samson rubicon R8a and samson rubicon R10s

[sirreal7]

has anybody tried the samson rubicon R8a eight inch monitors ?

has anybody tried the samson rubicon R10s subwoofer ?

is the samson R8a a poor man's version of the Adam P22a ?

is the samson R10s sub a must have with the R8a monitors to get the intended full range sound ?

are the rubicon ribbon tweeters any good ?

are the rubicon built in amps quiet enough at idle ?

am i going to be happy with this rig ?

the bottom line : how do these cheapies stack up against jbl , genelec , or adam ? should i avoid the bargain level monitors and save up for the more pricey stuff ?

bottom line two : how do the samson rubicon R8a and samson rubicon R10s sound for the money ?

 

thanks

sirreal7@hotmail.com

[Dave Bryce]

 

is the samson R8a a poor man's version of the Adam P22a ?

 

Not by a long shot.

 

Rubicons use planar (flat) ribbons, like pretty much every other pro speaker with a ribbon transducer...with the exception of the ADAMs. ADAMs are the only pro speaker that uses folded ribbons, which do not work the same way as planar ribbons.

 

dB

ADAM Audio USA

[temnov]

Dave,

 

I'm thinking about ADAM A-7, I need something small but powerful enough. I'm sure about highs and mids, but how about bass response? Will it be enough for tracking and mixing or should I think about P11A? I have another set with subwoofer, but I need small set, too. I'm working mostly with electronic music and acoustic jazz.

 

Will appreciate your advice very much.

 

pt

[sirreal7]

like dave said , the adam p22a is the real deal and the samson rubicon r8a has only a vibrating piece of plastic for a tweeter . they are known as kapton tweeters . ( is that a brand name , dave ? ) anyway , keeping in mind that i am basically flat broke , i bought the samson r8as off ebay for four hundred even ( brand new ) . remember these are the eight inch not the sixes . the adam p22a eight inch is at best 1200 a pair . no doubt you are wondering why someone would settle for mediocrity when the difference is only eight balloons , but that is the state of the poor strapped consumer these days .

i gather that dave ' s take on the capabilities of the samson r8as is that they will do the job but they are not in the same league as the adam p22a . which is what i surmised although i have acquired the samson r8as without even hearing them . ( ill advised no doubt ) . but the r8as have a matching sub - the r10s -- which among other features has a remote control that sets both subwoofer level and subwoofer + monitor level as well as a muting footswitch . the sub is only $ 299 street ..... ( i'll try to find it even cheaper ) . i will only be using this rig to amplify my yamaha ydp 323 digital piano and assorted VSTs . i don't do mixing . so for just a piano and VST full range amplifier for less than 700 bucks i figured it was worth trying .

i will let you know how it works out . anyone know where i can find a samson rubicon r10s subwoofer for less than $299 ?

as for temnov's question : i don ' t know much about it , but the adam a - 7 or p11a are six inch woofers not eight inch . and while they probably sound better than anything samson ever made , i will be setting up two eight inch monitors plus a ten inch subwoofer for less than half the price of a pair of adam eight inch monitors . of course i will have mediocre sound but i will definitely be able to shake the neighbors .

thanks

frank

sirreal7@hotmail.com

[Dave Bryce]

 

I'm thinking about ADAM A-7, I need something small but powerful enough. I'm sure about highs and mids, but how about bass response? Will it be enough for tracking and mixing or should I think about P11A?

 

They both go down below 50Hz, actually - it's more the quality of the bass that differs between the two. The A7s carbon fiber woofer has very tight characteristics similar to the S series, where the P11A's uncoated woofer produces a more conventional midrange/bass....

 

...and, of course, the P11A will play louder than the A7.

 

That being said, most people to whom I've spoken seem to feel that the A7 puts out a surprising amount of bass and volume.

 

If you don't have the opportunity to listen to them side by side, I'd say try the A7 first...pretty much any dealer will probably allow you to return them if you're gonna trade up to the more expensive model.

 

dB

ADAM Audio USA

[temnov]

Thanks, Dave. I'll try A7.

[sirreal7]

from a review in SOS :

What Samson have done here shouldn't be in any way confused with ADAM's approach, as Samson's designers have stayed with a conventional planar (flat) ribbon. What they've done instead is use modern materials to try to overcome the limitations of traditional ribbon technology, while using mass-production techniques and offshore manufacturing to maintain an entry-level price. Their ribbon measures one inch by two inches, and is suspended in a magnetic field created by neodymium magnets. The membrane itself is made from Kapton, a tough synthetic material that is used in other areas of driver manufacture for making coil formers, and this is coated with a fine layer of aluminium to make it electrically conductive. In a ribbon tweeter, the signal current is passed through the ribbon itself rather than an attached voice coil, forcing the ribbon to move within the magnetic field according to Fleming's rules of electromagnetic induction. The underlying electrical principle is essentially the same as that of an electric motor, or indeed a conventional magnetic driver. In some ways, you can think of a ribbon as being analogous to a capacitor mic, while a normal tweeter is more like a dynamic mic. The analogy isn't entirely accurate, as a ribbon tweeter is still driven by magnetism rather than electrostatic forces, but the use of a low-mass membrane that is less susceptible to resonances than a semi-rigid diaphragm has certain similarities.

---------------------

i will submit my humble review of the rubicon R8a and the rubicon R10s when i get them cranked up . the theme will be : what can less than 700 bucks do for your piano sound --- if anything .

sirreal7

sirreal7@hotmail.com

[Dave Bryce]

Thank you for the clarification. I have amended my post.

 

The Samson drivers still don't work in the same manner as the ADAM tweeter, however. The ADAM tweeter does not push air in a 1.1 ratio like a dome tweeter or planar ribbon both do - the folded diaphragm produces a "squeezing" motion (like the bellows of an accordian), moving air in a 4:1 ratio.

 

I'm sure you'll enjoy your Samsons, and look forward to your review!

 

dB

ADAM Audio USA