What is it with ADS speakers that some folks are so high on?

[Yamaki]

It's not the balanced sound, nor the excellent fit 'n' finish, nor the silk tweeters, nor dome mids... nope, it's the cat-proof metal grills!

Absolutely!

 

[MJB1959]

Another 2 thumbs up for the L880 here, coincidentally, I also have a set of L980's playing along with them. And together they are pretty special.
What makes them special?
That goes back to Germany and the chief design engineer, Dieter Rams, and the legacy of Braun products.
But the magic lies in the presentation of pure, balanced, articulate sound reproduction. And again designed by talented audio engineers,, ADS a their variations, aDs, a/d/s/ chose quality components, unique marterials, and strict design calibrations to achieve a sound that is strictly their own.
Smooth, punchy, balaced, and pure, are some words used to describe them. I too would like to add some Aerial Acoustics to my cool collection. But remain content for now, having 9 sets of ADS ' is a good problem to have.

 

[Blue Shadow]

I have the 300i, 320i, 710 and 1590 and have had the 420, 520, 570, 810 and 990, do the Braun L1030/8 count, too? I also have amps but this is about speakers.

I bought the 3xx for the ride back in the 80s and sold other speakers in the Hi-Fi House days. Dropping into AK got me reading all the lust for ADS so I picked them up when they were cheap, just to see what was up.

Compared to a number of speakers these have a balanced sound and are non-fatiguing, easy to listen to and capable of being the main speaker in a system. What I noticed was the excellent build quality. So much better than the puny Bose, the Advents, the Epicure line and of course the AR speakers, ones that should never be shown nude without serious work. On the other side they seem better built than the JBLs not quite the same finish as the Klipsch, those guys must have gone to 1000 grit sandpaper on their cabinets. The butyl surrounds help, too. Buying a speaker for a fair price and not having to drop 20 or more on a set of surrounds and the work is always nice.

These speakers are not my mains, the 710s are a keeper bookshelf and the 1590s are nice and fun to use, especially if I want some volume but there are better speakers and newer speakers are probably a good bit better depending on what you listen to.

Those are some of the reasons folks might be high on the.

 

[jdurbin1]

For me it's a combination of sonics and an intangible perception of quality in design and execution, materials etc. When you pick up an L210 and feel the heft and get a look at the construction details, or look at the cabinetry work in their older wood models, crossover designs etc. you get the distinct feeling that the people behind it largely knew what they were doing and delivered products that stayed consistent with their design philosophy while adding innovation regularly as the product line evolved or jumped ahead. Not the only company to have done that pretty well for a fairly long period of time despite fiscal constraints and management instability, but to me it's an impressively long list of cool stuff cranked out over decades of existence with only a few turds in the mix.

John

 

[twiiii]

All ADS speakers were colored. But they did so many other things well. The had a very wide spectrum, broad coverage, handled power well and were very listenable with out fatigue. So the the upper bass and lower midrange weren't perfect, but thats true of a lot of speakers from that period. The B&W had better upper bass but the mid and highs could be hard and fatiguing. Boston seekers couldn't handle dynamic range and drivers failed easily. AR speakers just weren't that accurate. Yamahas were even more colored and and testy. Bozaks, Altecs and JBLs were to forward and to large physically. Klispch were irritating if you sat to close. They like big rooms. Mac speakers were a little edgy in the high's and required a ton of power for the bass. I thought B&O, Canton and Celestion were ADS's biggest competition. B&O and Celestion out performed ADS in the smaller models they all were about the same on the middle models but ADS two largest models were really winners. Infinity thought they had the answers but they were to distorted in the high frequencies. So if you could place the speakers properly ADS was a great coned speaker system. I preferred Acoustat and Magnplanar at the time, but they had so many issues and required bigger amps that they weren't that practical. If you want a recent speakers with that sound but with out the coloring, look for the top of the line Snells and M&K speakers. $$$$$$$. For HT the M&K s150 or for louder the S300. For stereo the A or B series Snells. My favorite was the A7 Illusion. But do you have a 500 watt per channel amp? I first heard the 2030 series ADS pushed with a Mac MC2500 power amp. 700 watt peak capability. That was some sound. I almost traded my Grands on the spot. But I would have needed big power, that I didn't;t need with my Concert Grands.

 

[tubed]

Infinity thought they had the answers but they were to distorted in the high frequencies...

I have a couple pairs of Infinitys without any issues of" high frequency distortion" that I prefer to my wonderful L1530.
Just sayin'.

 

[4-2-7]

I don't like my L1230, I think they are to colored and boomy and lacking upper detail. Tried them in my main system and I have plenty of speaker / amp combos, they didn't stay long at all. Unfortunately at the moment a pair of ML Sequel's are having a issue in my bedroom and I just swapped in the 1230. As soon as I turned on some music it was a bummer, they work but man I wish the ML where in here.

 

[tubed]

The dual 8" woofers didn't seem cut it for me.
I tried the L1290 three different times.
Very nice but couldn't make the grade, comparatively speaking.

 

[tubed]

^^^^^^^^
Don't mean this to be snidely, the comparison was to speaker systems I owned that had better low frequency capabilities, something I think helps define the best sound that I prefer.

 

[Arthur Smith]

I liked my 810's, I did not love them. Yes, they are known for their midrange- but there is a lot more to a speaker than that. They did not image or soundstage particularly well. I sold them, and now have a pair of Boston Acoustic V30 Lynnfields, which also have great midrange, but are better speakers all around.

 

[stoutblock]

I've enjoyed every ADS speaker I've owned or listened to. Back in the day, when I listened to ADS speakers in showrooms they always sounded right to me compared to most every other speaker option of the time. I find them very musically satisfying and easy to listen to for long periods of time. They just sound right. The L1090, L1290, and L1590 series in particular because they are so easy and forgiving to locate in a room (due to small footprint). They were ahead of their time in this aspect. Another aspect of ADS speakers I've learned to appreciate over time is their extreme durability compared to most of their competition. There rubber surrounds seldom wear even after 30-40 years. I have a pair of L1090s that have seen daily use since new and have never been touched. I did a frequency sweep on them recently with no concerns.

 

[sx-70]

Clinically proven therapy for Gear Acquisition Syndrome.

 

[Bdbras84]

I've personally never had the pleasure to hear any model ADS speaker. I can say this though, it is number 1 on my list to hear and possibly own. Of course there are several other speakers out there that I want to hear but ADS intrigues me the most. From reading all the threads here on AK, from their looks and build quality, to the silk dome drivers (which I prefer with any speaker) I hope to come across a pair soon. As we all know though, they ain't cheap as I believe the rest of the world has caught on too , to how good they are. I really believe with all things considered it would be a brand of speakers I would really enjoy to listen to.

 

[mars_volta]

Didn't care much for the L1290 either.

 

[motorstereo]

I preferred my 1230's over both my 810's and 880's. Then I moved up to the 1530's which sent the 1230's off to a new home. Having heard 1530's and 1590's in a side by side it's 1590's by the slimmest of margins. Adding to that I'll take the M30's over the 1590's in a side by side again by a very slim margin. To my ears there isn't a bad sounding speaker in the entire ADS line up right down to the 200's which I'm using for outdoor speakers.

 

[elcoholic]

I thought B&O, Canton and Celestion were ADS's biggest competition.

What makes them special?
That goes back to Germany and the chief design engineer, Dieter Rams, and the legacy of Braun products.
But the magic lies in the presentation of pure, balanced, articulate sound reproduction. And again designed by talented audio engineers,, ADS a their variations, aDs, a/d/s/ chose quality components, unique marterials, and strict design calibrations to achieve a sound that is strictly their own.

I'm in complete agreement. The Braun legacy that carried over should not be underestimated. When I bought my 1st speakers ADS was very new and hard to find, but Braun had a presence in SoCal as at least a couple of dealers sold them here. My final choices came down to the legendary Braun LV 1020 "Tri-amps" or B&O M70's. I bought the B&O's, still have and use them, no regrets. Good thing because I was 20, married 2 years and making $615/mo and $900 was a whole lot of money for speakers for me. ADS carried on producing speakers with articulate, detailed sound and terrific quality.

 

[DeeCee]

Although they shared the same designer as Aerial, the ADS line had a different sonic signature. The speakers once totally enthralled me and I was *that* close to striking range of getting either the L1230 or 1290 (can't remember it was so long ago). I found them neutral, dynamic and extended for the price with plenty of detail. Then *poof*, the line disappeared from the dealer and I never heard them again.

Fast forward, I ended up with my Aerial 7s that I enjoy to this day.

 

[timblade68]

ADS sings to my ears.............

 

[mhardy6647]

L-710, to my ears, was and is very, very good.
Easy to drive, as well.

 

[nolasally]

Reviews review reviews.... Most people outside AK dont have the luxury to listen to dozens of different speaker from DIY to small batch speakers and all of the myraid of speaker makers that folded in the 70' & 80's. Why do folks gush over all lines of ADS but poo poo B&O speakers that utilize Seas & Philips & Vifa drivers. I have many many speakers that would take a big poo poo on most of the ADS lineup for less money as well. That said I still have a set of L710 and Braun powered speakers that I held onto because they were free