Looking for a pair of high-quality nearfield studio monitors with a small footprint? The Adam A3X will be an excellent choice for you and will fit nicely in a small studio/room, providing its users with highly accurate sound quality. The compact size of the Adam A3X does limit its low-frequency performance especially when it comes to deep bass reproductions and this is why it will be a great idea to integrate a powered subwoofer with equal remarkability.
There is a wide range of high-quality active subwoofers to choose from, it will be ideal to pick those which are quite closely priced with the Adam A3X studio monitors. Other than the price points, the sonic characteristics of the A3X will be another factor, as well as your own subwoofer requirements. We will need to gather more data and from there, we can work out a list of the best subwoofers to pair with the Adam Audio A3X. This subwoofer list will be shared with you later on.
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Sonic Characteristics of Adam A3X
As mentioned, the Adam A3X is a small studio monitor and will be an excellent choice for studios that have limited space. The bass ports are located at the front of the mini nearfield monitors and with the help of the control settings, you can position the A3X closer to the rear walls, saving you even more space. The frequency response of 60Hz to 50kHz (-10 dB) and a missing gain setting for bass, do indicate the Adam A3X studio monitors are not really built for deep bass performance. Furthermore, it has a small 4.5″ (120mm) Carbon Fiber woofer which is driven by a built-in Class A/B amplifier with only 25 Watts RMS power.
The Adam A3X nearfield monitors are able to deliver very detailed and extended highs, all thanks to its precision-made X-Art tweeter coupled with a matching Class A/B amplifier. The high-frequency reproductions are airy and crisp without sounding overly harsh, blending in seamlessly with the midrange reproductions providing us with realistic sounding vocals and musical instruments. Its midrange reproduction is quite expressive as well. Adam A3X bass performance is tight, detailed, and accurate but doesn’t go as deep. These missing low frequencies might hinder mixing/mastering of bass-heavy soundtracks especially when musical instruments such as the piano, church organs, and others are been involved.
More Details at Amazon – Adam Audio A3X Studio Monitor
The level of clarity is pristine and this gives us a clear-sounding music presentation. It has amazing stereo imaging and separation, not to mention, the precision is top-notch too. A3X’s overall bass performance is controlled and agile, it would be wise to go for subwoofers that could keep up with the studio monitors’ pacing. For instance, a studio subwoofer may be a better option but we will need to go through a checklist so as to find out more about your own subwoofer requirements. By learning more of what you need from an active subwoofer, it would greatly help you with getting the right sub for the job.
Adam A3X Specifications
- Speaker Type: 2-Way (Front-ported)
- Drive Units: X-ART Tweeter, 4.5″ (120mm) Carbon Fiber Woofer
- Frequency Response: 60Hz-50kHz (-10dB)
- Built-in Amplifier Power: Class A/B Amp 25 Watts RMS (Tweeter), Class A/B Amp 25 Watts RMS (Woofer)
- Dimensions (H x W x D): 252mm x 150mm x 185mm | 10″ x 6″ x 7.5″
- Weight: 4.6kg (10.1lbs)
Your Subwoofer Requirements
These are some of the usual requirements which you might want to consider, for instance, you need to find out if you require a subwoofer to reproduce subterranean bass frequencies or a mid-bass module to provide a more impactful bass performance. The budget you have allocated will also affect the range of subwoofers you could go for. If you are sharing the cost with your workmates or loved ones, you might want to work out a comfortable budget amount together, simultaneously getting more requirements from them if there are any. The type of music you are playing or working on will also be a factor. For example, if your music involves instruments that produce subterranean bass frequencies then you will need a subwoofer with the capability of hitting down to 20Hz and below.
The size and power of the subwoofer will play a part, as you will need a large powerful sub to fill a big listening room. If your studio/room is small and/or has limited space, you probably should go for a compact size subwoofer. There are subwoofer models that allow you to stack them up so it could still maintain the size of its footprint while filling the room with more bass energy. Do take your time to add in more subwoofer requirements of your own, as mentioned earlier, all of these will affect your subwoofer choice. Once you are ready, you can check out the list of the best subwoofers to match with the Adam A3X studio monitors which we have prepared for you.
Best Subwoofers to match with Adam A3X
The JBL Professional LSR310S is one of the best subwoofers to match with the Adam A3X nearfield monitors. This is a 10″ down-firing studio subwoofer with up to 200 Watts of amplifier power. At the front of the LSR310S, there is a patented JBL port design to precisely optimize the bass extension. Another notable feature of the JBL studio subwoofer will be the XLF setting which emulates the bass tuning of modern-day dance clubs. For a powered studio subwoofer of this price and size, the JBL Professional LSR310S is capable of digging rather deep into the bass extension, down to 27Hz (-10dB).
More Details at Amazon – JBL Professional LSR310S Studio Subwoofer
The Adam Audio Sub7 is probably the best subwoofer to pair with your Adam A3X studio monitors. The Sub7 is made to complement the small AX-Series nearfield monitors, supplementing the bass performance cohesively without compromising the accuracy. Furthermore, it is compact and has a small footprint, allowing the 7″ studio subwoofer to fit right into most listening rooms. This is also great for listeners who have limited room space. The Adam Audio Sub7 has an impressive frequency response of 32Hz-150Hz which belies its size and delivers deep articulate bass response with swift transients.
More Details at Amazon – Adam Audio Sub7
For listeners who are looking for a budget studio subwoofer, the PreSonus Eris Sub 8 is an excellent choice to go for and matches well with your Adam A3X. It has a very modest price tag and uses a Class AB amplifier with up to 100 Watts of power. The PreSonus Eris Sub 8 has an 8″ front-firing driver and its compact size is suitable for mini studio monitors like the Adam Audio A3X. Its overall bass performance is highly accurate and tightly controlled, giving us the precision that is important for professionals to complete their mix. For a studio subwoofer at this price point, It is difficult to nitpick about the PreSonus Eris Sub 8.
More Details at Amazon – PreSonus Eris Sub 8 Studio Subwoofer
If you want a subwoofer with the ability to reach below 20Hz bass extension without breaking the bank then the SVS PB-1000 Pro is an exemplary choice for you. It is a powerful ported subwoofer that is worth every single cent invested in them. This is an award-winning 12″ ported subwoofer where you can switch between “Standard” and “Sealed” modes, giving you more versatility which is really neat. The SVS PB-1000 Pro is able to reach down to 17Hz and will be a powerful subwoofer partner for your Adam A3X studio monitors. It is also suitable for home theater use.
More Information at Amazon – SVS PB-1000 Pro (Black Ash)
The Yamaha HS8S is another fantastic studio subwoofer to couple with the Adam A3X nearfield monitors. It is a compact 8″ subwoofer with a large front-firing bass port and has a really impressive frequency response of 22Hz to 150Hz. This is a high-performance studio subwoofer with a modest price tag and will provide plenty of value to its users. The Yamaha HS8S is proficient in delivering very accurate and clean-sounding low frequencies. The subterranean bass reproductions are tight and well-controlled as well. This is an ideal studio subwoofer for small studio rooms and mini nearfield monitors like the Adam Audio A3X.
More Information at Amazon – Yamaha HS8S Subwoofer
Prefer to stick with Adam Audio but need a slightly bigger subwoofer with a bit more amplifier power? You might want to take a look at the Adam Audio Sub8 studio subwoofer which has an 8.5″ driver and uses a PWM (ICEpower) amplifier to drive up to 240 Watts of peak power. The Sub8 is designed to be well-matched with the Adam Audio A3X studio monitors and they will deliver us a seamless overall sound reproduction. Adam Audio Sub8 can go slightly deeper than the Sub7 and has the bass accuracy to boot, not to mention, the low frequencies are well textured and detailed too.
More Details at Amazon – Adam Audio Sub8 Powered Studio Subwoofer
To Conclude
If you prefer bass accuracy that complements the Adam A3X nearfield monitors, you might want to stick with studio subwoofers especially the ones made by Adam Audio. We will still recommend you audition the subwoofers first before making your final decision as you will still need to listen to the bass performance with your own ears. Only after you have auditioned the subwoofer then you would know if you like the bass quality or not. It would be best if you could do the subwoofer auditioning in your own studio.
