[chmsalman]

Hey all,

I'm quite excited as this is my first post ever on the forum despite the countless hours I've spent on it. To make a long story short, I've been an audiophile for a long time and have recently decided to step into the bookshelf world after a friend told me about the Swan m200mkii's that he got. He was raving about them and I decided I must get a pair. After having no luck finding them anywhere in Canada and not wanting to spend $150 on shipping and customs from the states, I decided to do my research and have come across many alternatives. Of those based on budget, availability, price, and reviews I've basically come down to the following two:

1) ADAM AUDIO F5 ($200 CAD/single)
2) M-audio M3-6 ($200 CAD/single)

I bought the Adam's and have them at home now. I have 2 weeks to audition them and make a decision. I've also ordered the M-audio's and they should be arriving tomorrow. This should allow me to make a good decision after listening to both. So far the ADAM's sound great! I'm listening to them through my Fiio E7 DAC connected to my laptop playing only flac/alac through iTunes.

Any advice based on experience on what I should do? What to keep? What else to consider? My budget limit is $500 and not a penny over!! I'll be listening in a small room and have stands so size isn't a big issue. I'm not a bass head, I have tower speakers in the living room for that already. I enjoy mostly indie music and won't be using to mix at all.

Thoughts?!

 

[cel4145]

Not sure about the price, but PSB and Paradigm--both Canadian speaker companies--make powered desktop monitors.

 

[b0000]

I can vouch for the jbl lsr305/308. I went with the lsr305 and they are wonderfully balanced. Plenty of details, great mids and vocals, and the bass is spot on just right and balanced but goes deeper than i expected (just as deep as my rokit 8's!). They weren't kidding around too when they say that it has a wide sweet spot. It's even wider than my krk rokit 8's. It also has a great soundstage.
 
The krk's in comparison sounds really muddy and has sucked out mids.

 

[chmsalman]

Thanks for the replies! I had the JBL LSR305 as my third option actually, but I'm a bit of a sucker when it comes to German brands haha. I've read raving reviews about the JBL's but haven't had a chance to listen and compare them with the ADAMs, and since they were on sale and readily accessible, I decided to buy the ADAMs. The ARTweeter with the whole non-fatiguing characteristic also pulled me towards them. 
 
Have you had the chance to compare them to the ADAM F5's? I'd be interested in your thoughts!

 

[b0000]

  Thanks for the replies! I had the JBL LSR305 as my third option actually, but I'm a bit of a sucker when it comes to German brands haha. I've read raving reviews about the JBL's but haven't had a chance to listen and compare them with the ADAMs, and since they were on sale and readily accessible, I decided to buy the ADAMs. The ARTweeter with the whole non-fatiguing characteristic also pulled me towards them. 
 
Have you had the chance to compare them to the ADAM F5's? I'd be interested in your thoughts!

 
I had the chance to audition a few 5 inch monitors at the same time. Jbl lsr 305, rokit 5, samson resolv a5, yamaha hs5, and the adam a5's.
 
The jbl's were the most balanced ones there by far. With the Adam's coming in second, which was a bit blurry in comparison. The yamaha and samson were a bit trebly, and the rokit is the opposite, which had more mid-bass centric sound.
 
What impressed me the most about the jbl's is its bass extension. It goes deep, almost subwoofer deep. You'd think it had an 8 inch woofer.

 

[cel4145]

Congrats on your new Adams!

 

[chmsalman]

Thanks!! I'm really enjoying them so far. It's seems like Canada Post has lost the M-audios hahah I'll compare the two when they finally arrive. I wish the JBL's weren't so hard to find in Regina, I'd love to try them out. What did you think about the mid and high range between the JBL's and the ADAM's? I'm not much of a bass head so the upper end has more value to me.

 

[b0000]

The jbl's are much more balanced. The adams were really good imo, but the jbl's bested it in everything. The jbl had more extended (not louder!) bass that is reminiscent of an 8-inch woofer. The Adam's bass was actually a bit louder, but that's probably because it had more midbass. The jbl did mids a lot better too. It just sounds organic and fleshed out. As for the highs, they were about equal in enrgy. I demo'd them at a local sam ash, but i can't really give out a more detailed impression since i couldn't use my songs

 

[b0000]

by the way! You should try asking in gear slutz. those guys over there are a lot more into speakers than head-fi.

 

[chmsalman]

So I finally got both speakers set up and gave them a listen. I picked the Adam F5's, the M-audio's are in the box now and waiting to be returned. I enjoyed both, the M3-6's did sound more "musical" and less "clinical" but there are speakers out there that sound much better musically. I wanted something that would bring out the sound I was intended to hear by the studio, not something that sounded like the speakers in my car that I listen to just for fun without actually paying close attention to what I hear. 
 
The ADAM's have a crazy wide sweet spot, they're incredibly detailed and accurate and just sound phenomenal. The bass is good enough for the small office I have them set up in but definitely not as rumbling as the M-audios. That said, although the M-audio's did have deeper bass, it was definitely not as fun sounding. The ADAM's produce a punchy impact on bass that just sounds more full and "in your face". There are definitely songs I listen to through the ADAMs which I feel had more of a rumble to them though, so keep this in mind. Not being a basshead works out well for me in this case.
 
The stereo imaging is one thing I was MOST impressed with by the ADAM's. It sounds like you're sitting in an amphitheater and you get to really appreciate the three dimensions to sound. Night Air by Jamie Woon in Flac sounded incredible. There were voices in the background of the track that creep up to you from all directions, something I had never noticed before.
 
As mentioned by other reviews on the web, these ART tweeters on all ADAM monitors are definitely non-fatiguing. I could listen to these for hours without developing a headache.
 
All in all, I'm very satisfied with my purchase of the ADAM's and recommend them to anyone who wants accurate and detailed music with amazing stereo imaging but could compromise slightly on bass. The M-Audio M3-6's were clear and detailed, but not accurate. They sounded more colorful and tried harder than the ADAM's and didn't sound so effortless.
 
Hope this helped some of you!