I have a single Adam F7 active monitor arriving tomorrow alongside a Topping TP60 from Jerry.
It is going to be located in the same spot as the previous M.A. RS LCR in the foot well of a heavy oak desk that is a fully enclosed very solid construction with three drawers top to bottom each side. Acoustically speaking I don't think the new speaker is going to cause too many problems I can't overcome as it is an even more solid construction than the rear ported RS LCR. As the F7 is front ported it should work even better than the LCR, which I'll admit has actually been a greater success oriented vertically in t' knee cubby than I ever envisaged*. (*I was forced to adopt this strategy as the place atop the desk it previously occupied under the centrally mounted TV, is the only sensible place for my hot running XTZ power amp)
Anyhoo the F7 is effectively going to be in the throat of a larger box & that is summat I'm stuck with. What has concerned me a little is resonance control of the lower registers, as t' F7's will be far more capable lower down than the M.A.'s.
Anyhoo, here's what I've come up with so far based on ideas gained from my Adam F5's I use in the second system. These are also furniture mounted by necessity on a 6' wide heavy chest of drawers in an alcove. For these I've cut some 2 core high density foam camping mat to size to fit some heavy granite trivet stands that are near perfect in size as speaker bases. I use two layers between speaker & granite & a further layer underneath. This has proved extremely effective & is a clear improvement, even the compromised alcove location has been summat the F5's
have seemed to shrug off & they're also extremely stable.
For the F7 I'm trying summat similar. This time though I'm using granite place mats whose width is perfect although the depth is a little longer than needed & they are only around half the height of the trivets @ around 6/7mm. Same idea then but a bit different, partly based on the extra weight/stability of the F7 I've decided to use a double layer foam/granite/d.l foam/granite /d.l. foam construction. So I've got my six layers of foam cut neatly to size & even without the weight of the speaker on it this actually already feels both solid & stable.
Any drawbacks that anyone is can think of to this approach? I had been considering some of the stick on acoustifeet from Paul @ PuriteNorth, as I'll prolly be ordering one or two of the Spikey mains thangs he's selling & may need some of the feet fer a couple of other things too.
I'd generally prefer not to be sticking owt onto the underside of the speaker cabs if I can help it TBPH. One advantage**(**lol likely miniscule) is that the multi layered platform I've created is going to raise the tweeter up a further 3" & effectively the new tweeter height is going to be prolly about 5" higher than the previous M.A. despite its taller stature*** (*** centrally located metal dome on RS LCR)
My own experience with the ribbon tweeters on both the XTZ main speakers & the Adam F5's in t'other room is that subjectively speaking the dispersal characteristics seem very good & IMV far superior to the previous MA RS8's + the LCR front, although the switchable dipole/bipole rears are v good & will remain.
I'm hoping to reintroduce SACD at some point next year & may even take this further, depending on how good the integration is with the XTZ main speakers.....If it's good I'll leave as is......obviously. If however it seems promising but obviously lacking in cohesiveness across the front three channels I may explore adding a further pair of F7's & possibly a sub or two.
I have in room EQ options for all 3 front speakers, although the adjustment for the XTZ's is limited to 4 steps for both bass & treble individually. However the myriad of different port tuning options does vastly increase the range of in room tuning options for these speakers. Given this I'm hoping for good integration as the ribbon tweeter of the F7 is hopefully a better match. :upgrade:
It is going to be located in the same spot as the previous M.A. RS LCR in the foot well of a heavy oak desk that is a fully enclosed very solid construction with three drawers top to bottom each side. Acoustically speaking I don't think the new speaker is going to cause too many problems I can't overcome as it is an even more solid construction than the rear ported RS LCR. As the F7 is front ported it should work even better than the LCR, which I'll admit has actually been a greater success oriented vertically in t' knee cubby than I ever envisaged*. (*I was forced to adopt this strategy as the place atop the desk it previously occupied under the centrally mounted TV, is the only sensible place for my hot running XTZ power amp)
Anyhoo the F7 is effectively going to be in the throat of a larger box & that is summat I'm stuck with. What has concerned me a little is resonance control of the lower registers, as t' F7's will be far more capable lower down than the M.A.'s.
Anyhoo, here's what I've come up with so far based on ideas gained from my Adam F5's I use in the second system. These are also furniture mounted by necessity on a 6' wide heavy chest of drawers in an alcove. For these I've cut some 2 core high density foam camping mat to size to fit some heavy granite trivet stands that are near perfect in size as speaker bases. I use two layers between speaker & granite & a further layer underneath. This has proved extremely effective & is a clear improvement, even the compromised alcove location has been summat the F5's
have seemed to shrug off & they're also extremely stable.For the F7 I'm trying summat similar. This time though I'm using granite place mats whose width is perfect although the depth is a little longer than needed & they are only around half the height of the trivets @ around 6/7mm. Same idea then but a bit different, partly based on the extra weight/stability of the F7 I've decided to use a double layer foam/granite/d.l foam/granite /d.l. foam construction. So I've got my six layers of foam cut neatly to size & even without the weight of the speaker on it this actually already feels both solid & stable.
Any drawbacks that anyone is can think of to this approach? I had been considering some of the stick on acoustifeet from Paul @ PuriteNorth, as I'll prolly be ordering one or two of the Spikey mains thangs he's selling & may need some of the feet fer a couple of other things too.
I'd generally prefer not to be sticking owt onto the underside of the speaker cabs if I can help it TBPH. One advantage**(**lol likely miniscule) is that the multi layered platform I've created is going to raise the tweeter up a further 3" & effectively the new tweeter height is going to be prolly about 5" higher than the previous M.A. despite its taller stature*** (*** centrally located metal dome on RS LCR)
My own experience with the ribbon tweeters on both the XTZ main speakers & the Adam F5's in t'other room is that subjectively speaking the dispersal characteristics seem very good & IMV far superior to the previous MA RS8's + the LCR front, although the switchable dipole/bipole rears are v good & will remain.
I'm hoping to reintroduce SACD at some point next year & may even take this further, depending on how good the integration is with the XTZ main speakers.....If it's good I'll leave as is......obviously. If however it seems promising but obviously lacking in cohesiveness across the front three channels I may explore adding a further pair of F7's & possibly a sub or two.
I have in room EQ options for all 3 front speakers, although the adjustment for the XTZ's is limited to 4 steps for both bass & treble individually. However the myriad of different port tuning options does vastly increase the range of in room tuning options for these speakers. Given this I'm hoping for good integration as the ribbon tweeter of the F7 is hopefully a better match. :upgrade:
