ADS L2030 Restoration

[rudedogg]

It's not so much that they all needed rebuilt, I just prefer to rebuild them all and be done with one fell swoop of the checkbook. Some may find error in this mentality, but I don't want to chase driver failures with repeated and lengthy periods of downtime. I know for sure there were at minimum 3 mids and 1 woofer with distortion, so I decided to just rebuild them all and be done with it. It's a large expense but it's unlikely that I'll ever have to do it again.

When your done, those are going to be better then new! I can only imagine what 2030s can be, especially after hearing the 1530s you had.

 

[GD70]

@Glenn.... Just busting your ....a bit Broski... no offense meant whatsoever. Cheers from the North...Jer

Oh I know that! Cheers back at ya!

 

[mike0565]

Matt, I understand your thought process on refurbishing all the drivers. I went through the same exact thing when I came across a left for dead pair of L1590/2's for a cheap price. However, I bought a pair of 1530's that had an issue with the voice coils rubbing on two of the four woofers. I sent everything mids & tweets and woofers to Richard and everything turned out great. Went to sell, (too big, it was a bucket list speaker) and thought that I could get out at least what I had into them and that's all that I wanted but it didn't happen. I learned my lesson. With the 1590's, I knew going in that this could happen again, but the 1590's are a much better match for my room. If it was any other Ads model, I wouldn't have done it. Would I do a refurb on another vintage speaker? No, absolutely not. Just be careful and don't be surprised when and if you decide to sell, you don't get your asking price. Regards, Mike.

 

[Speakerbox]

DROOL!!

 

[GD70]

Mike makes good points. Not many people have the space for speakers the size of the 1530's, 910's etc... so selling can be difficult.
But, when an opportunity presents itself, be it 1590's, 910's, 2030's, any of the larger speakers that are special and rare, you jump if you can. I don't plan to sell my 910's. If a set of 2030's fell into my lap, a deal just too good to pass up, damn right I'm grabbing them, and ask questions later, and then start to think about what I would sell to make room.

 

[2chman]

Oh hell yes! Can always knock a wall out! LOL

Mike makes good points. Not many people have the space for speakers the size of the 1530's, 910's etc... so selling can be difficult.
But, when an opportunity presents itself, be it 1590's, 910's, 2030's, any of the larger speakers that are special and rare, you jump if you can. I don't plan to sell my 910's. If a set of 2030's fell into my lap, a deal just too good to pass up, damn right I'm grabbing them, and ask questions later, and then start to think about what I would sell to make room.

 

[MATT0404]

Matt, I understand your thought process on refurbishing all the drivers. I went through the same exact thing when I came across a left for dead pair of L1590/2's for a cheap price. However, I bought a pair of 1530's that had an issue with the voice coils rubbing on two of the four woofers. I sent everything mids & tweets and woofers to Richard and everything turned out great. Went to sell, (too big, it was a bucket list speaker) and thought that I could get out at least what I had into them and that's all that I wanted but it didn't happen. I learned my lesson. With the 1590's, I knew going in that this could happen again, but the 1590's are a much better match for my room. If it was any other Ads model, I wouldn't have done it. Would I do a refurb on another vintage speaker? No, absolutely not. Just be careful and don't be surprised when and if you decide to sell, you don't get your asking price. Regards, Mike.

Thanks for your insight, Mike. I understood the investment going into this project and knew it wouldn't be cheap. I want it done right and done right the first time. I'm not looking for ROI, I just want to enjoy a rare pair of speakers in as-close-to-new condition as possible.

I don't know what kind of inventory Richard has on hand, but these parts won't be available forever. That's something I took into consideration when making my decision to rebuild the drivers. It makes sense, at least to me, to get it done now while the parts and knowledge are still readily available.

 

[GD70]

Thanks for your insight, Mike. I understood the investment going into this project and knew it wouldn't be cheap. I want it done right and done right the first time. I'm not looking for ROI, I just want to enjoy a rare pair of speakers in as-close-to-new condition as possible.

I don't know what kind of inventory Richard has on hand, but these parts won't be available forever. That's something I took into consideration when making my decision to rebuild the drivers. It makes sense, at least to me, to get it done now while the parts and knowledge are still readily available.

This is exactly my thinking when I had the mids and tweeters rebuilt for my 910's. They sounded great, it was more for preventive measures, knowing they will sound like new for another 30 plus years. With your 2030's, even more so as they are far more rare.

 

[bent14u]

Thank you all! I made it home safely and managed to get these beasts into the house. I have to hand it to my 5' (on a good day), 110 lbs. wife who jumped right in to lend a hand. The two of us got them down 12 steps from the garage and into the house without breaking a sweat...or our backs. @JosephH knows just how challenging that can be as he and I made that trip once with a pair of L1530's!

The speaker in the bed was tucked safely under a tonneau cover for the duration of the trip, so no worries about exposure to elements.

These speakers have a special way of making your room feel really small. Seriously, I think my room shrunk. I got them hooked up to a little Yamaha integrated (A-S1000) and one sounds great! The other one is lighting up the high frequency protection light. I knew these were going to need some attention (read $$$$) going into this, so I'm not worried about it. Looks like I'll be diving head first into the rebuild stage! With as good as the one speaker sounds alone, I can't begin to imagine how the pair will sound after a visit to Richard So.
View attachment 1071682 View attachment 1071685

Sweet Pics!!!

 

[bent14u]

Knew a fellow had a pair in Peoria Ill, wished I'd picked them up........

 

[Mr Owl]

This is exactly my thinking when I had the mids and tweeters rebuilt for my 910's. They sounded great, it was more for preventive measures, knowing they will sound like new for another 30 plus years. With your 2030's, even more so as they are far more rare.

Me too w/ my 1290's. They sounded great before I did it, but once I decided they were keepers, my motivation was to get them done while I could. And the sound did improve too. Money well spent.

 

[MATT0404]

Richard sent some photos of the completed mids today. He noted some corrosion on the magnets from moisture, but all is well now. He's starting on the woofers next.

ADS L2030 Mid Ranges by Audio Database, on Flickr
ADS L2030 Mid Ranges by Audio Database, on Flickr
ADS L2030 Rebuilt Mid Ranges by Audio Database, on Flickr

 

[GD70]

Love how freshly restored drivers look from Richard. Like gems!
What's the eta for the remaining drivers?

 

[mcyuke]

Beautiful!
I'd love to get my L1290 mids and tweeters rebuilt at some point when I can actually get them setup in a room where I can listen to them more often.

 

[mike0565]

Richard sent some photos of the completed mids today. He noted some corrosion on the magnets from moisture, but all is well now. He's starting on the woofers next.

ADS L2030 Mid Ranges by Audio Database, on Flickr
ADS L2030 Mid Ranges by Audio Database, on Flickr
ADS L2030 Rebuilt Mid Ranges by Audio Database, on Flickr

That's a beautiful thing!!!!

 

[MATT0404]

Love how freshly restored drivers look from Richard. Like gems!
What's the eta for the remaining drivers?

I expect another 2-3 weeks before I have everything back.

That means I need to get back to work on the risers. I wasn't happy with how the stacked 1x2" oak ones turned out, so I'm back to the drawing board. Might have a line on some 2x3" oak which would work well. I'll keep you all posted.

 

[GD70]

Not soon enough, right?!
Special speakers like these should have every aspect of the restoration as perfect as possible. I'd be the same as you, and do it over if not happy with a certain part like that. With nice wood risers, will you still paint them black, or keep the wood finish?

 

[SPEC2man]

Loving this post ... I looked for a bigger set of A/D/S for a long time ... the L2030 is really my holy grail. I found a set of 1530's which would have filled the gap but the guy wanted close to $2K and they needed pretty extensive work. I had to pass on it ... I sold my 1230's off to my brother and no way is he giving them up. Damn, a moment of weakness! I'm glad to see you're doing it right. Can't wait to see the finished product!

 

[MATT0404]

Not soon enough, right?!
Special speakers like these should have every aspect of the restoration as perfect as possible. I'd be the same as you, and do it over if not happy with a certain part like that. With nice wood risers, will you still paint them black, or keep the wood finish?

Not at all soon enough! But I have work to do in the meantime. Once the risers are built, I plan on painting them black like the originals.

Loving this post ... I looked for a bigger set of A/D/S for a long time ... the L2030 is really my holy grail. I found a set of 1530's which would have filled the gap but the guy wanted close to $2K and they needed pretty extensive work. I had to pass on it ... I sold my 1230's off to my brother and no way is he giving them up. Damn, a moment of weakness! I'm glad to see you're doing it right. Can't wait to see the finished product!

Yikes, that's steep for L1530s, at least here on the east coast. The big ADS are tough to beat, though, if you have the space for them. There's a pair of L1230s local to me for $650 and a pair of L1590s for $750. I have a feeling ADS are tougher to find on the west coast, but I hope you find what you're looking for in time!

 

[GD70]

Not at all soon enough! But I have work to do in the meantime. Once the risers are built, I plan on painting them black like the originals.


Yikes, that's steep for L1530s, at least here on the east coast. The big ADS are tough to beat, though, if you have the space for them. There's a pair of L1230s local to me for $650 and a pair of L1590s for $750. I have a feeling ADS are tougher to find on the west coast, but I hope you find what you're looking for in time!

1590’s for 750 is a pretty good price if they are in good condition.