AudioChainsDB
ADAM Audio

A8H

speaker

$2,000

Used market: $1,440*

Manufacturer datasheet

Specifications

3 of 4 values have a recorded source
Max SPL dB
116
System Type
Active Studio Monitor·
Input Terminals
XLR (analog, balanced), RCA (analog, unbalanced)·
Input Impedance ohms
9000

Expert Audio Engineering Commentary

Headroom Notes

Every SPL row on this sheet says «per speaker» or «in full space» in the row itself, which is the opposite of what the T-series sheets from the same company do — those print «Max. SPL Per Pair at 1 m». Reading an A-series number next to a T-series number without noticing the switch costs about 3 dB in the T-series' favour.

Gain Staging Advice

«Input Sensitivity: 0 dBu = 100 dB SPL at 1 m @ 0 dB level setting» with a maximum input level of +19 dBu means the input stage runs out of headroom at roughly the 119 dB SPL equivalent — above the acoustic limit, so the limiter is what you meet first, not clipping at the input. The XLR input is 9 kΩ, the RCA only 3.3 kΩ; a source with a high output impedance will lose more low end on the RCA.

What the datasheet actually says

Quoted verbatim from the manufacturer’s own page, with the date we checked it. We state what is printed, not what anyone intended by it.

Measurement conditions
«Max. peak SPL per speaker at 1 m (sine bursts): 105 dB SPL || Max. peak SPL per speaker at 1 m (IEC-weighted noise): 116 dB SPL»

Two peak figures for the same speaker at the same distance differ by 11 dB because the test signal differs: a sine burst loads one part of the spectrum at a time, while IEC-weighted noise spreads the same total power across the whole band, so no single driver reaches its limit first. Both are honest; they are not interchangeable, and a comparison table that mixes a sine-burst number from one maker with a noise number from another is measuring the test signal, not the loudspeaker.

checked 8/5/2026

* Estimated with the depreciation fallback (~72% retained value). · checked on 8/5/2026