ADAM Audio D3V

Mostly praised as neutral and balanced. Erin's Audio Corner measured it flat within about ±2 dB, Scientific Audiophile found it shockingly flat on a stand in his room, and Sound On Sound, MusicTech, MusicRadar, Bonedo and most owners hear a natural, clear balance. Professional Audio likes it too but finds the treble held back. A minority hears it otherwise: GaragebandandBeyond (pre-firmware, in a treated room) calls it muddy and imprecise, Audiofanzine misses openness on a table in an untreated room, and a VI-Control composer found it boxy and muffled before the firmware fix.

“Clear and neutral in nearfield setups”

Erin's Audio Corner (Klippel NFS measurements, listening summary)

“lässt sich mit angenehm ausgewogen und glasklar beschreiben”

Patric Louis, Bonedo (German: “can be described as pleasantly balanced and crystal clear”)

“sonically I think they're a little muddy and cloudy and not very precise”

GaragebandandBeyond (YouTube, December 2024, before firmware 1.7)

The headline strength. Sound On Sound, MusicTech, MusicRadar, Tape Op, Bonedo, Professional Audio, Scientific Audiophile and owners all find far more bass than a 3.5-inch woofer should give, with no port noise; Bonedo added 12 dB of bass EQ before the limiter cut in. The measurements put usable extension at about 50 Hz with a steep drop below. Caveats: Audiofanzine lost the lowest notes on a table, Magnetic misses the warmth of bigger monitors, and some owners still want a subwoofer for sub-bass.

“The power and accuracy of the D3V’s low‑frequency extension and delivery is much better than you’d expect from its compact dimensions.”

Bob Thomas, Sound On Sound

“we found the low frequency extension workable to about 50Hz”

Jon Musgrave, MusicRadar

“Our impressions are confirmed, particularly the obvious limitations in the low frequencies, which are quite logical given the format.”

Studios Megaphone, Audiofanzine

Sources split. Sound On Sound, Bonedo, Magnetic and owners hear clear, natural mids with no boxy resonance, and Professional Audio agrees once the Desk switch is engaged. MusicTech hears it a little boxier than its Genelecs, Audiofanzine a slight excess in the midrange on a table, GaragebandandBeyond too much low-mid information, and some owners find it boxy. The split partly tracks the desk: several reviewers say the low mids thicken unless the Desk filter is set.

Sources split three ways. Sound On Sound, MusicTech, Tape Op, MusicRadar and Bonedo find the D-ART tweeter clear and unfatiguing, and Erin measured only a mild lift above 4 kHz (more noticeable further away and off-axis). Professional Audio and Audiofanzine hear it more reserved than other ADAMs. Separately, a DSP gate dimmed or switched off the tweeter on quiet passages: ADAM's firmware 1.7 improved it, and Adam Talks Tech and many owners call it fixed, but other owners on ASR, VI-Control, Reddit and Thomann still hear the highs fade in and out at very low volume.

Praised for its size. Sound On Sound hears a solid, expansive soundfield, Bonedo a clear, tidy stage with a properly wide stereo image, Professional Audio very good width and depth, and owners a good stage at the desk. Audiofanzine found depth more limited, as expected for the size.

“the D3V’s solid, expansive and detailed soundfield outperformed that of my current 2.1 system”

Bob Thomas, Sound On Sound

“Die Klangbühne ist sehr klar und aufgeräumt, zudem ist das Stereobild ordentlich breit.”

Patric Louis, Bonedo (German: “The stage is very clear and tidy, and the stereo image is properly wide”)

The strongest point of agreement. MusicRadar, Professional Audio, Audiofanzine and Bonedo describe a precise image with a strong phantom centre, and owners on ASR and Thomann agree.

“Overall, the high frequency delivery sounds natural and the imaging is precise.”

Jon Musgrave, MusicRadar

“Neben der starken Phantommitte punktet es mit einer sehr gelungenen Breiten- und Tiefenstaffelung.”

Harald Wittig, Professional Audio (German: “Besides the strong phantom centre, it scores with very successful width and depth”)

“Really impressive phantom center on these things, too, wow...”

Froghawk, ASR forum (owner)

Sources split, unevenly. Sound On Sound, Tape Op, Bonedo, MusicTech and Magnetic find it unusually revealing for the size, with clear separation between parts. Audiofanzine finds transients less salient than on the Genelec and Neumann monitors it uses, GaragebandandBeyond hears a lack of clarity, and a Thomann owner hears less resolution than the T5V.

Loud and punchy enough at the desk, limited beyond it. Sound On Sound never made the limiter flash at its 90 cm seat and Bonedo couldn't make it sound unpleasant, but Erin measured distortion rising sharply above about 90 dB at 1 m with about 7 dB of compression at the top, Scientific Audiophile says a metre is the maximum distance, GaragebandandBeyond found it not loud enough next to its other monitors, and a Thomann owner finds it strained when pushed. A built-in limiter protects it.

“Distortion low at lower volumes (~76–86 dB), rises sharply above 90 dB”

Erin's Audio Corner (Klippel NFS)

“Auch bei höchsten Pegeln schaffe ich es nicht, die Boxen unangenehm klingen zu lassen.”

Patric Louis, Bonedo (German: “Even at the highest levels I can't make the speakers sound unpleasant”)

“Der Mittel-/Hochtonbereich wird überpräsent und die Boxen werden anstrengend.”

Frank1970P, Thomann owner review, on playing louder (German: “The mid/treble range becomes over-present and the speakers get tiring”)

A nearfield desk speaker: Erin recommends staying within about a metre and on the tweeter axis, where reflections matter less. The three switches handle boundaries — Sound On Sound engaged the −3 dB bass shelf on a desk, MusicTech the Large Desk setting — and an ASR owner found the kick too big on a desk against a wall but fine on a stand. The passive radiators need clear space at the sides (MusicRadar). Complaints: the 2 m link cable limits spacing (Adam Talks Tech, Amazon owners), the included feet pass vibration into the desk, and one switch setting applies to both speakers.

“Best when kept within ~1 meter and paired with a subwoofer if deep bass is needed”

Erin's Audio Corner

“One key aspect that’s worth remembering is that the passive radiators need clear space on either side.”

Jon Musgrave, MusicRadar

“On a desk against a wall, sitting on a mouse pad, even with all the EQ settings fully engaged, I still find the kick punch TOO big!”

Froghawk, ASR forum (owner)

Sources split. Sound On Sound (comparing it with ADAM's A8H), Tape Op and Professional Audio found their mixes translated, and an ASR owner used it for an emergency mastering job. Audiofanzine says it isn't meant to stand in for professional mixing monitors, GaragebandandBeyond calls it not precise enough for a studio, and Amazon and Thomann owners say it is fine for listening but not their first choice to mix on.

Sources split. Bonedo calls it nearly noise-free, bennybbbx heard no hiss beyond 10 cm, and about half the owners in a Reddit hiss poll hear nothing at the seat. The other half, and owners on ASR, Thomann and Reddit, hear a constant hiss from the tweeters at 70–100 cm in a quiet room, and some returned their pairs over it. Many also report a loud pop over USB-C when the computer sleeps or shuts down unless the speakers are put on standby first.

Well equipped for a desktop pair: class-compliant USB-C audio that works with computers, phones and TVs, balanced TRS inputs, a front headphone jack, the three room switches, angled feet and a mic-stand thread. The gaps: no Bluetooth (MusicTech, MusicRadar), no subwoofer output (a sub needs an interface in front of the analogue inputs), USB audio capped at 16-bit/48 kHz (Professional Audio), and a headphone output that suits only easy-to-drive headphones and can hiss (ASR, Scientific Audiophile) — though Bonedo liked it.

“with no Bluetooth, analysis based room calibration or subwoofer output you might conclude that the D3V comes up short”

Jon Musgrave, MusicRadar

“Wenn der Hauptlautsprecher via USB-C mit dem Rechner verbunden ist und als Audio-Interface fungiert, wird auch das Datenwort auf 16 Bit verkürzt.”

Harald Wittig, Professional Audio (German: “When the main speaker is connected to the computer via USB-C as an audio interface, the word length is cut to 16 bits”)

“For such a small powered speaker, a sub out would have been nice.”

Amazon owner review (3★)

Sources split. Reviewers find setup and the one-knob control simple (MusicTech, Professional Audio, Bonedo). Owners list the irritations: a volume knob that jumps sharply over a narrow range, auto-standby that until firmware 1.7 could not be turned off and still never wakes on signal (you press the knob), a knob press firm enough to push the speaker around, USB pops, and a firmware updater that failed or left some pairs silent.

Sources split, unevenly. Sound On Sound, Bonedo, Professional Audio, Magnetic and Thomann owners praise the moulded PC-ABS cabinets and fittings. A minority of owners report defects: a factory gouge, an angled foot that isn't flat, a rattling cone, a passive radiator that bulged until the pressure settled, and pairs that stopped playing after a firmware update.

Sources split, unevenly. At its $300 launch price Sound On Sound, MusicRadar, Tape Op, Bonedo, Adam Talks Tech and owners called it excellent value (Amazon value mentions run 27 to 3 positive), and Scientific Audiophile swapped his Kali LP-UNF for it to save desk space. The dissent: GaragebandandBeyond would buy IK's iLoud Micro instead, critical Amazon owners call it overpriced, and the US price has since risen to about $350 a pair.