ADS L980's

How long has the basic Porche 911 design been around?


Checker may be a better analogy. Porche at least had that cheaper spider and has since seen fit to bust into the glutted SUV/Crossover market.
Maybe I could build a couple apartments into the hillbilly mansion and make it some sort of audiophile tourist attraction. If one objects to the perpetual barbeque smell, they may want to divert to San Francisco.
 
I wish I was alive during this age so I could go to a store and just sit there in the demo room and have the salesman blast me with music from all the range of Ads available at the time.
 
Hi Glenn..... nice addition to your "hoard"..lol. As you know, I had those last year. I saw an ad in CL for them nearby and drove the thirty minutes to hear them and see them. Pulled up to a very high end home and saw people everywhere coming and going. Here he was moving to Florida and had sold the home....and was selling everything.

Speakers were set up in huge family room on the ADS stands and was immediately smitten by the looks....lol. People were walking around and talking....and only could hear a FM station. I figured what the hell.....was afraid someone else was there waiting to buy them....and paid the $570 for them and took them home. Late that night, I set them up and was terribly....terribly disappointed in the sound. It was very muddy......so was bummed big time. My big mistake was not knowing anything about them and going by all the rave reviews....and knowing these were rare........but....... studio monitors and could handle 300 watts of power? What was I missing?

A lot apparently.....as I found out the tweeter and midrange that looked so dark was needing redone....sigh. I again found out only one person could fix these right....but at $235 plus. Sent them to Richard. I thought in the meantime that I would refinish the cabs and wanted to remove woofers for the refinishing and to check out crossover. That damn woofer was in there so tight, I could not budge it. I emailed Richard about it and he warned me that they are very difficult to remove and showed me in pics how he did it. I passed....lol....too scared I would break something.....soooooo....refinished the cab with woofer protected.

Got the drivers back from Richard and was excited to get it all hooked up. I listened and was impressed in how clean the sound was....but it just didn't do anything for me. I tried a couple of amps and still.....beautiful music but not any emotion to it. Sold them to a guy who loves them....so there you go.....different strokes for different folks. Another guy I know likes his 810's over his 980's......so all in how one hears I guess....:) Good luck with them.
Hi centsless!
Too bad they didn't tickle your fancy. You never know until you listen in your environment. I wasn't looking for another pair of speakers. As you know, I have my "Hoard". I'm doing work on a fellow AKer's cabinets and initially we discussed possibly bartering the 980's for the work, which I turned down. I then checked his BT listing, bad idea, LOL, and couldn't pass them up once I saw the pics. Some shifting speakers around will be necessary. Having the 910's I had a good idea of how these would sound, which luckily to my ears, is fantastic. Not quite the 910's huge sound, but pretty close. So there it is in a nut shell.
I plan to send the mids & tweeters to Richard at some point, but for now, I'll just enjoy them.
Glenn
 
These are the optional F9P stands for these,

AFAIK, the F9P name did not appear anywhere but the L980 lit and the swivel stands were actually inventoried as F900s. I think that name change might have happened after the print run but that is pure speculation.

The F9 if it existed at all were very few. I never saw a set at least. Not so with F7s & F8s, those were still going out the door with L7e & L8e speakers in the early 90s. There were a lot on hand.
 
Is one missing? God, I can imagine setting these into 4 corners and sitting in the center of the room and be enveloped in sound!
Sorry to ruin the fantasy.The stock colored one is a series 1 that I got to cannibalize for a center channel to go in the middle of that console they're all sitting on. I'll make that at the same time as I make the size match subwoofers (sized to match the width of the 780s and the height/color of the console, depth to achieve necessary square footage). No fancy veneer work, so it should not be the time burning fiascos of my other projects, although I'll probably find (several) ways to screw that up.
I'm no fan of 5.1 - I think it exists to fatten Ray Dolby's estate. But Man-Cave 2's main tenant is 21 and still fascinated with the surround nonsense, especially with the "Bad Ass Solder Running Through Hell At the Behest of Some Fat-Ass' Controller Thumb" games that make ridiculous use of surround and subwoofer channels
 
AFAIK, the F9P name did not appear anywhere but the L980 lit and the swivel stands were actually inventoried as F900s. I think that name change might have happened after the print run but that is pure speculation.

The F9 if it existed at all were very few. I never saw a set at least. Not so with F7s & F8s, those were still going out the door with L7e & L8e speakers in the early 90s. There were a lot on hand.
Yes, that number is from the Literature. I'll take a look and see if there's any PN# on the stands.
 
I'm restoring Mikes L1590's cabs which he brought to me yesterday along with the L980's with factory stands.
Another superb ADS speaker. We listened to the 910's, which Mike and his friend thought they sounded great. We listened to the Angelica's, and they also liked very much, and the Scott LK-72 & KLH Sixs.
Then we hooked up the L980's and they are incredible!
Glenn

Yea, that was fun - LOVED the way those 910's sounded. So big and wide. You have an impressive collection.
 
Yea, that was fun - LOVED the way those 910's sounded. So big and wide. You have an impressive collection.
Yes it was, and appreciate your kind words! It was good to meet you. Are you and Mike planning to attend Frankenfest?
Glenn
 
Yes it was, and appreciate your kind words! It was good to meet you. Are you and Mike planning to attend Frankenfest?
Glenn

Wish I could - I'll be in northern Vermont that day/weekend. Pretty sure Mike isn't going either. We did the Hudson Valley Freezefest last year, and it was fun.

Dan
 
Hey Dan,
Freezefest was a lot of fun. You probably heard the Angelica's there, but didn't realize it when you were at my house!
Hopefully, Mike will organize another Hudson Valley gathering, but I think he said he needs to find another location. I don't think the fire house is available anymore.
Glenn
 
How do the L980s compare to something like an AR-3a? same bass or weaker and not as deep?
Pretty close. I haven't had a chance to A/B them. I'll try over the weekend and report back.
According to the specs:
AR3-31-20K
Ar-3a-32-20K
L980-37-27K
 
Wait a minute, Glen, you are now rocking a set of 980's as well as the 910's? And for doing a refinish no less. That sounds like a nice proposition, as you know, I have the 980's in a stack with the smaller, but equally nice sounding L880's. Not sure why the 980s would sound bad to anybody, unless they had a serious hearing problem, or some kind of fuse or wiring maladjustment. Mine sound sublime, the 4 of them even better. Glad to hear they appeal to your hearing. z new cave.jpg
 
Wait a minute, Glen, you are now rocking a set of 980's as well as the 910's? And for doing a refinish no less. That sounds like a nice proposition, as you know, I have the 980's in a stack with the smaller, but equally nice sounding L880's. Not sure why the 980s would sound bad to anybody, unless they had a serious hearing problem, or some kind of fuse or wiring maladjustment. Mine sound sublime, the 4 of them even better. Glad to hear they appeal to your hearing. View attachment 870152
Hey MJB,
I love your listening space! Must sound amazing seated between that stack!
When the restoration project was initially discussed, the 980's were offered for barter, and I wasn't really interested, I have enough speakers as it is, and that was that. Mike posted them in BT, I saw the listing pics and couldn't resist. His 1590's are beautiful speakers and I've started on the bases, plan to sand the cabs this weekend with the mild weather forecasted. A lot of work ahead, the tops will be re-veneered, then refinishing.
Glenn
 
Pretty close. I haven't had a chance to A/B them. I'll try over the weekend and report back.
According to the specs:
AR3-31-20K
Ar-3a-32-20K
L980-37-27K
G-Man,,,,MY ENVY CUP RUNNETH OVER! I remember going to buy my L-810's at Magnolia Hi-Fi in the late seventies here in Seattle. When you walked in their showroom, the ADS lineup was spread across an entire wall. It was utopian nirvana. My buddy worked there and we spent some time listening to pair after pair, something i'll never forget. Looking at your and other AK'ers pics brought that day back, something you can't describe to one that has no appreciation for a moment in time like that. Thanks fella's. Not to change the subject but, have you seen the Radialstrahler mbl 101 Ex-treme speakers? Jules Vern man, sci-fi stuff. Sorry, just curious, and really, who in the hell do we know that could afford that s**t? Will D.
 
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G-Man,,,,MY ENVY CUP RUNNETH OVER! I remember going to buy my L-810's at Magnolia Hi-Fi in the late seventies here in Seattle. When you walked in their showroom, the ADS lineup was spread across an entire wall. It was utopian nirvana. My buddy worked there and we spent some time listening to pair after pair, something i'll never forget. Looking at your and other AK'ers pics brought that day back, something you can't describe to one that has no appreciation for a moment in time like that. Thanks fella's. Not to change the subject but, have you seen the Radialstrahler mbl 101 Ex-treme speakers? Jules Vern man, sci-fi stuff. Sorry, just curious, and really, who in the hell do we know that could afford that s**t? Will D.
Man I would have loved to see that lineup back then! How cool! I visited a place called Harvey Sound on Post Road in White Plains NY every Saturday morning after finishing my paper route, and drool over all the gear, especially in the two sound rooms. I was more interested in receivers than speakers and though I remember JBL's, CV's, AR's, KLH's, I don't remember specific models.
Those MLB 101's are insane! I watched some of the videos of those, and how they are assembled. Hey, if money were no object, why not! Very impressive!
Glenn
 
Pretty close. I haven't had a chance to A/B them. I'll try over the weekend and report back.
According to the specs:
AR3-31-20K
Ar-3a-32-20K
L980-37-27K
AMT-3 Mojo-Edition - More soul-diddling lower end (not boomy or unpleasantly overbearing) than you could shake a stick at. My neighbor Norm "feels" when I listen. I swear a waft hit me when I rounded the corner into the room one time.
45 Hz
"Specs" are like talk. Cheap. How do those 980's make you FEEL?

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Wish I could - I'll be in northern Vermont that day/weekend. Pretty sure Mike isn't going either. We did the Hudson Valley Freezefest last year, and it was fun.

Dan
In the pics I posted in the Freezefest, there's some pics of you and Mike talking to HVHIFI Mike about some headphones. I'm pretty sure you would have heard the Angelica's there, and we all probably talked some as well!
 
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