It’s no secret that I’m a fan of Adam Audio monitors, and for good reason. Years ago, when the company was less well-known, their speakers were overpriced and didn’t sound nearly as good.
Today, however, 20 years later, the company has perfected their craft of churning out quality products at affordable prices, and I couldn’t be more grateful for that.
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Final verdict on the Adam T7V
The Adam Audio T7V are fantastic studio monitors, with few minor faults. The worst I can say is that the bass is a little overhyped, but this can be easily adjusted by the LF knobs on the back. In fact, it shouldn’t be possible for bass to sound as full and defined as it does on these speakers, and yet it does.
Overall, these are next to perfect monitor speakers and would make a great addition to any studio setup.
What I like
- Excellent sound quality.
- Good tonal balance.
- Full-bodied bass.
- Affordable.
What I don’t like
- Not as neutral as they could be.
Power and frequency response
The T7V has a fairly impressive frequency response. Its 7-inch woofer can reach down to 39 Hz, while the ribbon tweeter can deliver up to 25 kHz. A pair has a SPL rating of up to 110 dB, which is more than fair for nearfield use.
Overall, I was fairly impressed with the performance of these monitors. The bass reproduction is far heftier and fuller-sounding than one would normally expect from monitors of this size.
What might be an issue here is accuracy. I don’t want to suggest that the T7V is an inaccurate monitor, it isn’t, but there are monitors with a much flatter response, although they might cost you a pretty penny. So, while this is a great-sounding speaker, if you’re looking for accuracy it might be worth considering alternative options.
An easy work-around with the T7V could be simply adjusting the LF knob to -2 dB, for you may find that working with it set to 0 dB may produce a thin-sounding bass in your mix when put through other sound systems. That adjustment alone would correct most problems you might have with these speakers. Otherwise, they sound awesome.
I/O and controls
All ins and outs are located on the steel rear panel. Here you’ll find your standard On/Off switch and IEC socket, as well as a balanced XLR input and unbalanced RCA input.
Above the inputs is a rotary control for level, stretching from -60 dB to +18 dB. HF and LF shelving filter switches also allow you to filter the highs and lows of the monitors from neutral, -2 dB, and +2 dB.
It would’ve been nice to see an LED monitor on the front as we do with many other monitors these days, but it’s absence is not the worst thing in the world.
Build quality
For what it’s worth, the T7V is an exceptionally designed monitor. It has some weight to it, it feels solid, and as an added benefit, they look great.
The speaker is rear-ported, and they’ve flared the port exit to reduce any amount of port noise that may have been an issue otherwise.
Compared to other studio monitors
These Adam speakers are my top pick for the best studio monitors under $500 on the market right now. But before jumping on the T7V, it might be worth taking a look at a few other alternatives.
Adam Audio T7V vs Kali Audio LP-8 V2
The LP-8 V2 are arguably a bit flatter than the T7V out of the box, but not by much. For my taste, the T7V are objectively better speakers, but you can’t go wrong with either.
Read the full Kali Audio LP-8 V2 review
Adam Audio T7V vs KRK Rokit 7 G4
I think the KRKs are so overhyped at this point, and fair enough, they’ve certainly earned their place. At a certain point though, when will we stop buying things just because they’re the popular choice? Save yourself the headache and get the T7V.
Read the full KRK Rokit 7 G4 review
Adam Audio T7V vs JBL 306P Mk2
Again, my allegiance lies with Adam Audio, but the JBL 306P is a mildly more affordable solution to your financial woes.
Read the full JBL 306P Mk2 review
Who are the Adam Audio T7V studio monitors best suited for?
The Adam Audio T7V active studio monitors are ideal for anyone looking for a quality monitoring solution on a budget.
Buy Adam Audio T7V at: SweetwaterAmazonVideo demo
You can also watch this video by my colleague Fabio where he puts the Adam Audio T7V studio monitors to the test.
