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The most common design is a so called 2-way system. That means, that the frequencies are produced by two transducers, each specifically designed for a certain frequency range:

• The tweeter for high frequencies
• The woofer for low frequencies

All ADAM Audio studio monitors come with an internal amplifier and hence are called “active” monitors.

Generally, active studio monitors are equipped with an internal amplifier and signal processing (filtering, EQ-ing) whereas passive monitors rely on an external, additional device. Active studio monitors allow a low-loss transmission of electric signals from a sound source (PC, interface) to their input connectors maintaining linear characteristics.

This is one of the most frequently asked questions and a common misunderstanding.

No, the ADAM Audio proprietary Accelerating Ribbon Technology is not what is generally understood by a ribbon tweeter since the diaphragm is not a ribbon but a folded foil. The term ‘Ribbon’ as part of the name of our technology only refers to the membrane but by no means to the functionality. For a more detailed description of this technology, please click here.

We offer a special mounting solutions for F5, F7, A3X, A5, A5X , ARTist 3, S2V, S3H and S3V.

Since the bigger AX models were not especially designed for wall mounting, we do not provide suitable wall mount sets at this point.

No, usually this won’t cause any problems. However, it is possible that parts of the damping material have been shifted while transportation. As long as the material does not interfere with the air flow through the tube and you cannot hear any degradation of the sound (fluttering, hissing, etc.), everything is fine.

Loudspeakers include movable parts. Therefore, they need a certain ‘burn-in time’ for a full excursion and adaption of these parts. After this burn-in time, the speakers reach their full acoustic potential. A ‘normal’ burn-in takes around 8 hours. To burn-in your speakers, it is advisable to feed them with music signals of a broad frequency spectrum and different volumes for a certain period of time.

Please make sure that there are no obstacles in the way from the studio monitors to your ears. You should be able to see the speakers completely. For the security of your speakers as well as for acoustic reasons, it is important that they sit firmly on a solid surface.

The acoustic center of your monitor, which is usually just below the tweeter, should be pointing at your ears. In case you need to position the speakers in a significant lower or higher position, the studio monitors should be angled accordingly. A standard value for the height of the listener’s ears is 1,20 m above ground.

If the studio monitors are going to be used for stereo applications, the optimum listening position is at the top of an imaginary equilateral triangle with the two speakers to be placed at the other two points of this triangle. The speakers should be aligned with the listener’s position.

Speaker positioning for multi-channel purposes is ideally based on a circle with speakers placed at 0° (Center), 30° (Front Right), 110° (Rear Right), 250° (rear Left), 330° (Front Left), with the listener being the circle’s center (5.1 surround setup). This ITU recommended configuration may vary depending on the purpose of the control room (music or film). However, it is highly recommended to create a symmetrical listening position with the front side and surround speakers pointing at the listener’s ears.

All ADAM Audio studio monitors are specifically designed to be setup in a certain way. If not stated otherwise, the standard is vertical.

Of course you can choose to use your vertical speakers in a horizontal position. If so, please make sure that the setup is mirror symmetrical, i.e. that the tweeters both face either the outsides or the insides. This is crucial for a precise stereo image.

It is not necessary to rotate the ART tweeter when using your vertical monitor in a horizontal position.

Especially with modern styles of music and production technologies there is usually a lot of information in the low frequency range that needs to be taken care of. A sub(woofer) allows you to monitor low frequencies with the necessary precision. The main goal of adding a subwoofer to a setup is to have access to lower bass, not louder bass.

The overview allows finding the right subwoofer for different room sizes. It should be noted that these are recommendations only.

Also, the power of your studio monitors should match the power of the subwoofer. For 2.1 setups we recommend the following pairings:

Generally, it’s hard to tell what settings of a subwoofer to choose. The impact of the specific room (dimensions, symmetry, furniture, etc.) plays quite a huge role. After having chosen the position of the subwoofer, it is advisable to try, try, try…

All our subwoofers are equipped with an active bass management and include a “Satellite Filter” with which the speaker’s lower cut-off frequency can be set at 85 Hz. If you choose to use the filter, we recommend to set the subwoofer’s frequency to 85 Hz, too (this is the factory setting). With smaller speakers / studio monitors, higher cut-off frequencies might be advisable (appr. 100 – 115 Hz). Should you decide to go for a higher cut-off frequency, it might be good to connect the subwoofer and the satellites individually to your audio interface. By doing so, you can set the cut-off frequency for the satellites separately.

There will be no loss of audio quality if you choose to connect the satellites through the subwoofer.

There will be no effect on the frequency of the satellites by changing the frequency of your subwoofer.

It is common knowledge that low frequencies (below about 100 Hz) are non-directional, meaning they can hardly be located by the listener. It is, however, a common misunderstanding that therefore the placement of a subwoofer does not matter. It does matter.

Due to the fact that every room (geometry, furniture, etc.) is unique, the following descriptions intend to be a first introduction to the subject. The aim is to assist you tackling the most frequent problems with subwoofers and room acoustics, notably interference and standing waves.

1. Distance to satellites:  In most set ups it is advisable to place the subwoofer not too far from the satellites to minimize the chance of interferences. Interference means the superposition of two or more waves resulting in an attenuation/cancellation or enhancement of the specific frequency/frequencies. Furthermore, big reflection faces in close range of the subwoofer should be avoided if possible (for example, guitar cabinets, partition walls, racks).

2. Walls/Distance to walls: Generally, every wall in relative close distance to the subwoofer enhances its sound pressure by about 6 dB. For instance, placing the subwoofer in a corner of a room will make it about 18 dB louder. It is likely that this will result in an impairment of the precision of the musical reproduction. Another problem related to the geometrics of the room concerns the so called ‘standing waves’. These are sound waves being reciprocated between reflecting objects, so they ‘stand’ (don’t seem to move) in between these objects. The speaker continues to produce new waves that combines its force with the first wave(s): a vicious circle that results in local imbalances of the particular frequencies.

3. Give it a try! The most important tool for finding the best position for your subwoofer are your ears. There are two rather easy ways: You can determine your listening spot first and then compare the sound of the subwoofer at different positions. Another option is to place the subwoofer at the listening position and then move around. Wherever the sound is the best the subwoofer should be positioned.

With the Phase Switch you can alter the phase of the subwoofer relative to the satellites. That means to change the polarity of the bass unit.

Why would you do that?

The woofers of your studio monitors and subwoofer work in-phase at lower frequencies. Within the crossover bandwidth (meaning the range of frequencies that both the subwoofer and the studio monitors produce), cancellation can occur if the subwoofer is not positioned in line with the studio monitors and / or even asymmetrically. Depending on the distance between woofer and satellites, either 0° or 180° may be the better position.

Again, the best way to find the appropriate settings for your system is to try what position sounds better.

For the AX-Series, yes, that is possible. If you use both the XLR and the RCA connectors at the same time, please make sure that only one of them transmits a signal at a time. If the speaker receives signals via both connectors at the same time, the sound will be degraded (you will hear both sources simultaneously).

Please note that this does not apply to the F Series. Here the RCA jack disconnects the XLR input.

The T Series comes with a 2-way input switch which allows you to choose between XLR and RCA.

S Series and SX Series models are not equipped with RCA connectors.

If you avoid using extreme settings (like setting the monitors’ volume knob to its maximum and on the other hand decreasing the computer’s output level to a minimum) you will not reduce your audio quality by using your computer’s volume controller. However, please be aware of the decreased dynamic range.

Technically, nothing speaks against keeping your monitors always powered on. The power consumption in “idle mode”, meaning without playing back any audio signal, is within a reasonable range. However, considering the environmental responsibility, the monitors should be turned off if they are not used for a longer period.

The F and ARTist Series and all subwoofers are equipped with a standby mode that automatically puts them to ‘sleep’ if there has not been an input signal for a certain time. They switch back to active mode as soon as an input signal is detected. How quick they react to an incoming signal depends on its energy.

We recommend the following order for powering on your system:

1. PC, AudioMixer, Preamplifier etc.
2. Subwoofer
3. Monitors

This way you can avoid that a power-on cracking noise will reach the tweeters. And if something should be wrong with your output signal (e.g. extremely high level) you will have a chance to recognize this before damaging your ears and monitors. For powering down follow the steps in reverse order. Otherwise all our monitors have a build-in power-on delay. Therefore, it is no problem to power-on all of them simultaneously by a switch socket.

We recommend using a lint-free, damp cloth for cleaning. The loudspeaker membranes may be dusted using a very soft brush.

Should service be required, please contact the ADAM Audio dealer where the product has been purchased.

If the equipment is being used outside the country of purchase, the international shipping costs have to be paid for by the owner of the product.

Service may be supplied by your ADAM Audio national distributor in the country of residence. In this case, the service costs have to be paid for by the owner of the product whereas the costs for parts to be repaired or replaced are free of charge within the warranty period.

To validate your warranty, you will need a copy of your original sales invoice with the date of purchase.

Should service or a repair be required, please issue a Repair Request via this form (UK only).

For all other Repair Requests, please see the FAQ above.

To access the MyADAM user area you have to log in with your personal account (e-mail address and password required).

If you do not have a MyADAM Account yet, please register here. Please note, that at least one ADAM Audio product with a valid serial number is required to complete the registration.

If you have forgotten your password, you can reset it here. In case your e-mail address has been registered, an e-mail will be sent with a reset link. Further information will be provided with this e-mail.

The e-mails from the MyADAM user area should arrive within a couple of minutes. If you have already checked your spam folder, please contact us via the support form below. We will gladly figure out for you what went wrong and get back to you asap.

If you have purchased a speaker either from the T Series, AX Series, SX Series, S Series or our range of Subwoofers  from an authorized ADAM Audio dealer after 01.01.2017, you are eligible for the application of the extended warranty. With this application your ADAM Audio products will be covered by additional three years and you can store your invoice for future reference directly in the MyADAM user area.

(Speakers from the above mentioned series purchased before 01.01.2017 are covered by a 5-year warranty without an application)

Please contact us via the support form below and include the serial number(s) of your ADAM Audio product(s). We will gladly figure out for you what went wrong and get back to you asap.