Tell me about vintage A/D/S speakers

Hello,

Can you folks please tell me about 1970-80's A/D/S speakers, such as the L710 L780 L810 L910 and the 1290's etc?

I'd be most interested in information about the most popular, most easily obtainable, and affordable L7XX and L8XX three-way speaker series.

The 810's are supposedly fantastic speakers, and a clean pair can be had on ebay for under $300.

Often you hear people say "the (insert low-cost vintage audio product here) is the best sounding X under $1000 today." This is exactly what I have heard about these vintage A/D/S speakers. Is this accurate?

Thanks,
Loomis

 

I have owned a pair of L1290's since 1988 and they are wonderful. I am listening to them now. They are very mellow and very accurate. This speaker is a sealed enclosure. No ports, no passive radiators. I will never part with them. ADS had this great high end high quality reputation back in the 80's and the early 90's. I cannot comment about the other models you have mentioned though. Their car stereo speakers in the early 90's were great as well.

Evan

 

I have a pair of 880's that I bought in '86. I used them for over 12 years as my main speakers and liked them - they have a nice mid-range. I now have them set up as rears. My new Von Schweikert speakers (at several times the price) absolutely smoke them, as do many new speakers I hear. I think speaker technology have passed these babies by.

 

I owned a pair of L710s that I bought new in 1978/9, and finally sold a couple of years ago when I had no more room for them. The only issue with them in that time was the need to re-woofer it when the surrounds went. Performance-wise I, too, think they have a wonderful midrange and very impressive bass for their size, though like a lot of sealed box speakers they do need some amp power in spite of their fairly efficient rating. Compared to modern speakers they are not nearly as transparent, and the cabinet design, with its raised lip around the edge, means that their appeal does not rest on their imaging capabilities. Still, a very musical speaker, and one that harkens back to the best type of '70s-'80s sound.

BTW, they still fetched $300 on ebay at the time.

John K.

 

If you're buying vintage a/d/s/ speakers, be sure that all of the drivers still work. I've had two pairs that I picked up at thrift stores and both had tweeters and/or midrange drivers that were completely dead. Rather than locating replacement drivers, I just decided to part them out on eBay.

I'm not sure if the a/d/s/ voice coils are unusually delicate or I've just had incredibly bad luck.

 

I have a pair of L990's I bought in 1986, they still work great but I do not use them anymore. As someone else said my Audio Physics Virgo III's smoke these, but they cost 5 times as much. I have the original boxes, I have no idea what they are worth and shipping would be noticeable, but if you are interested PM me.

 

I personally would live to own a mint pair of ads L730s. I listened to these remarkable speakers at my local "Sound Distributors" store on many occasions during the late 70's/early 80's. They were a sealed 10 inch 3-way design with a rubber woofer surround (no foam rot!) and ads' famous dome mid and tweeter. The bass was accurate, non-boomy, the mids and highs were detailed yet non-fatiguing. I don't know what exactly happened with ads, they produced some of the most well designed/engineered speakers of that time period and are still coveted today by many audiophiles. BTW it seems to me that the best Analog and Digital Systems speakers used the ads (all lower-case) logo rather than the later A/D/S moniker.

 

Just wanted to say that while I usually prefer brighter sounding speakers, I did like the mellow & smoooooth character of the a/d/s models. And I thought their styling (in the 80s anyway) with their rounded off edges & quiet good looks reflected that personality. And the cabinets were built so solidly! Don't let their low effeciency deter you from grabbing a pair.

And because of the above, I've always thought that the a/d/s brand back then was the Steely Dan of the loudspeaker world.

 

Thank you everyone for your replies. This information has been very helpful for me.

 

I have the L990s that ALP has available above, and like them quite a bit, especially for jazz. Very non-fatiguing, while imparting a nice heft to the music when called for. Might be worth a weekend drive to Pleasantville, NY!

 

I still have my L1290s which are on another smaller stereo just because I didn't want to get rid of them. Main system has B&W 802s.

 

Also, some history. ADS is Analog & Digital Systems. Previously the importers of Braun Audio Products. Which began in Huntsville, Alabama. And the ADS speakers early on through the ADS peak years used the same drivers as Braun speakers did. At least on some models.

 

I have a pair of 1290 Series II in my second listening room. They are great speakers, I don't think you'll find better at the price point they can be had for right now, assuming you get them in great shape.

 

I had L880s for over a decade. My buddy still has them. My new speakers are much better but I wish I had held onto those old ADS speakers for a back up system. I think used they are a good bargain if they are in working order.

 

Wonderful speakers. The 710's are generally regarded as being better than the 810's. TAS said so in a review of the 810 and in the manufacturers comments ADS quote 'agreed with that assessment'.

I still have a pair of 400's - a speaker about the size on an LS3/5a.

They are detailed yet smooth - very dynamic, good at low volumes, easy to listen to.

Wish they were still being made.

 

Hope this isn't considered threadcraping, I have the version of the 400 intended for satellite/sub systems. Has that tweeter design found in bigger models. Mine came with wall-mounting hardware, something to think about for my surround system. What I've noticed—when I was engineering recordings I noticed how the Neumann KM 84 was so "on" with strummed/plucked instruments, guitars in particular. Other string players have written about that quality in that microphone. The a/d/s tweeter has a very similar quality. Maybe not the most 'accurate' sound conceivable, but one of the most 'musical'.

Here's a review of the little a/d/s 400L:

http://www.kenrockwell.com/audio/ads/L400.htm

 

Not to thread crap but I had a/d/s speakers in my car and they were fantastic. I wound up selling the car and am sorry I didn't remove them. This was about 10 years ago. Are they still in business? I haven't been able to find anything with regard to car audio.

 

I have a pair of ADS L780/2 speakers that are wonderful. I know this is an old thread at this point, but it's exciting to see people talking about these great old speakers. I have to say I'm surprised to see people above stating that they don't listen to theirs much any longer. Feel free to get in touch if you aren't enjoying your ADS speakers any longer and want a buyer!

 

I have a pair of A/D/S M-90's I need to replace the midrange speakers, anyone have a place that I can find them and how difficult a process will it be to do it myself? They are a monitor style, floor standing unit with that super accurate ADS sound. My favorite ADS speaker of all time would have to be the L-710 in the bookshelf style. Sounded great and deadly accurate. I like them with a tube amp and transistorized pre-amp, like a Dynaco PAT 5.

 

I have the L730 and they're outstanding

 

I have a pair of ADS 300c speakers that I bought in 1980 for my Accord hatch back. I recently replaced the tweeters and the woofers and use them for surround speakers. They have aged well and sound excellent. I owned many cars in the 80's with ADS speakers and amps. It was sad to see them go out of business. .

Bill

 

It's a link from another forum (hope it's OK to post it here?), but it contains a LOT of info on A/D/S speakers. It also includes comments from former A/D/S employees. I hope it's found useful!

http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/showthread.php?t=44406

Oh yea, I own 2 pair of A/D/S L570's. A pair each of Series I and II. An easy speaker brand to listen too. Non-fatiguing, but still detailed!

 

I have a pair of l810's( which is a replacement for an older damaged pair)That I was still using as fronts for my surround. I got the second pair at a thrift shop for $100. Which was great I really lucked out with the second pair. They must have been kept in a hyperbaric chamber. They are so clean. The weird flypaper coating on the midranges and tweeters still has a green glossy hue( my old ones had turned kind of dark and less translucent). These are simply fantastic speakers. The accuracy is downright freakish. I also just got a pair of l300's which are rigged up in my office and are phenomenal as well. It's great to see the recent posts. ads speakers are awesome!

 

I have a pair of L1230 Professional Monitors---got them in 1982. Fantastic speakers still to this day!
I have also had ADS car stereo equipment in several cars---took it from car to car---also great equipment!

 

I have had a pair of L810 for about 8 years. They were my main speakers until about 2 years ago when I got into SET tube amps, and needed a bit more efficiency to suit the low wattages I had available. I use mostly Klipsch and single driver speakers now, but I do miss the easy and mellow qualities of the L810. They were never harsh and helped less than stellar quality recordings sound good. These same recordings are unlistenable through the speakers I now use. I am working on a couple of higher output SET amps now, and will put them back into rotation soon. I highly recommend the L810.