ADAM Audio D3V Active Desktop Monitoring System with USB-C Connection (Pair, Black)

Astoundingly loud and detailed for being so tiny! The bass that comes out of these little things is hard to believe! The stereo field is very 3D. What you have to realize is that EACH speaker actually has 4 drivers - a ribbon tweeter, a woofer and 2 bass radiators (one on each side). That's EIGHT total drivers you get in just 2 tiny little speakers you can fit in a small backpack. Sure, they don't have Bluetooth, but these are professional audio tools, not consumer speakers. They're designed for professional music production. They're engineered to be highly accurate with a flat frequency response at very short distances. If you're looking for speakers just for casual listening and don't need reference-level reproduction and accuracy, you should get something else. These are total overkill for the average listener. That said, as mini monitors in any kind of professional or semi-pro application these things are unbeatable for the price! I have a pair of Dynaudio LYD48 speakers that cost $2,400 and while these little guys can't match them, they come surprisingly close for a tiny fraction of the price. I definitely feel comfortable producing music and mixing on them. I have them hooked up to my TV in my bedroom and it's turned what used to be just an entertainment center into a respectable audio production space. I love lying in bed with a wireless keyboard, mouse and Bluetooth MIDI controller and producing music on these things. They'd be great for a home DJ setup too. The latest firmware update allows you to disable the auto shut-off feature and solves the problem some users were experiencing with the high end being muted at low volumes. Overall I am extremely satisfied with my purchase. I'll be taking these with me when I travel. They'd be perfect for working at small desks and in hotel rooms.

Excellent for the money. Deep powerful bass - clean, detailed highs that don't fatigue - great imaging and wide staging for little desktop speakers. There is one catch, and that is if you're using the USB input, you will be hampering their performance. The USB input is very basic (only 16-bit), and with it I found issues with the tonality of the midrange - very dry and boxy sounding. Not very natural. I bought a cable adapter to feed them via analog into the two 1/4" TRS inputs from my motherboard's onboard, and same thing. So to get the best out of these, you need a high quality, external DAC. I paired them up with a Schiit Modi Multibit 2, and they opened WAY up in terms of detail, separation, depth and layering, macro dynamics, and now of course the midrange is full and natural. So these are VERY capable speakers, but be prepared to feed them with a good source if you want the best out of them, and don't use the USB input if you can help it.

These little speakers punch way above their weight in quality of sound. And they are superbly designed, from the way the included stands angle the speakers upward from a typical desk surface to the way those stands slide into the speaker bases. Their bottoms are covered with a great non-slip material. The box also includes a few strips of non-slid material you can put onto the bottoms of the speakers, and they go into well-designed grooves that are designed to fit around the stands when you use them. Every aspect of the design radiates quality. All of this is in service of sound as good as any speakers this size I've ever heard. The tweeters radiate in a tight cone, so you want to be sure you've got them pointed at your ears - if you're too far off-axis, you'll lose those crisp high ends. So if you're looking for a pair of everyday room speakers that sound fine as you walk around the room, these wouldn't be a great choice for that reason. But that's not what they were designed for - they are monitors for people sitting between them, either a musician or engineer working on music, or just a music lover who spends a lot of time in one spot, such as working at the computer. For those people, these are fabulous. Update: The original release of the speakers included two problems (the highs were diminished at low volumes, and the speakers turned off automatically after being quiet for a while, requiring you to manually turn them on again later). People complained, and the manufacturer released a software patch that resolved both issues. The patch came out for both Windows and Mac (a rarity), and it worked perfectly. I consider that really fantastic customer service. Great speakers from a great company!

Our home studio already had a pair of Adam A5X setup with a 10 inch Adam T10S sub and we love the sound from that set up so much that when we saw that the D3V was release and came in white, we wanted them as reference monitors for our home DJ set up, we had larger alphatheta wave eights before and the small space just couldn’t handle the power of them so now that we have these space saving speakers we can stage the wave eights out more and have room behind the decks to dance. Right out of the box they sound really nice for the size while used a reference speakers, the feel and frequencies hits just right. The sound is really sweet from these, really makes you want to move. I would highly recommend them to any beginners to pro that wants small speakers with sweet punch. They were able to do this with the x-art tweeter and the 3inch driver on each speaker paired with a passive radiators on each side of the speaker a feature in which you find in most high end Bluetooth speakers. During most dj sessions with my partner we pair these speakers with a 10 Adam sub from our desk and together they sound alike a $2k+ studio system, it’s so awesome and for a quarter of the price. The build is pretty nice, the plastic housing is thick and though because I have accident knock these off the table without any repercussions other then small minor dents or scratches. Come with nice angled up stands. A little mediocre that the speaker only has one input of TSR on it but there’s so many input adaptors out there to fit your need. Having a control knob on one side is nice, the other speaker will be connected by a 4-pin audio cable. The power cord and brick is pretty longer the package was very nice and recycle martial which is always plus these days. They functionality and price of these are for anyone looking for great compact sounding speakers for music making or just plane listening.

First, Adam released the firmware update to stop standby mode in Feb 25. Outstanding performers! The only small speakers I’ve used that I feel like a sub is optional. Don’t get me wrong, they don’t get to 20hz, but they get deeper than any speaker I’ve tried this size. I feel like these are a great value too. You spend $100-150 for a good amp, that would leave you at most $200 to get a pair of speakers, and I couldn’t find anything of this caliber close to that price. I am going to add a sub, but I’ll probably cross these pretty low. I just ordered another set to do a powered surround sound setup. Cons: 1. No auto-sense connection, you must double press the volume button to change to USB-C input. 2. A proprietary speaker interconnect cable. I can’t be too upset, as I appreciate that data and power are consolidated into a single cable. Pro: 1. Stellar sound! These speakers actually thump, which I was finding impossible for this size at any price point. I almost went with the the SVS Prime Sarellites, but they were bigger, required separate amplification, and more expensive overall . These are a perfect size for near-field. 2. The ability to change the DSP to match the room. 3. Ability to turn off the auto standby, though I’m currently using the standby. I just hook my iPhone up to it USB-C to USB-C and jam out. Unplug my phone and walk off. 20 minutes later they go into standby 4. The physical size is perfect for a desk, but I’m using them on a sim rig surround sound. 5. Zero listening fatigue. Instead of turning these down after 30 minutes because your ears are getting tired, you’ll still have these cranked up.

TL;DR This is a 5 star product *for people like me*: Small desk (no more than 5.5 ft apart sitting on the desk), with a subwoofer, and the ability to run crossover (so these 3 inch woofers don't have to try and go bellow 120hz). They are a 4 star product generally because they are not for everyone, but if I described your usecase then don't hesitate. My Reference: is the Audio Engine A5 these are replacing, and headphones (hifiman he400i). Those will be my primary comparisons. My audio source was a Monolith THX AAA (DAC/amp), until I got a Wiim Ultra (streamer) which is my current audio source, which also outputs to my S8 subwoofer. My room is treated (floor, ceiling, 2.5 walls). Cords: As someone else had said, the cord connecting the powered speaker to the other is short, 78 inches on my measuring tape, but I would bet that with the length of the actual plug on either end of the cord, you get maybe 69 or 70 inches of usable length out of this. It's a very thick cable with 4 pins, similar to an XLR; plug standard TBD. It does not come with a cable for analog audio in, which is a dual 1/4 inch headphone jack, so it would be hard to use these without an audio device of some sort (DAC, amp, DAC/amp, streamer in my case), unless you use the built in DAC which won't give you the clarity these things are capable of. Sound The one complaint: I have about the audio itself is that in order to not hear how small these speakers are, you need a subwoofer and the ability to do crossover; set the crossover to above 120hz (mine is set to 145). If this were my experience I'd take off another star. Not sure if that's really fair to expect from drivers this small, especially at this price point, but I can't leave it out. Mid range: That said, my experience is with a subwoofer and a streamer with crossover functionality. The mids are rich and detailed, even the lower mids are full, which is really impressive for a speaker this small. The smaller size of the drivers becomes an asset, because weight is the enemy of accurate decay. These have fantastic imagining, bass guitars, explosions, deep voices, etc. all sound very, very detailed, but they not taxing on the ears. Highs: The highs are what you expect when you get ribbon tweeters, present and pleasant. The same richness and balance in the mids is maintained until beyond 20Khz. Violins, glass shattering, cymbals, etc. have detail and "texture" that you probably won't have heard before if you haven't had ribbon tweeters. Build: These feel like a brick in the hand, and the lack of ports means there's less room for dust to get at the electronics. They're made of a thick layer of very dense plastic/polymer, similar to what power tools are made of (but thick). They are the height of a 20 bottle of cocacola, just bellow the rim (right under the cap). They are SO small, it's fantastic. And they pump out some BIG sound, with detail I was expecting from Adam Audio (a professional recording studio monitor manufacturer first and foremost). Aesthetics: these are professional/industrial, they're meant to not draw attention, and I like that. It makes my desk feel more like a home theater when I turn down the lights having speakers that melt into the black background, as opposed to speakers that are trying to say something stylistically. I appreciate that the manufacturer made speakers that are meant to be heard and not seen, but it's preference. They are pleasant when I do look at them, though, just professional and subdued. Advice for anyone getting any speakers/looking for better sound, if you're spending this amount on speakers or more, you'll get more detail by working on peripherals like your audio source/processing, adding a subwoofer or adding sound absorbing materials to your space than you would spending more money on speakers. Couches and beds are great sound absorbers, so are thick carpets. If I were Adam Audio I'd ditch the speaker stands and put in analog in cords. But this is their first mass-market product, and it's a real winner imo.

Not that it really means anything, but I have a masters in communication, worked in television doing everything from producing to doing camera, lighting and audio and owned several large commercial audio systems through the years. I can't stand second-rate gear. I have always tried to buy and use the best, regardless of venue. Don't buy junk...cry once, never settle for second best, etc. All this being said, I teach production online and spend my days wearing headphones in front of a computer and I finally decided to get some "decent" (monitors) for my Mac. Initially I started off looking at Yamaha HS8's ended up considering Genelecs. Again, reality set in that I just needed some good monitor speakers for my computer. I wanted near fields and a set that I could sit in front of all day looking at students' video projects as well as listening to music. I started researching all sorts of monitors at just about every price range, from $125 a pair to $1500 for individual speakers. Awaking from the paralysis of analysis, reality finally set in telling myself all I was doing was getting speakers for the computer...not that I'm mastering anything that often. Looking at online YouTube reviews can be like a proud parent telling how "their" kid (or the speaker they purchased) was the "best". Objectivity is out the window... I also checked out reviewers who didn't seem to have a dog in the hunt, but just was evaluating a number of speakers. Between breaks from work, I looked at every review I could and I figured the sweet spot was somewhere between $350 and $700 for a good set. It finally came down to (I thought) to iLouds. Everyone kept saying how good they are, and I believe them. They're probably incredible and I'll probably eventually buy some. Decision time eventually came as I figured I should "fish or cut bait" and get past watching reviews, getting tired of wearing headphones all day and get something. I almost pulled the trigger on getting the iLouds, but initially I couldn't find them in black on Amazon (at the time they were only offering them in white) so I figured I would get them somewhere else. I then looked at a few more reviews and one reviewer was comparing these with the iLouds. I ended up purchasing these. A few things I like about the Adam Audio Units, is they'll take a USB C input for audio (any one of them on the back of the Mac) and doesn't require an interface (a box inline that connects to USB C and then allows you to connect to anything from 1/4" TRS to RCA's, etc. and has a "volume" control and a headphone jack, costing another $125-150 or so. The iLouds I was looking at were bluetooth (which is fine) but I had my share of problems getting a bluetooth dropping out or connecting them. I have (or gave away) all kinds of bluetooth speakers from Bose to Marshalls, to JVC, etc. and I was tired of having to turn them on, then ensure the link worked and then go back to the computer to make sure the bluetooth was enabled. I just wanted to turn them on and be done. The Adam Audio speakers out of the box are ready to go and come with everything you need (except possibly a usb c to usb c to go from the computer to the speakers). They connect directly with a USB C out of the back of the Mac, there's a volume control on the front of the speaker and a headphone jack. You just connect the USB C, and the power connector, then the "jumper" that goes from one speaker to the other and once you tell the computer the speakers are out there, you're done. What about the sound? Amazing! I have an eq on my Mac (eqMac) and they knock the socks off the Bose units from my Bose Home Speaker 500 to my S1 Pro. (For commercial audio I usually used QSC's and Mackie's, I have the S1 Pro as a small portable system, but that's another story.) These units will get fairly loud (enough your wife will tell you to turn them down) and have good base response...very good. The passive reflectors on the side do their job. There are switches on the back for some eq perspectives such as "untreated" room, desk, wall, etc. which probably help (but I couldn't see a whole lot of difference). So, if you're looking for some no excuse, decent, (incredible) monitors for your computer I don't think you can go wrong. These are really good speakers. Are there others just as good, probably, but no one is sending me speakers to try so I can review them. I just had to make a decision and I think this was a good one. Would I recommend them? Absolutely...which is why I'm writing this review. I don't think you can do better...I love them!

These are absolutely the finest speakers for their size and cost that I have ever listened to. I purchased them to use as monitors for my Yamaha Genos2 and Ketron EVM keyboard setup. The speakers produce a tight well controlled bass output that is far greater than one would ever imagine based on their size alone. This is no doubt due to the innovating dual ported setup on each speaker. The mid-range is smooth and flat to within 3dB and the treble is sweet and high with no sense of distortion at all. There are countless reviews on YouTube of these speakers and visually all of them are highly positive. Try a pair of and you will see why. Beautifully constructed and a bargain.