I haven't heard the Adamantes IIIs, which are supposed to be noticeably better than the IIs, but the IIs are very pleasing speakers indeed!!! Not the speakers for critical evaluation of material, but excellent speakers for just enjoying music. Put another way, in comparison to other speakers of comparable size, I did not find the Adamantes II to rate an A+ in any particular area, but they rated a solid B+ in every area. A bonus is that they are not finicky and mate well with solid state or tube amps.
If you liked them when you heard them, you'll still like them now. The reason nobody talks about these speakers is that they are a hard sell at "list" price new and don't have the reputation of say - Sonus Faber. But if you can get a good used pair at a price you can afford, I wouldn't hesitate to buy them. |
Oahuan, Well I did bought a used pair, for $1900,
they are coming next week,I think I agree with
you they just make music,they are not for critical
listening, Iam tired of that anyway.Honestly If
my ears were already train when I first heard them,
I will buy them, You are right that time 5k, is
not practical to buy this speakers,I bought the
Martin Logan quest instead, it took 5 years before
I was able to master the placement and cabling and
lots of room treatment, before they sing.I believe this
speakers they are more for mature listeners, and for
those who are already healed of audiphilia nervosa.
IMO |
Hello Jayctoy,
just read your thread today. I too bought a pair of used Adamantes II three weeks ago. Really beautiful build quality, but more important : they sound absolutely gorgeous, very spacious, free of grain and the lows are very good in my 20m² room. In short, they're made for letting you enjoy the music, not evaluate it.
I live in Belgium, but I bought them in Holland where they're rather popular, mainly because the local Diapason-trader is doing a great job. I paid them 1375 Euro (about 1500$) included the 3P-stands. I already had the very best Partington-stands, but I can assure you that the Diapasons are really made for their dedicated stands, and do sound better on them. Just everything falls neatly into its place once the Ada's are on them.
Enjoy them and kind regards!
Alain |
Alain,this speaker they do make music,very friendly,
I have not change a cable,Of course they are beautiful,
I believe now this are better than my quest,musically
speaking.The only problem they are very rare. |
I have the II's and would say the following:
Also some suggestions.
They are more revealing than you think. Musical yes and very musical at that. But every time I have changed cables, pucks, cones tweaks, mats, etc. you can hear the difference.
Try this also - bybee filters at the tweater and woofer - inside the speaker - and it sounds great, even more detail and retains all of its depth and musicality. Also tilt them back about 1/2 inch or so. Try pointing them at the outside edges of your ears also.
These have been very nice inmprovements. |
Scotty333 where can I get Bybee filters,Are they easy
to put, Do I need a solder for this? |
Try Audionut.com for the bybees. Yes you will need solder for this. Radioshack has solder iron for 9 bucks or less plus 6 bucks for the better solder. It's not that difficult to do. The soldering is frnakly the easy part. Getting the speakers off of the cabinet was harder for me. the screws were really tough to get off the cabinet. Don's know why. IT was well worth the effort. More dynamic, better detail and smooth. |
I too have a pair of adamantes iiis and love them. The absence of a cross-over on the bass/mid driver really takes you so much closer to the music however old tweaking habits die hard...... I read Scotty333's comments with interest as I have already been messing around with mine. I started off with Walker Audio ultimate hdls which perform a similar function to bybees and increase the focus and clarity greatly. Since I prefer single wire to biwiring (which incidentally beefs up the bass response), I've removed one pair of binding posts and used a jumper wire to bypass the other binding posts and make direct contact with the spkr cable spades. The other mod which worked well is to swap the brass cones on the stands with rdc3 screw on cones. The last touch i guess will be to rewire the internals. I've got some excellent jena labs cryo'd hook-up wire from modwright sitting around but am tempted by using some nordost monofiliment cable (poss from shiva power cord). Oh that and maybe try some deflex panels. All madness i know........... |
I am thinking of using the polycrystal cones, I have
them. Even with out tweak this speakers are so musical,
mine are wired with Van Den Hull, are this the standard
wire? |
Yes vdh cs122 is the standard wire. given that diapason use clip on terminations rather then solder the wire directly to the drivers, it's quite easy to buy a spare set of clips from them and make some different wires to try out. i'm really quite stoked up about the idea of making some using the condutors from a nordost shiva power cord however that's going to be a bit more expensive than say the jena labs wire. it may also be worthwhile grounding the driver basket. to my mind the absence of a crossover filter is a key element towards making these speakers sound so good, however i guess they must also be doing a lot of other things right. their stunning good looks are an added bonus and there was a palpable sigh of relief from my wife when i got these.......... |
Guys, I just picked up Sistrum speaker stands from Starsound. I will try and post a review. But these things are fantastic. Here is what I experienced. Better bass, tighter, more extended. highs were more extended as well, but the great thing is that the noise was lowered substantially. The highs are much cleaner, MUCH cleaner. The soundstage increased, both width and depth. The overall noise floor was lowered with greater instrument separation. the speakers became more transparent, i,e they dissapear better in the room.
the stands were around $800 - but well worth it in my opinion. They come with a money back guarantee.
Then, I must tell you, i got a stand from sistrum for my amp. The combination was frankly stunning. e-mail me if you want more info, but the amp stand in conjunction with the stands is fantastic. The guys at starsound are great - toll free and they will spend time to analyze and help you. Can't recommend them enough. |
I finally got around to fitting the delex panels at the weekend and the result was very worthwhile. i removed the wadding and put a single panel at the rear of the speak behind the driver. the sound now has far more snap / dynamic tension and a more realistic ambience. it's a simple and cheap job to do and can be easily reversed should you so wish. i still have that cryo'd jena labs cable taunting me to fit it and maybe one of these days i'll get round to that however may also try some high quality silver (have lost my appetite for nordost monofiliment following a disappointing time with a valhalla powercord). |
Colesey, I wish I have the same skill as you, I am
very happy with them,I did work very hard, to find
the right gear and cables,This speakers really sing,
Maybe in the near future, I might rewire them with,
Siltech.I rewired my Norh 6.9 with siltech LS 120
the result is unbelievable. |
I tried the jena labs cabling but didn't like it that much. Then I got some silver ribbon conductors from Mike Wolff and that made a great improvement to the clarity and definition of the sound. The biggest impact was on the mid/bass drivers however i also fitted some on the tweeters, together with a venhaus OIMP cap in the HF x-over. The speakers are now sounding considerably more accomplished than stock. it's been rather a long haul to get here but the results are very satisfying! |
