[timo63]

Hello everyone,

Introducing myself. I enjoy refurbishing vintage and almost-vintage ADS speakers for my own listening enjoyment. I'm hoping to meet other ADS fans and to learn about their experiences. I also intend to learn more about improving the factory crossovers and how to best utilize NoRez inside the cabinets. Best regards.

[ArthurDent]

Greetings & Welcome to AC 

[Phil A]

Welcome!  There are sites like - https://www.madisoundspeakerstore.com/restore-vintage-speakers    and threads such as - https://audiokarma.org/forums/index.php?threads/ads-driver-roll-call.78230/  I remember their speakers well.  A friend picked up a pair of L710s he uses in his office.  Also look here - https://www.hifishark.com/search?q=ADS+L     

I go to hifishark from time to time to look for various things and once in a bit I'll look to see if there is a pair of 1290s or 1590s within driving distance.

[thorman]

 The best thing you can do is contact Richard Ho . He is the Man ! Ads Driver specialist . Just google ADS speaker repair and that should send you in the right direction...Great Speakers....

[Saturn94]

I was a big fan of ADS speakers.  I greatly enjoyed a pair of L1290 (v2) for about 25 years before passing them on to a good friend.

[VinceT]

There are a few good facebook groups for ADS speakers

Still have a set of L470 the kids use to stream music in thier room. They still sound very good.

[FullRangeMan]

how to best utilize NoRez inside the cabinets.
No Res or foam is just one of the materials suitable for this function. There is no science in stuffing cabinets, pro-audio boxes usually use a dry box (no treatment) for more SPL, to audiophile speakers should do several tests with different types of treatment to decide which one is best for you, based on your personal taste in your room with your music, no mikes, no freq charts, no software, only your ears.

[timo63]

Hey all,

Thanks for the responses and good suggestions. In addition to becoming a new member of AudioCircle, I'm also on Audiokarma, another great resource.

For reference, I've cycled through about a dozen ADS speakers to arrive at a small collection that I think sounds the best to my ears (L620, L980, L1090, SAT700). I've disassembled them all, had the drivers and crossovers rebuilt by Richard So, and refinished the cabinets as needed. Now, I'm considering finer adjusts to my favorites, such as crossover revisions to eliminate unnecessary metal, fuses, and switches. (I intend to connect with Danny for crossover help). I'm also interested in understanding how to improve cabinet damping.

Which brings me to my main question about NoRez. Do I discard the original fiberglass insulation or put it back in after NoRez is installed? My ADS cabinets are pretty solid with good bracing, and the amount of original insulation installed is quite generous. I've watched the GR-Research videos about cabinet damping, but didn't pick up on any mention of what to do with original damping materials. I'm aware of other suitable damping materials, but I'm interested in learning about NoRez as a starting point.

Thanks for any insight.

[jonbee]

I've owned about a dozen pairs over the years, (200,300, 690,710,780,1090,1290,910,980) up to the great L1590, and modded a few. As to cabinets, no-rez is very effective in quieting the cabinets, but if you use it, you must substantially reduce the amount of fiberglass or they will be overdamped and the bass will go dead. In the 1590, I removed 2/3 of the fiberglass, and that gave me the most pleasant lower range.
Without measuring equipment, you'll have to use your ears and try different amounts, but I think if you use no-rez or similar materials most of the fiberglass will be overkill.
I've left the crossovers alone, as they are very tightly mounted, but have used better quality hookup wires to the drivers. OCC works well for not a lot of $, 20 ga. on tweeters, 18 on mids, 12-14 ga on woofers.
Many tweeters use ferrofluid, which hardens over the years, deadening the sound which requires a rebuild. Richard So is the man for that. https://www.adsspeakersservice.com/
After that work, my 1590s were stunning, competitive in many ways with most good $7000-8000 floorstanders of today. Not the ultimate transparency, but linearity, harmonic accuracy and power is awesome.
Have fun!

[VinceT]

I miss those dome drivers. Ads were the first speakers I had "disappear", there were a pair of 1090s. Been hooked on the hobby ever since.

[jonbee]

I miss those dome drivers. Ads were the first speakers I had "disappear", there were a pair of 1090s. Been hooked on the hobby ever since.

I thought the 1090 was my 2nd fave, after the 1590. Compact, and as you say, they disappear very nicely.
I thought the smaller woofers blended with the dome mids very well, better than the 1290, imo, but not as much bass.

[gvernon]

Another new member here. Back in the early 80’s, I put a pair of ads speakers in the back of my hatchback car. They were mounted on brackets, horizontally.

I cannot remember the model, but they were small monitors, roughly 6” x 10”.  And I don’t really know if they were designed for use in a car, or primarily home.

What I do know is, to this day, I have not heard speakers, in a vehicle, sound better.

All of this to say, can you guys recommend a pair for use in a small room? No taller than 13” preferred.

Thanks, and I look forward to learning a lot here.

Geno

[jonbee]

L400. Listen first to make sure the tweeters in particular have good output.