQ when mixing/mastering. I do use the mastering algorithms and EQ boosts to raise the width of the sound. I like to have the meter bumping the notch next to clip when I mix for most songs.

The gal singers I record have their own CD background music and this is usually engineered pretty well; thus, I can concentrate on the getting the vocals up front and the "loudness" that makes the girls happy.

I guess my point is that combining tracks that have a BIG amount of lows can muddy the mix--I've had it happen. As well, too much reverb can definitely do the same. But, folks who record have a "sound" in their head that they want to achieve and doing that is fun as you have to tweak things and do it over and over until you are happy, as well as the client is happy.

Green Hornet:cool:
 
The Green Hornet said:
:cool:The J:

A few things I've run into. Since I record all the tracks directly from a synth or the drum box, I run into some "mud" because of the patches I selected. The Motif has very enhanced patches; these patches can be altered, like cut off some of the reverb. [Almost never have to add reverb to the patches.]

The mud, I think, comes from combining patches that both have LOWS. My drum box also can do a bass line=more lows. However, I can change the key of the drum box patches and "raise" up the "lows."

If I can get the combination of sounds to mellow out on their own, I don't have to fiddle with EQ when mixing/mastering. I do use the mastering algorithms and EQ boosts to raise the width of the sound. I like to have the meter bumping the notch next to clip when I mix for most songs.

The gal singers I record have their own CD background music and this is usually engineered pretty well; thus, I can concentrate on the getting the vocals up front and the "loudness" that makes the girls happy.

I guess my point is that combining tracks that have a BIG amount of lows can muddy the mix--I've had it happen. As well, too much reverb can definitely do the same. But, folks who record have a "sound" in their head that they want to achieve and doing that is fun as you have to tweak things and do it over and over until you are happy, as well as the client is happy.

Green Hornet:cool:
Click to expand...

Im sure it will take me a little time to get comfortable on these monitors....so far, I am having to load every mix into Adobe Audition to EQ out the low end. This is ok since I still like to do my mastering in Audition anyway...
 
well...my sub8 is still on back order and they said it could be up to 30 days before it will ship....thats $719.....I wonder if I should cancel and use that cash for the group buy.....my group buy total is just over $900 so this would just about cover it.....
 
Have you tried using the EQ on the back to roll off the low end?

it seems strange to me that you're having this sort of problem in a moderately treated room. I don't know which Wharfdales you have, but did they have significantly smaller drivers than the A7s? Perhaps it's revealing issues in your room that you hadn't previously experieced because it produces frequencies lower than you'd previously encountered.
 
MessianicDreams said:
Have you tried using the EQ on the back to roll off the low end?

it seems strange to me that you're having this sort of problem in a moderately treated room. I don't know which Wharfdales you have, but did they have significantly smaller drivers than the A7s? Perhaps it's revealing issues in your room that you hadn't previously experieced because it produces frequencies lower than you'd previously encountered.
Click to expand...

Problem? I think its a good thing....Im able to hear low end from the A7's that I was not able to hear from the Wharfedales....I learned on the Wharfedales, and now Im tryin to transistion to the A7's...thats the only problem which is not really a problem...

and the wharfedales have slilghtly larger drivers than the A7's
 
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