ADAM Audio S5H Main Monitor

The three-way S5H was conceived, as its name suggests, to be used in a horizontal orientation and features two 10-inch Extended Linear Excursion (ELE) bass drivers, newly designed by ADAM Audio expressly for the S Series. Like the LF ELE units on all the other members of the range, the S5H’s woofers feature ADAM Audio’s proprietary Symmetrical Magnet Assembly (SMA) guaranteeing that low-frequency audio remains tightly controlled and free of distortion at all times.

The all-important mid-range frequencies are handled by ADAM Audio’s new hybrid DCH. This innovative 4-inch MF driver was also newly developed by ADAM Audio exclusively for the S Series and combines the sonic advantages of cone and dome drivers in a single, one-piece unit.

Together with the S-ART treble driver — the latest iteration of ADAM Audio’s widely respected folded-ribbon tweeter, now produced to tighter tolerances than ever before — the resulting combination produces a powerful but unfatiguing sound, with a palpable sense of depth: the last word in high-resolution, natural-sounding audio reproduction.

The off-axis responses of the treble and mid drivers remain extremely accurate thanks to the addition of high- and mid-frequency waveguides milled from solid aluminum: ADAM Audio’s newly developed Mid-range and High-frequency Propagation Systems (MPS and HPS). The resultant stable, wide-ranging dispersion ensures that teams of more than one person can work in the loudspeakers’ sweet spot simultaneously, as is often necessary in larger control rooms.

The S Series’ custom-designed DSP optimizes the loudspeaker crossovers to create linear responses for the entire range, as well as providing user equalization and in-room tuning/voicing functions. The DSP also handles the limiter-based high-frequency driver protection, processes the signals from the AES3 digital inputs, and will in time facilitate various expansion options. Software updates can be carried out with ease via the associated USB port, which also allows users to connect computers and control the speakers’ DSP functions via a software front-end.

No fewer than three separate amplifiers power the drivers: a 700 W Class D design for the bass drivers, a 300 W Class D for the mid range and a 100 W Class D unit for the S-ART tweeter.