Adam A7 or Mackie mr8?

[skyform]

Im choosing between this two monitors, at my place the price for the A7 is 734€ and i can import the MR8 for 635€ full price include delivery.

Which should i get?

[Keldog]

I have zero experience with the Mackies but own the A7's and am very happy with them. Nice clean detailed top end, good clarity in the mids. The bottom end (6.5 inch woofer) may not be enough for you if you do alot of hiphop big bottom stuff. A sub would come into play there, I think.

2c...........
Kel

[skyform]

Originally Posted by Keldog

I have zero experience with the Mackies but own the A7's and am very happy with them. Nice clean detailed top end, good clarity in the mids. The bottom end (6.5 inch woofer) may not be enough for you if you do alot of hiphop big bottom stuff. A sub would come into play there, I think.

2c...........
Kel

Im producing uplifting trance, btw from all the reviews i read, they say that the bass isnt weak by the a7 even if it's just a 6.5 inch woofer, im really not willing to spend extra money on the sub, it's not worth it, on the other hand i heard that the Mackies are very good for electornic music.

[Keldog]

No, the bass isn't weak but some people like the boom. I do rock, blues, metal and they fit the bill very well.

Don't suppose there's a way you could audition each set first...?? I wasn't able to and just bit the bullet. Glad I did.

Luck to you in your quest, sir.
Kel

[Doc Mixwell]

Agreed;
The ADAM A7's are going to be WAY more detailed and accurate.

I would also recommend the P11A's for a more extended bottom octave and they do have higher wattage amplifiers,

I have been using the P11'a pretty much religiously at my apartment and they have been crucial for the work I do, (mainly hip hop production, record nothing more than two tracks at a time with A LOT of vocal sessions)

They really give me a very clear picture of what I am doing, so there is never any confusion about what is going to tape, as well as the how the instruments are sitting in the context of the mix dynamically.

It really was like lifting a blanket of my mixes, as I was previously using Events,

[skyform]

Originally Posted by Keldog

Don't suppose there's a way you could audition each set first...?? I wasn't able to and just bit the bullet. Glad I did.

Luck to you in your quest, sir.
Kel

Unfortunately there is no way i could test the Mackie's as they are not shiping in my country and probably never will, i can only import them, but i could test the A7's.

Thanks

Originally Posted by Roc Mixwell

Agreed;
The ADAM A7's are going to be WAY more detailed and accurate.

I would also recommend the P11A's for a more extended bottom octave and they do have higher wattage amplifiers,

Many people already recommend me the P11A's but imo they are too expensive, i really don't want to spend so much money just for 2 monitors.

How do you know that A7 are more detailed and accurated as MR8, from what i have read the MR8 seem to have a very detailed and accurated sound, did you hear them both in action?

[bobbo]

I've owned the A7s for about a year now, and when a woofer went out on one of the A7s i needed some cheap monitors in a pinch, my dude hooked me up with some MR8s, and man they sounded good for about 2 seconds and then realized, these weren't designed to be studio monitors at all, they sound more like home stereo speakers, had no high end, toooo much bass, and i actually ended up having to not mix any bands till i got my adam back from repair and then returned the mackies. people don't understand that you need a monitor to tell you what going on in your mix, and not hide stuff from you. most of the bands thought the mackies sounded great. but thats just because it emphasized all the bass to cover up all the mids and highs so it was smoother to their ears. i love my A7s, i really wish i had space and the monry, for their larger more expensive multi driver monitors because i know i'd love them and would be more full range, but i'm happy with these for their price point. big woofers are overrated unless you have a large room or a realllly nice set of accurate monitors. i even remember using mackie's nicer hr (i think) monitors years ago in school and they were just tooo damn bass-y. i like clear, not smear...

[aussie_techie]

Originally Posted by skyform

but i could test the A7's.

try out the A7s and if you like them keep them if you dont then err well look else where. keep in mind that they will take some time to wear in, so try and test them for a fair while before you make a decision.

[chrisjones]

Mackie MR8s..

[dragonxking]

the A7s sound way more detailed than the mackies. if you find the a7 lacking low end, id suggest saving up for a sub in the future

[lowkey]

do you have the chance to listen to the A7's? I listened to them last week and played some of my favourite tracks on them. For me, they sounded a little too bright and a little bass shy. I would have definately mixed the track with more bass and less highs to produce a bassy dull mix. [although im sure id learn on them]. I preferred the Dynaudios they had there, which had a bit more bass, but less open in the top end. For me they made the Daft Punk and Global Communications tracks i played sound like i imagined that they should.

Id suggest listening to them first, because i think the sound of those tweeters is something that you either will love or potentially hate.

[jeremynothman]

Originally Posted by lowkey

do you have the chance to listen to the A7's? I listened to them last week and played some of my favourite tracks on them. For me, they sounded a little too bright and a little bass shy. I would have definately mixed the track with more bass and less highs to produce a bassy dull mix. [although im sure id learn on them]. I preferred the Dynaudios they had there, which had a bit more bass, but less open in the top end. For me they made the Daft Punk and Global Communications tracks i played sound like i imagined that they should.

Id suggest listening to them first, because i think the sound of those tweeters is something that you either will love or potentially hate.

Get back to ITM boy!

errr... i'd say that the dyns are definetely a little rounder than the A7, but the mackies are just damn-right hyped on the bottom and scooped in the middle - i know a lot of guys use them , but i find them hard to mix on (well, i'm actually talking about the HR824s, but samesame).
DaftPunk EQ a little harsh on the top end, so maybe that's what you heard on the A7s?

[jonesboy]

I find the A7s to be bright, clear and detailed in the high, but not hyped. They have actually convinced me to bring the highs up in my mixes - partially because they sound so nice now, and partially because I can hear them properly. I'm finding that my newer mixes are actually a little too bright when I play them back on other systems, so I'm definitely not EQing to counter the Adams' high-frequency response. I haven't spent enough time with them yet to get 100% translation, but I'm very, very impressed so far.

YMMV,

-Matt

[walsh350]

im going to get adam a5`s and the matched sub.

bosh

[HDMusicGrp]

i cant think of that being a fair a/b
maybe the Adam A7 vs Hr624mkII, thats fair

either way adams are some of the easiest monitors to mix on imo
i love S3a's and s2.5A's, though i dont own either..YET

[recall]

The A7'S are bright up top, but just use the HF trim on the back. Rolling back 1db off each really helped me work better.

[dft3670]

+1 on the A7's.

They have actually convinced me to bring the highs up in my mixes - partially because they sound so nice now, and partially because I can hear them properly. I'm finding that my newer mixes are actually a little too bright when I play them back on other systems,


I found I was doing the exact same thing at first. The highs are very detailed and they do sound nice. It's easy to make a mix a tad bright until you get used to them.

You really need to hear them against the Mackies. I almost bought a set of Mackie a couple of years ago because everyone had something good say about them. When I first heard them, I thought they sounded great. But after listening to the A7's I realized the Mackies were just to bottom heavy for me. To me, the Mackies and Adams are two different animals. The Adams really bring out the delicate parts of woodwinds, violins, acoustic guitars, piano. They just sound beautiful to me on the A7's. The difference in sound of just hitting a triangle on the A7's and the Mackies is pretty impressive.

I love em. You may find them not to your taste. Let your ears decide.

[skyform]

I bought Axiom 61 four days ago and the guy in the store recommended me Yamaha HS 80, he said that they are better for trance music then Adam A7.

Well i would need monitors that would be good for trance and symphonic orchestra, because im composing both.

A7 are still on my top list because people praise them so much but im really afraid that they won't have enaugh bass for my taste. Im used to alot of bass because im composing on Logitech Z2100 for years now.

I know they are bad for mastering but well im already so used to them that my mastering isnt bad with this speakers.

What should i do, a sub with A7 would a bit too much of money for me, maybe i should just get A7 and later a sub and in the meantime i can use my Z2100 for bass.

Which sub would be a good combintion with A7, i have seen that many people are using Tannoy sub8 with A7.

[drbam]

Originally Posted by skyform

What should i do, a sub with A7 would a bit too much of money for me, maybe i should just get A7 and later a sub and in the meantime i can use my Z2100 for bass.

Which sub would be a good combintion with A7, i have seen that many people are using Tannoy sub8 with A7.

The ideal sub for the A7s is the Adam Sub 8 which is designed for it. This is the system I have and its great. Of course there are other subs you could use (Tannoy, KRK, etc). You may be quite satisfied with the Yamaha HS80s. Even if your room is treated well, it takes a lot of work (analyzing, placement, etc) to get a sub to work correctly.

[Bryce]

Originally Posted by skyform

the guy in the store recommended me Yamaha HS 80, he said that they are better for trance music then Adam A7.

Ask him which brand of TV is better for movies...

Audio is audio, taste is relative, and everyone's room sounds different. There really is no right or wrong - just what works best for you. Try both - see which one allows you to work better in your space with your music and produces the best translation to other systems.

dB
ADAM Audio USA

[aussie_techie]

Originally Posted by skyform

the store recommended me Yamaha HS 80, he said that they are better for trance music then Adam A7.

Originally Posted by Bryce

Ask him which brand of TV is better for movies...

Audio is audio, taste is relative, and everyone's room sounds different. There really is no right or wrong - just what works best for you. Try both - see which one allows you to work better in your space with your music and produces the best translation to other systems.

dB
ADAM Audio USA

ill bet its more a case of what they have in stock that they need to clear. but you do need to try things for your self. i also wouldn't trust listening to brand new models straight out of the box.

[skyform]

Originally Posted by drbam

Even if your room is treated well, it takes a lot of work (analyzing, placement, etc) to get a sub to work correctly.

Originally Posted by Bryce

Audio is audio, taste is relative, and everyone's room sounds different. There really is no right or wrong - just what works best for you. Try both - see which one allows you to work better in your space with your music and produces the best translation to other systems.

dB
ADAM Audio USA

I think that my room is a bit poor for music.

It's 490cm x 480cm big and it's under the roof, so you know how that looks like. It was ok before a year when the roof was wooden but now it's out of gypsum plates which are acoustical far worse then wood.

[DanRock101]

Originally Posted by Roc Mixwell

Agreed;
The ADAM A7's are going to be WAY more detailed and accurate.

I would also recommend the P11A's for a more extended bottom octave and they do have higher wattage amplifiers,

I have been using the P11'a pretty much religiously at my apartment and they have been crucial for the work I do, (mainly hip hop production, record nothing more than two tracks at a time with A LOT of vocal sessions)

They really give me a very clear picture of what I am doing, so there is never any confusion about what is going to tape, as well as the how the instruments are sitting in the context of the mix dynamically.

It really was like lifting a blanket of my mixes, as I was previously using Events,

[Tomer1]

Originally Posted by walsh350

im going to get adam a5`s and the matched sub.

bosh

Good choice,
This setup should give you the mid and highend detail adam is famouse for with a solid low end.
Take into considiration that you really need to possition and setup the sub correctly,Its far from "plug and play".

[PeteJames]

I think your just getting a bad price on the mackies. The HR 624 mk2's are really more comparable than the mackie budget series.

[Doomcore]

Copied my post from other thread:

I have Mackie MR8's for almost 2 year now and still cannot make them translate well to other speakers, earbuds, etc. Nice bass response (not so well rounded and detailed, but you can hear what's going on down there, sort of...), highs are natural and present, not hard on ear, but midrange is very very bad, actually, it's terrible. EQing midrange is like playing lottery, you never know are you going to win or not. Cannot trust midrange at all. Because of that, I am now searching for more decent monitor than this one, ADAM's or KRK vxt's.

Just to know, I produce house/dance music mostly.

[jrod9900]

thumbsup

I'm not a professional by any means, and I work in a very poor sounding bedroom. I'm getting better at mixes, but I'm also learning the translation of my MR8s that I've been using for 2 years. Are the amazing - NO. Are they good - YES. Are they a good value for the money - DEFINITELY.

If I knew more about mixing and had a better treated room, I think I could do a lot better. When I listen to reference tracks on them, I'm alway blown away at all the stuff I hear that I've never heard on other systems (ie car, stereo).

But, my opinion is worth exactly what you paid for it.

JROD

[Track 7]

Originally Posted by Roc Mixwell

Agreed;
The ADAM A7's are going to be WAY more detailed and accurate.

+1

[lyons238]

idk i think the mr8s are nice too and i know a lot of people that will tell you they're better or just as good as the a7s. i think the majority of the people you have found in this thread are more or less a7 fanboys...so i wouldnt completely shut down the mr8s just yet...

[makus]

I have Adam A7 and a pair of good old Tannoy Reveal Actives. My friend has Mackies MR8. I didn't do A/B tests, but I heard Mackies and Adams many times and definately can tell theat Adams sound much more honest and pleasant than both Mackies and Tannoys.