Adam Audio A4V Studio Monitors Review

One of the more impressive studio monitors to come onto the scenes, the Adam Audio A4V studio monitors not only have some incredible sound quality but also manage to be quite flexible and easy to maneuver thanks to their smaller size.

The ADAM Audio A4V offers decent audio quality and is equipped with a bunch of features designed to address the challenges of working in smaller studio environments. 

However, like all compact studio monitors, it isn’t without its shortcomings when running with DJ gear or used for music production.

Are the Adam Audio A4V Studio Monitors Any Good?

The ADAM Audio A4V studio monitors have received an overwhelming amount of positive feedback in most reviews, with users particularly noting its remarkable detail and sharp high frequencies. Critics too have lauded it for its well-defined frequency response and excellent construction quality. If you tend to lean towards products that receive strong positive reviews, the ADAM Audio A4V certainly qualifies.

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First Impressions

Regarded as the replacement to Adam Audio’s AX series, the A4V models pride themselves on being one of Adam Audio’s smallest monitors. While this probably means you won’t be playing them out for a concert or to any events, the A4V is a great option for DJs that may have smaller studios or practice spaces to operate in. 

Their size also means that you can get them pretty close without worrying about putting your ears under any real strain, at least to the degree of larger and more pronounced speakers.

Build

Immediately upon taking them out, the first thing you’re going to notice is their size. I meant it when I said these were probably the company’s smallest monitor options. The “4” in A4V is the size of the woofers. 

This means you’re pretty much only using these monitors for your private studio production sessions.

From a physical build perspective, the A4V is made from vinyl-wrapped MDF material, with painted front panels. Besides that, the speakers have a pair of base dispersion ports on their faces. 

There’s also an LED that’s found in the tweeter mount, allowing you to see when the speaker is and isn’t being powered on properly.

The bottom of the speaker has four mounting screw threads.

On its back, the A4V has an IEC power socket as well as a power switch. The back also has XLR and RCA balanced and unbalanced input ports along with an included “selector button” to let you decide which channel you’ll use. 

Four “room adaption” buttons allow the user to play around with the speakers’ bass, low and high mid-range, as well as the treble highs. 

Keep in mind that these buttons only assist the sound quality. If you have it positioned incorrectly, you’re probably not going to see much benefit no matter what option you’re focusing on.

The studio monitors also come with a leveler knob, which allows for either a boost or a reduction of the sound by upwards of 12 dB. 

It also has a voicing button and an Ethernet socket that seems to operate “remotely”. The setup in and of itself, isn’t too complex, primarily starting and stopping with plugging everything in and cutting on. 

You’ll also want to set the input selector and get your source set to a proper sound level, but that’s really it.

Design

From a design perspective, the A4V does just enough to stand out from the sea of other speakers. What’s more, it does it in all of the right ways. 

Unlike most standard speakers, the A4V, and most of Adam Audio’s creations, has managed to become immediately recognizable by its folded ribbon tweeters (known as “X-ART”). These rectangular ribbons can be unscrewed if you don’t like them. 

Also, because of their smaller and more flexible nature, they can be rotated in wholly horizontal positions as well as vertical, making them practical while also looking good.

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A Deeper Look

Sound Quality

First things first, let’s take a second to talk about the overall sound quality of these things. After all, if the studio monitors are small and flexible but have horrible sound quality, then it’s just an utter waste of time.
 

So how does the A4V do? 

Well, provided you keep your expectations properly measured around a 4-inch woofer, I’d say I was very pleasantly surprised by just how good the sound was here. 

One of the things you’ll instantly find yourself drawn to are the different voice production options available based on your role at the time. 

We’ll get to those in a bit, but suffice it to say that the variety they bring is an entirely unexpected treat.

Even outside of this feature, the sound is pretty impressive. Sure, you’re not going to get any crazy low-end bass frequencies popping off, but that’s really to be expected considering the size of the speakers in general. 

On top of that, the bass frequencies you do get are going to be good enough, especially if you’re trying to listen to the music at a relatively neutral level.

The sound is pretty much completely distortion-free, provided you keep the volume at a reasonable level and aren’t trying to crank it to its maximum performance. 

This makes it a great option for DJs and producers who want a portable “on-the-move” set of monitors to listen with.

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DSP Features

Going further in-depth on the different sound options briefly mentioned before, the Adam Audio A4V studio monitor comes with four DSP control features on its back that you can do a lot of tweaking and playing around with. 

These four areas include the low-end bass, the lower-middle end, the high-middle end, and the upper-end treble

These are all done via what is known as “room adaption” buttons. They come with three “voicing” setups: “UNR”, “Ext”, and “Pure”.

Of the group:

Pure – This is probably the the most flat and neutral (i.e., “pure”) sound.

UNR – This has the A4V end up sounding more like the older Adam Audio speakers from previous models. This is especially the case with the “AX” model line. 

Ext –  This setup is primarily geared around external control.

Ultimately, the room adaption buttons allow you to fully boost or reduce the intensity of the four frequencies, fine-tuning them so that they are putting out a sound that is as keen to what you want as possible. 

Normally, the middle frequency is always just lumped in as a single feature, so the fact that this goes even more in-depth while also having an assortment of follow-up options is really great.

“A-Control” App

Adam Audio comes with an “A Control” app that allows you remote control access to your speakers, whether you’re a Mac or Windows user. 

You’ll need to have your computer and monitor speakers connected via an Ethernet cable, whereby the speakers will show up as registered in the app. 

At that point, you can use all of the speaker’s different features entirely from your laptop.

This is particularly useful for DJs and music producers, as you’re able to make adjustments to the monitors’ sound entirely from a “listener’s” position. 

In other words, you can set up the music while adjusting the pitch, treble, and bass all at the same time, which is really cool and lets you be much more precise as a result. 

Not only that, but because there are so many different EQ adjustment options available, you have access to a ton of really in-depth tweaks that you may not have used otherwise.

The only downside is that you do need to be tied into it via a physical cable. Not only that but if this could have been an app on your phone, it would have taken a “mostly great” feature and turned it into something of a “must get” entirely off of its utility alone. 

Still, having something that’s “mostly great” is hardly anything other than high praise.

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Overall Performance

What We Like:

• Flexible Design
• Distortion-Free (To A Point)
• Frequency Controls Are Very Fine-Tuned
• “A-Control” App Is Very Useful

What We Do Not Like:

• Bass Is (As Expected) Not A Powerhouse
• “A-Control” App Isn’t Wireless Or Mobile

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Adam Audio A4V: The Verdict

When it comes to the Adam Audio A4V studio monitors, not only are they fairly well put together, but they also sound well for anyone interested in studio monitors and not AP or HiFi speakers. 

They focus on keeping the sound as neutral and color-free as possible, resulting in something that is incredibly clean. While quite small, at least in terms of sound, the monitor DJ speakers definitely have a bit of heft to them.

Now, the interesting question is ultimately whether there’s enough here to recommend it to people. 

While at first glance it should be obvious, the truth is that Adam Audio has an extensive entry-level lineup that has options that may appeal to either side of the speaker’s shortcomings.

On one hand, the F-Series are cheaper options that, while having less to play with, are much more affordable and accessible to complete beginners. 

On the other hand, some of their more advanced speakers come with useful additions like an included mic or the ability to connect with apps without being tied in via an Ethernet cable.

Ultimately, I will say that this speaker does far more right and worth looking at than it misses the mark. Namely, the sound quality and overall audio sound that comes from these speakers is really impressive.

Despite their size, they can really put out something worth listening to, and first and foremost, that should always be the lynchpin of a quality DJ speaker or monitor.

While if you don’t have the budget some of the smaller options may work well enough, I’d recommend people trying to start with the A4V if possible before upgrading later. At least when it comes to private studio music listening, this monitor’s got it.