Adams Interview Klaus Heinz MusicTech September 2013 User Manual

							    magazine  September 2013  |   29
  MT Industry Guru  Klaus Heinz, ADAM Audio
Industr y  
Guru
 
 B  
erlin-based monitor manufacturer ADAM 
Audio was founded 14 years 
ago by physicist Klaus Heinz 
and electrical engineer Roland 
Stenz. A large part of the company’s 
development and future success was 
based around the Accelerating Ribbon 
Technology (ART), employed in a tweeter 
that Heinz produced based on the Air 
Motion Transformer developed by Oskar 
Heil in the 1960s. The tweeter employs a pleated 
diaphragm that moves the air around it 
faster, resulting in what ADAM described 
as ‘intriguing results’ – and certainly good 
reason to develop the company’s range of 
monitors, especially when combined with 
the rare-earth magnets and high-strength diaphragm 
foils that ADAM then utilised in its designs.  The original ART design has since been re-
engineered to become X-ART (eXtended Accelerating 
Ribbon Technology), resulting in new tweeters and 
midrange drivers that have an extended frequency 
range and higher efficiency. ADAM monitors have 
certainly won the hearts 
and ears of producers 
around the world, winning 
countless awards along 
the way. In fact, MusicTech 
has recently heaped much 
praise on several of the 
monitors in the range, 
including our Choice 
Award for the F5s a 
couple of issues back, the 
inclusion of the A7X 
monitors as one of our 
top six Buyer’s Guide 
mid-priced options, and 
similarly the F5s, as one 
of our top-six lower-
budget choices.  We catch up with 
Klaus to discuss the 
ADAM philosophy…   
MT Tell us about when you started ADAM – what was 
the market like back then? KH ADAM was founded in 1999. I had 
produced the ART tweeter as a ready 
prototype. I had it in my pocket and I  thought its performance was a good 
reason for another monitor company, even though there were 
already plenty of good companies around at the time.
MT What was your original goal and have you achieved it?
KH  My goal was simply to build 
superior monitors that would be 
acknowledged by the true  specialists – the sound engineers 
and mastering engineers. I am 
inclined to say that, yes, we have achieved that!
MT Which would you say have been your most 
successful releases? 
KH  The first monitor that deser ves a mention is the 
S3A, one of the three products we star ted with. It 
became the choice of monitor in some quite iconic 
studios. US ar tists especially seemed to be won over  by them, including Eminem. Paul McCar tney,  Ruper t Neve and many 
others also have them. 
Indeed, it was this 
model that really raised 
the profile for the ADAM 
Audio brand. Six years 
ago we developed a 
more price-oriented 
model, the A7, that was 
immediately successful 
and changed the 
company from a boutique 
kind of manufacturer to a 
serious company. Since 
then we have developed 
tremendously and feel 
that, with our newer, 
inexpensive F series, we 
have repeated the story 
and are getting an even 
broader range of users.
Klaus Heinz,    
ADAM Audio
In a relatively short time, ADAM Audio has become one 
of the most prestigious monitor manufacturers 
around.  MT meets the guru behind the company…
X-ART tweeters ready to 
pleasure engineers’ ears...
ADAM’s production hall and 
assembly line.    
						

							www.shure.co.uk
Music Tech dps exted.indd   218/06/2013   23:04
True digital diversity for a rock-solid wireless signal 
with exceptional digital audio clarity. Automatic 
frequency management ensures an uninterrupted 
change of frequencies in case of interference. Shure 
proprietary lithium-ion rechargeable batteries that 
provide up to 16 hours of continuous use with 
multiple charging solutions such as USB-, car- or 
in-receiver-charging.
Find out more at www.shure.co.uk
Available from Shure Centres only
Music Tech dps exted.indd   318/06/2013   23:05
30  |  Xxxxxxx XXXX    magazine
  MT  Industry Guru  Klaus Heinz, ADAM Audio
MT In terms of monitoring, what are the most common 
problems you come across with how people use 
monitors, or with monitor design? 
KH  Of course, there is no single solution to the typical 
problems people face with correct usage and 
position, but I always say that you should keep 
monitors away from any walls and star t with linear 
cur ves (no room EQ and so on). This is what I would 
suggest as the ‘right thing’ to do, but the proof is in 
the listening experience. Don’t believe in technical  explanations (including ours!) – decide by listening to 
direct A /B comparisons and always let your ears be 
the judge.
MT Is there a specific design principle or a philosophy 
at ADAM when it comes to developing monitors?
KH 
I am reluctant to say that we are known for any 
par ticular design philosophy other than we strive to 
produce the best monitors we can – but I like to keep 
an open mind! In most cases, when you find a good 
product it has to do with good self-critical engineering 
work. Having said this, I believe that the Air Motion 
Transformer principle is a superior concept in 
designing tweeters.
MT Which music production or monitoring techniques 
are you most commonly asked about, and what is your 
cure-all answer?
KH  Acoustics seems to be the one subject that we are 
asked about quite 
of ten. In many cases, 
people seem to think 
that we will know 
exactly what will 
happen if they 
position their 
ADAMs, like, 20cm to 
the left of where they 
currently are. Of 
course, we don’t 
www.shure.co.uk
Music Tech dps exted.indd   218/06/2013   23:04
Finished A7Xs roll  off ADAM’s 
production line.   
						

							True digital diversity for a rock-solid wireless signal 
with exceptional digital audio clarity. Automatic 
frequency management ensures an uninterrupted 
change of frequencies in case of interference. Shure 
proprietary lithium-ion rechargeable batteries that 
provide up to 16 hours of continuous use with 
multiple charging solutions such as USB-, car- or 
in-receiver-charging.
Find out more at www.shure.co.uk
Available from Shure Centres only
Music Tech dps exted.indd   318/06/2013   23:05
    magazine  June 2013  |   31
Klaus Heinz, ADAM Audio Industry Guru MT       
know and it needs the customer to use a bit of trial 
and error and find out for themselves. Room acoustics 
is a demure lover that does not surrender so fast.
MT What advice would you give someone entering the 
world of music production, perhaps for the first time, 
with a view to making a living?
KH To not think that because they can use Logic that 
they can make a living out of music production. It 
needs lots of learning, time and listening – and an 
ability to ‘smell’ what is musically good and exciting.
MT What is the future of music production – in less 
than 100 words? 
KH  Cheaper equipment and file-oriented sales will 
tighten the incomes for ever ybody who wants success 
in music production. Competition will become harder.
 
MT How would you like to be remembered? 
KH  As the man who ‘tamed’ the Air Motion Principle 
and made superior tweeters out of it – and also 
someone who managed to transform his irrational 
love for speakers into superior products with just 
these tweeters.  
MT And finally, give us a gratuitous plug for any 
upcoming products. 
KH  We are currently working on something ‘bigger’, 
but I’m afraid it’s too early to speak about it as it may 
still go wrong! MT
ADAM monitors are 
put through their 
paces in the 
listening lab (top).