Have you emailed APS? I think the guy's name is Ray, get information from him about the back ports against a wall, he'll tell you

 

You already have monitors that preform as good, A7V will not resolve any issue whatsoever, basically you are going to hit the same wall with them like you did now, think someone already mentioned that, dunno, your money, but I don't personally think those Adams will fix anything at all.

 

Spend the money on room treatment instead. Those Alphas will take you everywhere you need to go already. They should be pretty low to not need a sub as well, unless you're doing nothing but strictly sub stuff. As mentioned, I have the newer Alpha Evo's, and the 5" model even, and I could've gone without my sub if I had to, and I make drum and bass/jungle primarily.

 

if you have a nice pair of monitors, but spend $1500 on new ones which are better; they still are not going to be a $1500 improvement.

You could spend much less on room acoustics, and get as nice of an improvement. potentially. Unless you really do things wrong, it could be almost entirely positive improvement. that depends upon the room and how much you need to do. If the room is totally out of whack, you may see the biggest jump in improvement upgrading your headphones for your money. If you do not like working in headphones, an upgrade would be a waste of money too. You can also do those items piecemeal, like how eurorack /modular guys build a 25,000$ rig a few hundred bucks at a time, while you figure out what you need.

My guess is when you really think it all the way out, you will get the least amount of improvement for your money by upgrading the monitors first. Do you have them on pole stands already, vibration dealt with? There are lots of variables. Good luck.

 

It seems I can't upload pictures of my place. But so far I've treated first reflection points and cloud, unfortunately I can't do more treatment since it's a room in our flat. The monitors are on my desk and on nice stands, at perfect height. It's far from perfect, the wardrobe will probably also do some kind of absorbtion.

That's about as much as I can do at the moment, I'm quite happy with the bass response now, it's gotten a lot tighter (which surprises me without big basstraps!!) but haven't done measurements recently. My listening volume is quite low.

 

Well, you are making EDM right? So almost all your bass sources will be either synths, samples of synths, or programs like SubLab or whatever.
None of these loudspeakers you are looking into are going to go below 40hz, roughly. Most are really about 45hz. I would get an affordable subwoofer. You will hear what is going on down there. You don't need some very expensive sub to get almost the same improvement, as much because of your bass sources. I do not like the pre-order/pay upfront model or i'd have already bought a Subpac. I would like my bass more coming from a 1000$ moog monosynth and a $500 sub, than from a $1500 sub. It's all subjective. You wouldn't regret the Adams at all, but I think a big plus side to them (a7's) is their enormous sweet spot caused by their tweeter design. If they are right in your face anyway on your desk, you will get less of an improvement from them.

there is always more to think about lol.

 

My current Alpha 65s go down to 40Hz, and the APS Klasik to 39Hz, both within -3db.

If we can believe the measurements. I think that they go down exceptionally low for their size. The Adam A7V don't. But I don't know much about speakers. If my deepest fundamental hits at 43hz F1 for example and I do a low cut beneath anyways, wouldn't be 40Hz with -3db just enough? I never tried a sub.

Also I'm afraid the neighbors (and my semi-untreated room) wouldn't like a sub?

If money wasn't an issue and I had a better room I'd go for Neumann with Neumann sub of course, one can dream.

Edit: Yes I don't do acoustic instruments for low end. Only drum machines and synths, dynamics are very controlled.

 

Last edited: Jun 22, 2023

It is btw. not important to be able to hear 5Hz more or less.
If you equalize 5Hz above or below doesn't really matter.

The best speaker is not defined due to the low end extension, regardless of genre.
It is not advisable to lay focus on that when searching for monitors.

 

Last edited: Jun 22, 2023

For sure your untreated room wouldn't like it, but don't worry about the neighbors, if they can't handle it they can always find a new place to live. Mine always do!

 

I've been looking into the idea of flipping my APS Klasik 2020's to buy a new pair of Focal Shape Twins. Has anbody here used the Shape Twins? Or better yet, has anybody compared them to the Klasiks?

I love my Klasiks, but the things i'm reading about the Focal Shape Twins has me very compelled to get them. It may be a case of "the grass isn't always greener on the other side" and "if it's not broke don't fix it", but i'm going to do my research on it anyway. Would love to hear if anybody here has experience with the Focal Shape Twins

 

Best monitors you're gonna find less than $2k apiece is EVE Audio. They are crystal clear, and has the deepest bass out of all local music stores. Plus they have a built in eq adjustments. Better than all the speakers you named, as I had Focals and many more and arrived at EVE Audio's and won't look any further until I got $6k to spend for the highest level money can buy for a new set.

 

I never worked with those Focals but I use a set of Beryllium drivers headphones and love them dearly. The rendering is not as dynamic and lack the resolution that the usual hard dome we find on the APS line has but it sound a lot flatter and evenly distributed.

Just a pointer for whenever you start listening to those. I can't comment on the rest sadly.

 

@fnord23 - what did you decide on in the end?

I'm flip-flopping between APS Klasik 2020s and Neumann KH120s (Mk1). I don't have the option to audition side by side.

@Lois Lane - how are the Klasiks, now you've lived with them for a while?

 

I have the Klasik 2020s in my home studio for more than 3 years now. They're great. Magnitude response is great even without DSP, great bass extension and dynamic range, and OMG that transient response.

My only compaints with them is the poor horizontal off-axis performance, and that the class AB amps, while dead silent, get a bit warm. But if you treat the side walls with absorption, and don't mind a few more watts on your bill, you're good to go.

I'd only get the Neumanns if you want a wider sweetspot, or if your side walls are untreated. Other than that, get the Klasiks. Better sound IMO, with deeper bass.

 

Last edited: Sep 28, 2023

I agree 100% with everything that Fowley said and am happy as a clam with them.