Adam A7X vs A8X

[Sri Vishnu]

Has anybody used these two monitors since the port issues have been fixed? I'm looking at the A7Xs for my first pair of medium-price nearfield monitors, upgrading from KRK Rokit 5s (yeah, yuck...). I'm recording via DI/VI in a small bedroom, minimal treatment (which is on the to do list this winter/spring).

The A7Xs are awesome. I've heard them, read reviews, and priced for the budget. But, I've seen some online opinions say the A8Xa are a huge improvement in sound, although less midrange focused. It seems like a lot of the comparisons and questions online were asked earlier in production, when the A8Xs had some port problems, which have been fixed. Unfortunately, there's no A8Xs around here. It's a medium-sized, but somewhat remote city with limited in-store products.

So, has anybody had enough experience to form an opinion on the A7Xs and A8Xs? I'm wondering if 8.5" is way too much sound for a small bedroom, not to mention the higher price. I'm willing to pay it if there's significant improvement over the A7Xs, but I would really prefer to stay within the Adam family, since I know for a fact the A7Xs are a good choice for me.

[RiF]

I demoed the A7X and A8X side by side about a year ago and decided to go for the A7X for pretty much the reasons you already said. The A8X sounded really great, but to me they sounded TOO great ;-). They have an impressive bass response and lack some mids, which lead to their impressive sound. I don't think that this sound is very good for getting an honest respresentation of my mixes and feared that my mixes will turn out with too much mids, because I would compensate for their sound. The bass response needs a big and well treated room.
That said, for what I know about your room situation, the A7X's will be the better choice. If you then move to a bigger or better treated room, you can add a subwoofer afterwards, if you find the bass response not big enough.

[soundinista]

+1

I shot out three pairs of speakers recently in a room only slightly bigger than yours, though well treated. A8X mids not good, and the low end, although initially impressive, seemed quite woolly.

I bought K&H o300s, by the way. Perhaps not a fair comparison at twice the price, but I also referenced them against my old Genelec 8030s, and thought I'd probably get better mixes on those too.

[jon022]

i'm using a7x for 6 months now, extremely happy with them. as stated above a8x indeed sound too good for studio monitors, and a7x are more natural, that's why i picked them

[ARIEL]

Getting the A8x with an additional pair that is more mid fwd (different brand) might be a good idea as well . I like having 2 drastically different sounding speakers when I mix . Extra bass would be great so one doesn't mix in too much low end . I found that to be my initial problem before i got my speakers figured out .