I think my ADS-810's don't sound as good at moderate-loud volumes any longer

[DaveAl]

So...I've been thinking about replacements, but haven't been out to listen to any new speakers yet.

Here is my question: would a pair of Martin Logan Motion 60XT easily outclass the sound of the ADS's, in terms of loudness,clarity, and pleasant (not harsh) high end? My 810's use to play louder than I could tolerate (when hooked up to the Levinson ML9) pretty darn cleanly. that was decades ago. Now that the ML9 has it's own issues with right-channel distortion and noise,I can't evaluate the speakers properly. I bought a NAD C275BEE amp to tide me over (I can't spend like I used to) and at low/moderate volume the speakers sound fair, but played loudly, the woofers seem to be the major source of distortion. I have a calibrated db unit measuring instantaneous output and it appears that the amp isn't getting any where near it's rated power when playing the 810's very loud.
Getting back to the Logan: is that speaker a nice step up from the 810's are a step back, or not worth me spending $3K on them?

I'd love some speakers with amazing transparency and mindboggling speedy response like Apogees or electrostatic panels of some sort, but I don't have the space or money for them. The Martin Logans will fit in my speaker locations of my listening room.

 

[MJB1959]

Lot's of options for you, for the sake of nostagia, you could always get your ADS L810's refurbished by the http://www.adsspeakersservice.com/ guru Richard So, he can get your speakers sounding brand new, I did this with a couple of my own ADS speakers, L980 and M12. I found myself auditioning new amps and went with a Cambridge Audio CXA dac amp, very happy with this combination BTW.
I did audition new speakers while amp shopping, and while I loved many of the newer speakers I tried (KEF, Golden Ear, Paradigm, Focal, to name a few, they were very expensive, and I had grown to love the sound of the L980 and L880 speakers I have downstairs. The Cambridge amp made a perfect fit with it's power, DAC, beautiful finish and A/B speakers outs. Having the speakers done by Mr. So solidified my suspicions, that these are good speakers and having a newer tech amplifier would only help them achieve their best sound, I think we accomplished that, so for me, the new speakers, while I liked some of them, can wait for another day.

 

[dshoaf]

I'm not clear that swapping speakers will get you anywhere. If your reference point starts with a Levinson ML amp, you've already got a high hurdle to jump above. I'd suggest you consider a different amp.

Perhaps get the '810s looked at but, frankly, you've been enjoying quality electronics and are now finding out that the lower cost alternatives aren't cutting it.

Cheers,

David

 

[DaveAl]

Yes, low priced equipment is not what I'd envisioned. First the preamp. then the valhalla board. then the dragon NAAC got stuck. then the Levinson distortion. I fixed the dragon myself,got the valhalla repaired,replaced the preamp,replaced the levinson. this is a money pit.

 

[zunde]

If I'm trading the 810's, I'm trading them for another higher-up pair of ADS. In fact, that's just about exactly what I did- sold my 810's today to help fund the purchase of a pair of 1290's.