Emotiva Stealth 8 vs Adam Audio A8x

[oneguy]

I was wondering if anyone has first hand knowledge of the differences between the Stealth 8 and A8x? I am not really concerned in about price for performance arguments just the degree of difference and pros/con between the two. Thank you in advance.

[oneguy]

Or A7x?

[oneguy]

The OP is about speakers, not skis

[solidstate]

I would say they are very comparable speakers. With the Adam though you're getting an AMT made in Germany vs. one made in China by Zhejiang Tianle Group via license.
I know a speaker designer that tested a number of Tianle AMTs from Parts Express (Dayton stencil) and the consistency wasn't there between tweets meaning some would measure differently/poorly vs other tweets from the same production batch.
This was when they first started producing the AMT though and I think things have been worked out in terms of consistency.

EDIT

Oh you're talking the Stealth model not the regular Airmotiv. I think the Stealth might use an Adam factory sourced driver vs the others ones in the product range. Also the Stealth 8 uses two class A/B where as the Adam has a class A/B for the tweeter and a class D for the midwoofer.

The Stealth 8 also has a much better front baffle. It's also worth noting the Stealth is rear ported whilst the A8x is front ported.

I'd go with the Stealth 8 because on paper it should be better.

PS the A8x has a volume and the Stealth 8 does not

[solidstate]

BTW if it's a matter of $$$ I'd get the Airmotiv 6s with the longer AMT for less floor/ceiling bounce and better nearfield when placed on a desk.

Regarding AMT height/width effect, give this Murdorf whitepaper a read.

www.mundorf.com/pdf/PRO_AMT_BASICS_PRODUCT_OVERVIEW_AND_MEASUREMENT_REPORT.pdf

Mundorf spent a lot of money researching AMTs in waveguides and this is the result.

www.mundorf.com/pdf/Mundorf_proAMT_Catalog.pdf
mundorf.com/pdf/MUNDORF_ProAudio_Catalog_2014.pdf

I'm amazed someone in an ID market position hasn't used one of those to compete with the likes of JTR and Seaton in terms of high sensitivity high output pro loudspeakers for the home market.

I can imagine a wave guide AMT in a time aligned MTM with a simple 2nd order low parts count xover. Hard to know what midwoofers to pair with it...

You can get two speakers out of the basic design by using the MTM bookshelf as a basis for an MLTL tower.

[hifiaudio2]

How is the off axis response of the Stealth 8? I am interested in using three of them in a front baffle wall behind an acoustically transparent screen but if their performance is massively different off axis vs on that can lead to problems in treating the room easily. Is there any data on the off axis response of these?

[garbulky]

Oct 16, 2016 15:13:17 GMT -5 solidstate said:

With the Adam though you're getting an AMT made in Germany vs. one made in China by Zhejiang Tianle Group via license.

EDIT

I think the Stealth might use an Adam factory sourced driver vs the others ones in the product range.

Not trying to be snarky. Out of curiousity, how do you know about these two things? (the Airmotiv made by Zhejiang and the other one using Adam sourced tweeters)

[yves]

Nov 18, 2016 10:06:28 GMT -5 garbulky said:

Oct 16, 2016 15:13:17 GMT -5 solidstate said:

With the Adam though you're getting an AMT made in Germany vs. one made in China by Zhejiang Tianle Group via license.

EDIT

I think the Stealth might use an Adam factory sourced driver vs the others ones in the product range.

Not trying to be snarky. Out of curiousity, how do you know about these two things? (the Airmotiv made by Zhejiang and the other one using Adam sourced tweeters)

At the time when I purchased my pair of Airmotiv 5 monitors from Emotiva, I already knew beforehand the fact the AMT tweeter in the Airmotiv is built to much higher specs than the Zhejiang Tianle version available at Parts Express. I am from Belgium so I live not that great a distance away from Germany where Adam Audio headquarters are based, so I could have easily have gone that route instead because, well... the long distance shipping from Emotiva and the added taxes associated with buying stuff from outside the EU all obviously add up to the final cost, substantially, BUT... I still vastly prefer the sonic performance of my Airmotiv 5 monitors over Adam Audio's offerings (the latter also being priced higher than the total price I paid for my pair of Airmotiv 5 monitors) so I am a happy camper.

[Deleted]

Oct 16, 2016 15:13:17 GMT -5 solidstate said:

I would say they are very comparable speakers. With the Adam though you're getting an AMT made in Germany vs. one made in China by Zhejiang Tianle Group via license.
I know a speaker designer that tested a number of Tianle AMTs from Parts Express (Dayton stencil) and the consistency wasn't there between tweets meaning some would measure differently/poorly vs other tweets from the same production batch.
This was when they first started producing the AMT though and I think things have been worked out in terms of consistency.

EDIT

Oh you're talking the Stealth model not the regular Airmotiv. I think the Stealth might use an Adam factory sourced driver vs the others ones in the product range. Also the Stealth 8 uses two class A/B where as the Adam has a class A/B for the tweeter and a class D for the midwoofer.

The Stealth 8 also has a much better front baffle. It's also worth noting the Stealth is rear ported whilst the A8x is front ported.

I'd go with the Stealth 8 because on paper it should be better.

PS the A8x has a volume and the Stealth 8 does not

solidstate, you are way off concerning your comments on our vendors. We don't make that info public, but you're incorrect on all counts.

However, you are correct that the Stealth 8 is much more speaker for the money than the A8X. And we do use a much more robust cabinet all around, but particularly the front baffle. That makes a large difference to sonic purity.