Reloop ADM-5 Active DJ Monitor Speakers: Good looking, but is the sound up to the mark?
For practising at home, DJs tend to fall into one of two camps, often depending on how much money they have and how long they’ve been DJing. The “dabblers” often have their controller or laptop plugged into whatever speakers are handy (gaming speakers, boom box, home cinema speakers), while the more serious pride themselves on having long-saved-for specialist studio monitor speakers.
Somewhere in the middle, though, are DJs who maybe have limited space and limited funds; DJs who still want something decent to DJ through, but who are not looking for studio monitor quality. It’s those people who the new Reloop ADM-5 Active DJ Monitor Speakers will appeal to.
First impressions and setting up
The speakers are medium-sized and reasonably heavy (about 5kg each). They appear to be made of wood and I assume that will be chipboard, although the spec doesn’t say. They are back and boxy, with an attractive high gloss piano-style finish on the front, and stick-on textured black veneer elsewhere, which on the pre-production model was not 100% perfectly finished, but which Reloop assures us is fine on the shop units.
Highs were clear and clean, and the bass was warm, at the expense maybe of some punchiness.
The 5.25″ (13.5cm) bass drivers and the 1″ (2.5cm) tweeters are exposed by design, and the speakers are ported (ie they have a hole in the back for the bass). On the rear of the active speaker are volume, bass and treble controls, plus a power input, jack for a sub-woofer, RCA-in sockets, and an on/off switch; both speakers have metal screw-down terminals for running a connecting wire between them. The manufacturer claims 30W RMS power output.
These are close-field monitors, which means they’re designed to be set up pointing at the listener with the tweeters at head level, in a rough triangle, with the listener’s head being the third point of the triangle and the speakers the other two. Typically they’d sit on a desk, with the listener sat in front of them, gear on the tabletop. Some small rubber stick-on feet are provided to isolate the speakers from the surface they’re placed on.
In use
Plugged into a Native Instruments Audio 4 DJ interface and playing Beatport-purchased MP3s at 320kbps, the sound from these speakers was appreciably fuller than that from the much smaller M-Audio AV40 all-round computer monitors/practice speakers that we use day-to-day here in the Digital DJ Tips offices. Highs were clear and clean, and the bass was warm, at the expense maybe of some punchiness.
The rear of the Reloop ADM-5 Active DJ Monitors: Notice bass and treble controls; we'd have like to have seen an AUX input, though.
There was a slight, low hum from the speakers when plugged in, that is not noticeable as soon as you have any music at all playing through them, but is noticeable when they’re silent. This would certainly be unacceptable on reference monitors, but it’s a small thing that needs to be seen in relation to the low price point. As I say, you can only just hear it, and certainly not when any music is playing.
At the highest volume level it was pretty easy to get these to distort, but you do have to drive them quite hard before it starts to happen.
The bass and treble controls proved to be a good addition for when listening to DJ mixes streamed from online, as there’s often no easy way of adjusting equalisiation with these sources, and I suspect as these speakers will be used as all-rounders (ie not just for DJ monitoring), many users will appreciate these controls.
Conclusion
These speakers are good value. For not very much outlay, you get wooden, ported, loud, powered speakers that’ll do you just fine as DJ practice monitors, and that look good too.
Sure they’re not the quality of decent reference monitors, but they’re also nowhere near the price.
Sure they’re not the quality of decent reference monitors, but they’re also nowhere near the price. And while audiophiles may baulk at the addition of sound-colouring bass and treble controls, in the real world – where people listen to music via computers and may not have the ability to alter such things before the signal hits the amp – this is a nice addition.
I would have been happier with them had they not had that low hum (my AV-40s don’t and they’re a similar price), and also it would have been nice to see an extra input or two (maybe just an 1/8″ jack for playing your iPod through them).
But the ADM-5s get the job done, and apart from for very loud or very demanding use, they’ve got what it takes to perform well as a practice speaker. If you’re a DJ who can’t afford pro monitors but wants something better than computer speakers, they should be on your list.
Summary
We like:
- Good looking
- Nice sound
- Built-in EQ makes them flexible
We don’t like:
- Not studio monitor quality, although not surprising at this price
- Slight hum when powered up
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Product details:
Size & weight: 9.1 x 7.1 x 12.6″ (232 x 180 x 320mm), 11lb (5kg) each
Price: US$ t.b.c. / £125 / €129
What do you think?
Do these like good value to you? What do you use for DJ practice speakers? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.
Now go to:
Computer Speakers For DJing: 5 Top Pairs Reviewed & Rated
Over To You: Best Cheap Speakers For DJing and Producing?
From the forum: What speakers/monitors do you use?
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Tags: dj speakers, reloop, reloop adm-5 review, speakers
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wouldn’t it be smarter then to invest that money into some quality vintage/older hifi gear? it’s amazing for how little money late 80s/90s midrange & highrange audio components go on ebay & in 2ndhand sores these days… (i got a used marantz amp for 20€ last year). for djing you don’t really need linear speakers, so i would always opt for that alternative.
[ link ]Personally I’d always go for active speakers purely because space is at a complete premium for me and I don’t see the point with nice portable digital DJ gear having extra boxes for the hell of it. Also in my experience speakers don’t age well.
[ link ]you’ve got a point there.
[ link ]but as long as it’s for stationary home use…
Interesting, I’m in the market for these as I currently use a 600w “club” amp driving some maplin speakers (which are ok) but its overkill.. It wasn’t mains hum? If plugged into another outlet?
[ link ]Well it’s definitely mains hum, but we only have limited outlets in the office for testing, and our other speakers don’t exhibit the same behaviour when plugged into the same socket, so it’s an issue with these speakers for sure. As I say, though putting it into perspective it is not very loud or noticeable and it certainly doesn’t detract from the speakers in use.
[ link ]I’ve read recently on the web somewhere that what you describe is something attributable to active speakers by design.
[ link ]I don’t actually believe that review’s assertion, makes no sense. My AV-40s have zero issues and they’re powered speakers.
[ link ]Just found where I read it – review of the Paradigm A2′s -
[ link ]“Before we start raving about how fantastic the Paradigm A2’s sound (and there will be much raving) we need to talk about a couple of the quirks users might encounter when using these speakers. First, these are active speakers and, as such, there will be some slightly audible air noise. This is normal. We’ve yet to encounter an active monitor that doesn’t put out some air hiss and that’s because it is byproduct of active speaker design – there’s just nothing in the signal path between the amplifier and the drivers.”
http://www.digitaltrends.com/pc-speaker-reviews/paradigm-a2-review/
Nice one Phil.
Hercules also has the XPS 2.0 80 DJ Monitor and seem to have a very good value too. Can’t found any review about it yet.
[ link ]Do you already have any information about Phil? Sorry the off topic.
Good review as allways Phil
But, think the major problem with these speakers are missed.
They are too SMALL!
The absolute minimum for dj monitor is 8″ woofers. If you can’t afford that, learn to mix in the headphones.
I got two monitor setups at home, Martin Audio EM26 and Yamaha Stagepas 300. I recomend the stagepas 300, 8″+1″ speakers that comes with mixer/amp for 450 euro. 114 dB max, crystalclear sound and ok “thump”.
[ link ]At gigs I use Behringer B212D active speakers, very cheap and high spl. You don’t need studio quality if you’re not a producer, so think big;-)
Thanks for the review!! Glad it was reasonably positive because I have just bought these. I choose these purely on price. I don’t think you can compare these to speaker set up’s costing double + the amount. They are cheap and cheerful and hopefully serve a purpose as home speakers.
[ link ]Hey Phil!
[ link ]Since you already use the AV40s (as do I) I was wondering: which one would you rather? After years of abuse my AV40s are a bit worse for wear and I’m looking to replace them but I’m still in the same budget range (aka broke).
I’m in the market for something good and I’m trying to decide whether to replace the av40s with a new set, or start looking at other options. What’s your take?
AV40s for me because I love having RCAs, TRS and 1/8″ jack inputs all on the same speakers – makes my life easier. But just for DJing? the ADM-5s are better.
[ link ]Excellent point I never thought of that and I certainly exploit the input options on my AV40s as well. So M-audio it is then hah.
[ link ]I was gonna post that I’d rather go for KRK RP5 G2 or Yamaha HS50m in this price range. Then I realized that the Reloop’s cost EUR 129 for a pair!
idk, I haven’t listened to them, but my experience is that you get trash at this price point.
[ link ]They’re certainly not trying to be pro speakers, but they are good value.
[ link ]I wonder if a ground loop isolator like this have solved the hum problem? http://www.maplin.co.uk/ground-loop-isolator-33172 – can anyone confirm? otherwise they read like a decent option…
[ link ]It’s no worse than a lot of electrical stuff, and TBH it’s only because they’re set up a foot from my ears that I noticed it.
[ link ]Wow, the price is irresistable….Even though I have a pair of KRKs 8inch, I might be on the look out for these too. Checking out your music from different sets of speakers is always the best monitoring solution in production.
[ link ]Are they worth £28 more than av40?
[ link ]Well, they’re both good value, it just depends if you want more volume/bass.
[ link ]Thanks Phil for this post !
I’m actually a bedroom DJ with a 2.1 and as you can imagine this is not perfect. So I was looking at active monitor speakers these last weeks and didn’t where to start since I don’t know anything about speakers.
Anyway I have this kind of budget, between 150 and 200 € max and your post and comments gives me tracks to follow when you drop name like AV-40 and ADM-5. Do you think AV-40 would be sufficient for me ? I’m not looking for to pump up the volume hard loud, I just want to listen to a good sound with clear treble and honest bass.
Thanks again guys for your previous comments, very helpful !
[ link ]ADM-5s have better bass, AV-40s are more flexible (ie more inputs).
[ link ]Are these speakers available in the US?
[ link ]Reloop does have a US distributor, but in my experience their kit is harder to get in the US than here in Europe.
[ link ]