# Emotiva Pro Airmotiv 4 Powered Studio Monitor Review Discussion Thread



## AudiocRaver (Jun 6, 2012)

*Emotiva Pro Airmotiv 4 Powered Studio Monitor Review Discussion Thread*

*Read the Full Review Here*

Emotiva Pro's airmotiv 4's are an easy recommendation for me for near-field use, either in a smaller studio or for near-field pleasure listening. For a home theater setup in a smaller apartment or den, they perform surprisingly well if listening SPLs in the 90s and above are not a priority. The support of a sub would be wise for home theater listening, and for the pickier music listener, but you might be surprised how well they handle bass on their own as the core of a music listening station. They would also shine as sides/rears in a surround setup, but remember they need AC power available. As their off-axis frequency response specifications suggest, there is quite a bit of flexibility in listening position and angle, but they do tend to perform best in a wider stance and at that off-axis "sweet" angle.

A larger control room or mixing station - I could even see them becoming a favorite in mastering rooms - would probably want the bass extension and higher SPLs offered by the airmotiv 5's or 6's with their larger drivers and power amps. The specs for the 6's make them a pretty good bet for main fronts in a larger home theater room, probably still with a sub to handle deep sound effects.

And the economical airmotiv 4's ability to image with sharp clarity, along with their ease in resolving detail through the mid and upper frequencies at moderate levels, makes them a great choice for the small-room home theater setup that doubles as a serious music listening station.

Emotiva Pro has made a fan of this reviewer. If you are looking for speakers to serve in any of these applications, I highly recommend that you give them your consideration.

*Read the Full Review Here*


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## DanTheMan (Oct 12, 2009)

Can you do gated off axis measurements? Preferably all the way to 90 degrees?
Check here for how to gate the measurement: http://dtmblabber.blogspot.com/2010/09/gating-loudspeaker-measurements.html
Since you have lazy susan bearings, the polar graph will be simple to make.
http://dtmblabber.blogspot.com/2010/12/ok-so-how-do-i-make-all-these-polar.html

End results that look something like this: http://dtmblabber.blogspot.com/2011/01/review-of-polar-graphs.html

Thanks!

Dan


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## Sonnie (Apr 11, 2006)

It would be nice to compare them to the Primus 363's.


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## typ44q (Apr 7, 2008)

These seem very impressive considering the cost but I guess that is the case with all of their products. I love all the new products from Emotiva and have been reading great things about all of their speakers. 
Would love to see them make a line of in wall speakers as well.


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## DanTheMan (Oct 12, 2009)

I've seen their other speakers measurements. They look worse than anything I've measured. I've had their UMC-1, it was a nightmare for me. I have one of their 5 channel amps(the medium powered one), it's certainly nice even though it has a slightly audible hum through my Primus. Also, if I had to pick a pre for SQ, I'd say the UMC-1was my favorite. It was just way too unstable!!! Easily the most malfunctioning piece of AV gear I've had. Maybe I had a lemon, but several others experienced the same thing when running too much processing. Anyway, I'm a bit less optimistic about their gear after my experience. I really question the no return policy on the UMC-1 as well. I hope it's not shady.

Dan


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## AudiocRaver (Jun 6, 2012)

DanTheMan said:


> I really question the no return policy on the UMC-1 as well.


Are you saying you tried to exercise their 30-day return policy and had trouble doing so? If so, that would be good for us to know.

My only direct Emotiva experience is with the Airmotiv 4's. Haven't tried to return anything or exercise their warranty, either. Anyone have direct return/warranty experience they can share?


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## DanTheMan (Oct 12, 2009)

They have a 'no return' policy on the UMC-1. My unit emitted some horrible smell and I went crazy after 2 days of experiencing so many technical glitches. They let me return it after about 30min of saying 'we have a no return policy on that unit. We are sending you a replacement unit right away...' I had no desire to go through it all again with another unit. Several owners have done just that and lived with a half functional unit. Tech support actually blamed the malfunctions on Hollywood! Made me feel pretty hostile. 

Makes me nervous, but I've had worse from Onkyo and HK.

Dan


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## DanTheMan (Oct 12, 2009)

Oh, they give you a coupon if you want to trade up to their more expensive unit, but 'no returns' on the glitch box. Seems shady to me.

"The UMC-1: cinematic nirvana. All sales final."
"Did you know?
The processor upgrade certificate that you get (at no additional charge) when you buy the UMC-1 will get you 40% off the new XMC-1 when it’s available. Full price of the XMC-1 will be $1,499; with the upgrade certificate you get it for $899. That's $600 off! Invest in your future.. "

From their website: http://shop.emotiva.com/collections/processors/products/umc1

Dan


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## Sonnie (Apr 11, 2006)

We need to be careful about blanket labeling something as a "glitch box", as there can easily be hundreds of these units out there that no one has ever had one complaint about. My only issue with the UMC-1 that I had was the bass management was flawed, and I have no idea if that has been fixed, but I know owners who are happy with their units. I agree there have been several that have had glitches, but apparently not all. We just seem to hear more about them in forums because owners with issues look for a place to vent. Same thing with Onkyo, HK and NAD... all have had their share of glitch boxes, but I suspect the majority of owners are happy with them. I have had Onkyo's for a number of years without one hitch. Had a NAD with glitches... no HK ever in the house.

That upgrade deal is really good. If you plan to buy the XMC-1, then buying the UMC-1 (even if you never plan to use it) is the best discount you will probably get on the XMC-1... outside of any specials they might run later on after its release. However, it is unavailable now and may not be available again.

*Now... back to our normal programming and being on topic of what this thread is suppose to be about (and that is NOT the UMC-1).*

Wayne... can you do the gated off axis measurements that Dan has mention?


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## DanTheMan (Oct 12, 2009)

That's why I said maybe I had a lemon.  

Dan


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## AudiocRaver (Jun 6, 2012)

The off-axis measurements are already in process, absolutely! Stay tuned! (It's been kinda noisy around here today, I'm waiting for a quite hour to finish up. Working on it.:whistling


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## DanTheMan (Oct 12, 2009)

Cool. If you get stuck, feel free to ask.

Dan


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## AudiocRaver (Jun 6, 2012)

Here is the polar response plot for the airmotiv 4's, as promised. I first took measurements at 1 meter, but there were enough disturbances from reflections that the curves could not be fully trusted. Applying a 5 ms IR window was not enough to tame them. Blame my crowded work space.

The attached plot was made at one-third of a meter, and looks pretty clean. Without moving furniture around and re-running the 1 meter plots, I'm going to call this a good set of curves, needing to move onto other projects. I realize the bass response cannot be fully trusted at that measurement distance. It actually looks very close to what Emotiva's published curves show. And the mid and high frequencies are what we are mainly wanting to see here anyway. I hope it is satisfactory to everyone.

Polar response plot for the Emotiva Pro airmotiv 4 Powered Studio Monitors, measurement distance 1/3 m, from 0° to 90° off axis horizontally in 11.25° increments. Microphone height even with bottom edge of the bottom slot of the tweeter opening. One-third octave smoothing.


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## DanTheMan (Oct 12, 2009)

Nice work! You'd actually get a more useful graph with a shorter window and no smoothing. Try doing it by the math listed on my site. That much smoothing can hide a lot of mess! Look at this example: http://dtmblabber.blogspot.com/2010/07/behringer-b2031p.html?m=1

None the less, that's a great job for a first try.

Dan


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## DanTheMan (Oct 12, 2009)

Oh, I just saw 1/3 meter. I read 1 meter somehow. That's actually going to be a bit too close. That makes your gate better however. I wish I could get my hands on them. If HTS needs a speaker measurement guy... 

Dan


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## AudiocRaver (Jun 6, 2012)

Here is a summary of the more meaningful plots I have taken, giving you a pretty good overview of the airmotiv 4's capabilities and how they work in a real-world space.

First, the one-third octave smoothed off-axis frequency response curves at 1/3 m, from 0° to 90° in 11.25° increments. You can see the bass extension down to 60 Hz.


I have to declare an "oops" on the plot colors. My original color choices got lost along the way, but you get the idea.

For a more detailed view of the mid- and high-frequency off-axis response, the following two plots are at 1 m and 1/3 m respectively, with Room EQ Wizard's IR window closed down to 1 ms for the 1 m plot and 2 ms for the 1/3 m plot, cleaning the room reflection clutter. Again, the plots represent off-axis angles from 0° to 90° in 11.25° increments. Even at this level of detail, without the smoothing you see in most published frequency response plots, you can see that the on-axis response stays very close to being within the plus/minus 2 DB range specified by Emotiva. And the off-axis response is quite well controlled to around the 30° angle. Still, the airmotiv 4's could benefit from some equalization to smooth out the bumps a bit; more on this below.
 

And the last two plots are with half-octave smoothing at the listening position in my comfy chair at the left- and right-ear measurement points, respectively, at 0° (magenta), 15° (blue), and 30° (green) off axis (brown, red, yellow in the second plot). Within this range, the off-axis response is quite well controlled. As stated in the detailed review, the depth of the sound stage improved dramatically by turning the speakers outward from pointing directly at the ears to 15° or more off axis. Listening distance is about 30 inches speaker-to-ear. The 15° off-axis point seems to be optimal in my room; I am not sure how much of a factor room acoustics might be in this phenomenon.
 

Clearly there are significant room contributions to the low-frequency response as seen in these plots. Something to work on (sigh).

Moving forward, I intend at some point, hopefully fairly soon, to apply linear-phase equalization to the airmotiv 4's, believing that linear-phase equalization will help preserve the phase response the speakers were designed with, thereby preserving the wonderful punchiness of their presentation.

Linear-phase equalization, with its inherently longer processing delay times, has not found its way into home theater use very much because of the obvious synchronization problems between video and audio. I have favored linear-phase EQ in my audio-only setups for some time, and have been watching for a solution to that synchronization problem. The JRiver Media Center has been mentioned around the Shack as a possible solution to this problem, accommodating VST plug-ins and a convolution engine for the audio processing, within a design that keeps audio and video in sync. I am excited! It just might be exactly what we need to allow us to accomplish linear-phase EQ in a home theater setting . It remains to be seen how well JRiver will handle delays as long as can be introduced by linear-phase equalization, sometimes in the neighborhood of 1/4 to 1/3 of a second depending on just how it is implemented and what processing VST's are used. The amount of CPU horsepower needed for that processing in a multi-channel home theater system will also need to be determined.

On to other projects. To echo the airmotiv 4 review, these little speakers pack a lot of great sound and value into a small package, if their visual aspects are suitable. I hope these plots help answer any questions about the airmotiv 4's.

Happy listening!

AudiocRaver


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## DanTheMan (Oct 12, 2009)

That's certainly detailed! Thank you for putting all the time into this.

I'm not too sure about those linear phase EQs... Ethan Winer was talking about them and said they commit the most audible form of distortion... Not sure what now but I wanna say it was pre-ringing and was audible on percussive sounds. In blind tests, phase distortion a were not found to be audible with music--only on some test tones.

Just some things to think about. I bet if you contacted Ethan, he'd lead you in the right direction.

Dan


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## dlensmith (Mar 1, 2010)

This speaker configuration looks very similar to the ADAM Audio line of speakers that use the ATM technology for the tweeter and in the higher end models the midrange as well. Has anyone compared the them to one of the ADAM speakers of similar price and configuration?


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## DanTheMan (Oct 12, 2009)

The only ADAM measurements I've seen amount to the best measured speaker performance I've seen. A number of German magazines have measured their home line of loudspeakers. Not sure how they would compare, but they use the same tech and driver so you'd think they'd be fairly similar. None the less, the ADAM measurements I've seen have blown my mind. My next speakers will likely be from them. I think they only make very small speakers in this price range--like 3inch "woofers" type stuff. I may well be wrong. In this price range, JBL makes some really nice stuff as does Behringer(most people will write me up as a nut for saying that but it's a fact).

Dan


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## AudiocRaver (Jun 6, 2012)

I am actually quite a Behringer fan myself.

It is easy to get into trouble with linear-phase EQ. There are definitely limits to what you can do with it. The amount of EQ applied, the Q, steepness of slopes, all must be applied delicately to avoid pre-ringing. When I use it, it is never with more than 6 DB of gain or cut, never more than 6 DB per octave slope. That is done with a spline-type filter stage, and a minimum number of filter definition points, nevermore than 10 or 12 total. Then, if needed, a linear phase parametric stage for only _very minor_ additional adjustment. Then a stage of minimum phase parametric EQ, if needed further, for any more severe adjustments. I'm not sure what the true limits are, but that combination seems to be fairly safe.

When I get around to playing with it again, I will post some impulses representing small amounts of correction following those guidelines, and would be glad for critical listeners to tell me if they can hear any pre-ringing.

Appreciate the constructive feedback. And will have to be on the lookout for a chance to try some Adam speakers. Everything ever said about them is terrific.


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## DanTheMan (Oct 12, 2009)

I can already tell you that I've never heard the pre ringing except on test tones. It's just that the phase issues of normal EQs have been demonstrated to only be audible on test tones as well.

Ethan said they can be heard however and I would be shocked if he didn't have evidence for it. I still use them all the time. 

Dan


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## erwinbel (Mar 23, 2010)

Thank you, Wayne for such a thorough review and following up! That's how you do it... 

We have a pair of airmotiv 5 in our daughters's hobby space which I really like, but obviously only listen briefly to. I have another pair of 5's waiting in the box for my home office audio. Then I can have extended listening myself. It will be combined with XDA-1, ERC-1 (coaxial) and iMac (optical). My big system uses Amarra player, so I will try Pure Music on this one.

I hope that you also try the *stealth 8* since these seem like the ultimate two-way monitors packing 2 x 200 Watts and an optimized cabinet. Considering these for our HT later!


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## AudiocRaver (Jun 6, 2012)

erwinbel said:


> Thank you, Wayne for such a thorough review and following up! That's how you do it...
> 
> We have a pair of airmotiv 5 in our daughters's hobby space which I really like, but obviously only listen briefly to. I have another pair of 5's waiting in the box for my home office audio. Then I can have extended listening myself. It will be combined with XDA-1, ERC-1 (coaxial) and iMac (optical). My big system uses Amarra player, so I will try Pure Music on this one.
> 
> I hope that you also try the *stealth 8* since these seem like the ultimate two-way monitors packing 2 x 200 Watts and an optimized cabinet. Considering these for our HT later!


Alright! I have been hungering for a pair of 5s, to have just a smidge more headroom when I feel like pushing the volume. And I am going to try to get a pair of the stealths for review, too, they look like mindblowers.

Would love some detailed feedback on your 5s once you have lived with them awhile.

Have fun!!


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## highstream (Jun 2, 2013)

Wayne, thanks for the thoughtful and thorough review. It had a big effect on my trying (and keeping) a pair of airmotiv 4s back in March for my large computer desktop. One thing I was confused about in your review is the meaning of on- and off-axis. Is "on-axis" relative to the speaker/room, i.e., straight ahead, or to the listener, that is, toed in facing the listener? (it seems a lot easer to measure, say, 15 degrees, from speaker straight ahead than outward from it facing the listener)

After some experimenting, I'd come to having them toed-in facing me to get more precise focus and less speaker-centered sound (I have them on Audioengine's larger tilted rubber stands, with 7" of wood blocks underneath, a 24" monitor in between). Sometime after reaching that setup, I switched the speakers' fuses to the HiFi Tuning Supreme, which in comparison make the stock speakers sound constipated. However, that change also affected the tonality or pitch of singers and instruments, making them more throaty than sweet, something I don't like. I hadn't really thought about that being related to speaker direction until someone hearing my complaint suggested it. And turning them back out does make a difference there, as well as in staging. But all that reminded me of your review and how I was never clear about where that 15 and 30 degrees you tried started from. After experimentation, where did you end up? Thanks,

(oops, seems I mistyped my intended username - highstream - while registering. Have to see if I can fix it.)


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## DanTheMan (Oct 12, 2009)

I'm actually surprised when speakers that don't seem to perform as well as others in their price range are still found to be more desirable. Can anyone explain it to me?


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## AudiocRaver (Jun 6, 2012)

highstream said:


> Wayne, thanks for the thoughtful and thorough review. It had a big effect on my trying (and keeping) a pair of airmotiv 4s back in March for my large computer desktop. One thing I was confused about in your review is the meaning of on- and off-axis. Is "on-axis" relative to the speaker/room, i.e., straight ahead, or to the listener, that is, toed in facing the listener? (it seems a lot easer to measure, say, 15 degrees, from speaker straight ahead than outward from it facing the listener)
> 
> After some experimenting, I'd come to having them toed-in facing me to get more precise focus and less speaker-centered sound (I have them on Audioengine's larger tilted rubber stands, with 7" of wood blocks underneath, a 24" monitor in between). Sometime after reaching that setup, I switched the speakers' fuses to the HiFi Tuning Supreme, which in comparison make the stock speakers sound constipated. However, that change also affected the tonality or pitch of singers and instruments, making them more throaty than sweet, something I don't like. I hadn't really thought about that being related to speaker direction until someone hearing my complaint suggested it. And turning them back out does make a difference there, as well as in staging. But all that reminded me of your review and how I was never clear about where that 15 and 30 degrees you tried started from. After experimentation, where did you end up? Thanks,


Thanks for the feedback. I was not very clear about what I meant by "off axis." Here is a diagram:









I was mainly looking for the sharpest, most natural imaging. It was good on axis, but a little better off axis, I believe I settled on 20 deg off axis as the optimum. The measurement is made with a protractor taped to the top of the speaker, a length of string stretched toward each ear - this is a near-field setup, so each speaker's orientation is relative to its respective ear.

With the Airmotiv 4's excellent off-axis frequency response, you can play with that angle quite a bit before losing the highs noticeably. I still love these little guys, especially up close like that. They don't have the power to fill a room - the bigger models are a better choice for that, no doubt - but for near-field, they are serious little speakers at a nice price.

Glad you are enjoying your pair.


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## highstream (Jun 2, 2013)

Thanks! I printed a 180 degree protractor and by holding it up against the speaker am able to get a measure of angle and come close to uniformity.

Are you (or others) using the speakers with a computer monitor in between? If so, where have you found the best position fore-aft relative to the front of the monitor? My monitor is a 24" 1920x1200, so a bit larger than the common 1080s, with me an arms length (31") away and the wall directly behind my desk (about 13" from the back of the monitor). Placement relative to the monitor/wall seems to have a big effect not just on bass, but on imaging and clarity. The back wall (textured plaster) is not treated and sometimes I sense a bit less clarify, maybe an echo-like effect, as the back speaker corners move out past about 5".


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## AudiocRaver (Jun 6, 2012)

The setup I have been referring to is at my comfy chair listening station, well away from any walls, no computer involved. Ear-to-speaker distance is 28 inches on each side. The spacing is a little on the wide side so I can get in & out of the chair, makes for a wide soundstage, which I like. At that width and closeness, set at the 20 degree off-axis angle, the music just floats there, disconnected from the speakers.

The only time I had them set close to a wall, they got boomy due to the rear port, and the imaging became generally unclear.

As monitors for my Digital Audio Workstation, they end up set for sound and are pretty inconvenient otherwise, spaced 34 inches center-to-center, with the speaker plane well ahead of the video monitors. From ear plane to speaker plane is 16 inches, from there to video monitor is another 20 inches. Height is critical, as the Airmotiv 4s are very sensitive to off-axis vertically. I like the ears aligned with the top of the woofer surround roll, midway between driver centers, so they are on stands sitting up very high. Off-axis angle is 20 degrees as before.


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## highstream (Jun 2, 2013)

Thanks for that info. You do seem to be sitting close. One thing I'm not picking up on, if you would say a little more, is the following: "From ear plane to speaker plane is 16 inches, from there to video monitor is another 20 inches." 

Are yours inclined or flat vertical? Because I haven't wanted to use the available fixed-height stands, so am currently using wood blocks to 7", with the larger Audioengine inclined rubber stands (15 degrees) on top. While vertically my mid ear is about tweeter height, on the inclined plane it is similar to yours. Isoacoustics recently added a smaller version of their adjustable stands (pair on the way), which I'm hoping at their highest position, 8.88" in front, allow sufficient incline to maintain my current height, which I've found optimal. http://www.isoacoustics.com/isol8r130.php?id=speaker stands studio monitor isolation


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## AudiocRaver (Jun 6, 2012)

I have them sitting level on high stands, they are actually about 8 inches higher than the video monitor. Their location is more than a little inconvenient for general workstation use and looks a bit awkward - and demands some care so they don't get knocked over. Your setup is probably far more aesthetically pleasing. And with the proper slant to get the listening position on axis vertically (relative to the speakers) I can think of no reason sound quality would suffer. My preference for the wider soundstage is a personal one that drives some strange looking setups - although the "sound disconnected from the speakers" effect seems easier to attain with wider spacing. But your setup undoubtedly gives first-rate imaging and sound quality while being more practical and a LOT nicer looking.


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## highstream (Jun 2, 2013)

You're scaring me about those Isoacoustic stands, but then worry about the fragility of a tall stand setup is one of the things that got me searching for wood blocks. As a side note, I discovered in the process of searching that lumber yards, at least around here, won't cut anymore, so fortunately I found Heinecke Wood Products in Wisconsin.


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## AudiocRaver (Jun 6, 2012)

DanTheMan said:


> I'm actually surprised when speakers that don't seem to perform as well as others in their price range are still found to be more desirable. Can anyone explain it to me?


You will have to be more specific. Do you have specific speakers in mind?


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## AudiocRaver (Jun 6, 2012)

Anyone have more recent experience with any of the Airmotiv powered monitors? I am looking at trying to get a pair of the Stealth monitors for evaluation around the first of the year. Maybe a pair of equivalent Adam monitors for comparison, and maybe a third pair from someone else. Then maybe get some local ears over for a comparative evaluation day, kind of a mini shoot-out. Any thoughts what to include?


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## highstream (Jun 2, 2013)

I'd forgotten about that post. Sometime after it, I got a pair of the smaller Isoacoustics stands to try, put them on four inch wood blocks, and they've worked very well, appearance and a couple little quirks with the setup notwithstanding. The sound definitely improved with them - more relaxed and open, etc. I was talking about the airmotiv 4 at the time, but since then have sold those in favor of either the Adam Artist 3 or Focal CMS 40 (currently auditioning), both of which are about the same size as the 4. If the Stealth are anything sonically like the 4, i.e., house sound, I'd definitely favor the Adam or Focal. Musician's Friend carries Adam 3 and has frequent sales, such as 15% off over $400 when I ordered a pair over Labor Day. Sweetwater carries Focal, though I haven't seen sales on speakers. However, if you're looking at the CMS 50, PM me for a site that often stocks factory repacks with full warranty at a substantial discount.


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## AudiocRaver (Jun 6, 2012)

The Focal CMS series gets a lot of great buzz. I would like to evaluate them against the Stealths and Adams.


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## highstream (Jun 2, 2013)

Although with a little less bass extension, the Adam Artist 3 is much better (and much more expensive) than the airmotiv 4, and I had HiFi Supreme fuses in the latter, which took away a lot of their forward bite and improved the staging. I'm listening to the Adam's right now, while the CMS 40s burn in with the Isotek CD. I should have some idea in a few days. While each brand is sold by a number of places, I mentioned Seetwater and MF because they have very reasonable return policies. The other smaller and somewhat less expensive Adam that's getting good reivews is the A3X. The price difference is largely the lack of a built in Dac and a cheaper cabinet, with a front port instead of the 3's rear one (The CMS 40 is front too).


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## bmoney003 (Nov 21, 2012)

I have these is my office setup and they are incredible!! I used cd rips and a behringer a202. Love mibe!!


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## highstream (Jun 2, 2013)

You have which? I decided to go with the CMS 40, though they had to be replaced because the volume level wasn't the same between the speakers (sold separately).


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## bmoney003 (Nov 21, 2012)

Airmotiv4's


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