New Product: Adam Audio- Grand Theater Components - Page 5

Does anybody have the 88's?

Has anybody heard the 88's.

Any impressions?

Hello Bukiwhitey,

Did you get an answer to your question about the GTC88? Since I represent them I am bias but the GTC88 have the same timbre as the GTC77 with much more emphasis in the very low frequency and can play louder.

We are in the lenghty process of building a house with a semi-dedicated HT. I was contemplating the new Emotiva Pro Stealth 8, which are powered studio monitors. If you follow the link, you will notice that these use the same kind of tweeters:
http://emotivapro.com/products/powered_monitors/stealth8.php

So after browsing the internet, I discovered that Adam Audio uses nothing but these tweeters. I knew of the spectacular Tensor line, which are out of my league to be honoust. But their two-way powered pro monitors are affordable. So I obviously subsequently also found out about their GTC-line. Now the GTC77 looks like great value for money indeed. Thing is, our space is 5,000 cubic feet, so I'd rather have the GTC88 for LCR which seems like a big jump in price vs the GTC77 for very similar technology.

Any thoughts on that? Listening distance will be 12 feet. I have two LLT subs with 18" Maelströms waiting and ready. Do I need the GTC88 or are the GTC77 more than enough?

I would say go the GTC88's just because then your head will never have to do the "I wish I had of" or "I wonder how much better they could be..." . It is harder to fork out more cash upfront but realistically in 6 months you've forgotten all about it and life went on and you are glad you went the bigger option.

But like anything, I would say talk to GTC; tell them you're interested, tell them how many you want and when you want to buy. Tell them you want the 88's but are struggling with the price and give them incentive that you are a real buyer not tyre kicking.

And I'm sure you've reviewed the technical aspects: GTC88 has 90dB sensitivity vs 88dB on the 77's, extra 6dB higher SPL with the 88's which to your ears is quite a difference.
But at the end of the day I would have them listened to.

Not to throw a spanner in your works but if you're considering a more dedicated theater room have you looked into Krix Series X Home Cinema:
http://www.krix.com.au/Product/Catalogue.aspx?p=96

They look like commercial cinema speakers because this company make commercial cinema speakers and are very popular throughout Australia & they do sell internationally. They have created the Series X range which is almost commercial grade with domestic grade connections, etc. I have heard the Pix
http://www.krix.com.au/Product/Detail.aspx?p=97&id=74 which is the smallest speaker offering in a L, C, R setup with 2 x 18" subs and the experience was incredible. It will be what I buy for more dedicated theater when I have a room to do so. The Pix is probably at the same price you're looking for in the GTC's....

Thanks, will look into it...

Hello erwinfrombelgiu,

Good questions but I need to go into a bit of history so bear with me please. The tweeter is based on Dr. Oskar Heil's original concept of over 40 years ago. The CEO and owner of ADAM, Klaus Heinz, worked for a driver manufacturer for one year between his old company and his new one ADAM. During that year he designed the tweeter. Being the original patterns for this concept were long expired, the original designed remained with the driver manufacturer and also with Klaus. Over the last 14 years, Klaus has redesigned the tweeter a number of times until we have the current version. Each hand made unit is called a X-ART tweeter that goes up to 50K (we test each unit to make sure they do), measure at 96db and have a almost flat impedence. The tweeter is unique to ADAM alone.

The GTC series uses these tweeters as does almost everything we make for both home and pro. The GTC77 use a double 7" driver for bass while the GTC88 use a double 9". The 88 develop more volume and impact but the drivers are much more expensive and the cabinet are heavier to handle the spl. The timbre is most important with everything we design so the drivers are chosen carefully and often are made to our specifications. At 12 feet away and with the subs you have, I would recommend the GTC77s as you are not trying to pressurize the room with them. The GTC77 can be configured to run vertical or horizontal. So you should be fine. With all the GTC ADAM has sold, there has not been a single return.

I hope this helps.

2sides,

Thanks, great info. To be honoust, the GTC88 are a bit above what I feel comfortable to pay for. Indeed, I only need the best possible sound from 80Hz upwards from the LCR. It's a big space (60 m2 or 5,000 cubic foot) but there are only 4 seats and the large subs will handle the room size.

Now how to find a place where I can here them....

I work in the USA but for locations in Europe please send an email to info@adam-audio.de and they can help you. I hope this helps.

Best

2sides, where is the closet listening location to Chicago.

Hans,

My fault, with all my travel I failed to get back to you. Are you still interested in info or anything else?

+1

I'd be really interested to hear how the X-ART driver sounds compared to similar products from Golden Ear and Martin Logan, but can't find a listening location near Chicago...

Interesting...so a proprietary ribbon tweeter? From some of the wording these sound like these are powered speakers or am I reading wrong?

While Adam-Audio is indeed specialized in powered speakers, mostly pro, the GTC Series is intended for HT installation and are passive...

http://www.adam-audio.com/en/installation/products

AFAK, the difference between the Adam-Audio version and the competitors, is that the X-ART is reproducing frequencies up to 50,000 Hz. Whether you will be able to hear all of it, ahum... When I tried a Focal test CD-rip recently, I couldn't hear 16,000 Hz, nor did my wife. My 17 yo son did, but he didn't hear 20,000 Hz...

http://www.adam-audio.com/en/technology/x-art

This said, I really like the sound of our humble little Emotiva airmotiv 5, which also uses the folded ribbon tweeter approach.

The X-ART tweeter does go up to 50K and when used in the recording industry, digital overtone energy can be dissipated. This gives us a cleaner high frequency in the audible range according to the engineers reporting back to us. Along with this change, the tweeter SPL went up, efficiency is 96db and the impedance is almost flat. The tweeter was such an improvement we needed to redesign the entire pro line. We would like to find a more economical way to produce the tweeter but to date nothing we have evaluated produces the quality of sound we want in the speakers. Taking the sound of the tweeters and matching it to drivers to produce our sound is really another trait of Klaus Heinz (CEO) that has allowed ADAM to become so strong in the pro world. 90% of our business is on the pro side of the business. With so much growth here, most of the energy has gone there even though Hi-Fi is Klaus Heinz love.

Anyone heard the 88's yet and can offer comparison to the 77's?

http://www.avsforum.com/t/1416004/bef-from-norway-diy-uncompromising-theater/30#post_22161723

I think I will build a version of the inConcert Miles instead of buying a GTC or anything else. Above is link to BEF-NO's build thread with a pic of it next to the Adam Tensor monitor. The Miles has it all: Air Motion tweeter (like Adam), size, extreme output without distortion and the possibility to go active. If I build that, I will never have second thoughts. I'd make it taller and with MTM layout while maintaining 100 liters for each 15" midwoofer. Room is 5,000 cubic feet (THX Ultra is 3,000 feet) so the speakers should not appear to bulky for the space.