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ADS 1590/2's VS. 1230's

mike0565

mike0565

ADS speaker nut
Subscriber
Well, the wife's in Florida and my son was out so I could give these two pair of upper chain ADS speakers a good comparison.
First of all they were both driven by a Sony ta-n77es with a Parasound p5 preamp. Turntable used was a Denon 67L with a Denon dl 103r cartridge. CD player was a Yamaha cdr hd1500. Spotify was also used running through the P5's dac with desktop computer.The Canton sub was not used in the comparison although I do use it for normal listening.
Please note that the 1590's have had all the drivers replaced by Richard So in 2017 while the 1230's are original.
The 1590's seem to have a more pronounced mid-range than the 1230's. The mids just seem to be a touch stronger. Not better per say, but more pronounced. But the tweeters in both don't seem to have much of a difference. Both are clear, smooth, and unfatiguing. As far as the bass goes, they both can hit hard but a give a slight edge to the 1230's. The two woofers in the 1590's are quicker and punchier than the 1230's but the 1230's seem to go a bit lower. As far as the imaging goes they are both quite good but the 1230's have a slight edge. I think that's due to the cabinet design. The positions were swapped when I listened.IMG_20200111_152556333.jpg IMG_20200111_152453547.jpg IMG_20200111_152438019.jpg
To sum it all up these speakers are extremely similar in their sound. They both have that great East coast ADS sound. The 1590's in my opinion are more of an "in your face" speaker where as the 1230's are a bit more laid back. It might have something to do with the mids being new in the 1590's.
Either way you can't go wrong with either pair of these speakers. My next test will be to bring the 1590's to Hudson Valley HiFi and square off with what Mike has in his showroom.
Music was
Donald Fagan/ Nightfly
Sting/ Soul Cages
Sade/ The Best of
Mark Knophler/ Private Investigations
Pink Floyd/ DSOTM
 
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It seems L1590 low frequencies should play lower and with good detail as compared to the L1230.

As to the "forward" new midranges on your L1590s, don't @ me, because I am a bit leery of those "new" rebuilds as the parts have probably been sitting in inventory for quite some time perhaps losing some break-in ability as when new back in 1986, that said I have no idea whether or not the parts are newly manufactured and just need break-in time:dunno:
Don't get me wrong , I think they are a godsend for those that have damaged drivers that need replacing.
 
I'm surprised the 1230's fared that well against your 1590's. My 1230's fell quite a bit short here when compared to my 1530's and my 1530's were nudged out of their previous owners home by a pair of 1590's. But in the 1230's defense they also bested some long time favorites of mine here the 810s and 880s. They're all excellent speakers imo right down to the L200s.
I'm certainly looking forward to hearing how those 1590's fare at Hudson Valley HiFi and I'd love to be one of the not so impartial comparison listeners:)
 
ADS takes me back to the 70s when I worked at a hi-fi shop in college. We sold lots of L710s and L810s. I used LV-1020s in 1974.
 
motorstereo said:
I'm surprised the 1230's fared that well against your 1590's. My 1230's fell quite a bit short here when compared to my 1530's and my 1530's were nudged out of their previous owners home by a pair of 1590's. But in the 1230's defense they also bested some long time favorites of mine here the 810s and 880s. They're all excellent speakers imo right down to the L200s.
I'm certainly looking forward to hearing how those 1590's fare at Hudson Valley HiFi and I'd love to be one of the not so impartial comparison listeners:)
Click to expand...
They sound extremely similar. They're both wonderful sounding speakers
 
mike0565 said:
Well, the wife's in Florida and my son was out so I could give these two pair of upper chain ADS speakers a good comparison.
First of all they were both driven by a Sony ta-n77es with a Parasound p5 preamp. Turntable used was a Denon 67L with a Denon dl 103r cartridge. CD player was a Yamaha cdr hd1500. Spotify was also used running through the P5's dac with desktop computer.The Canton sub was not used in the comparison although I do use it for normal listening.
Please note that the 1590's have had all the drivers replaced by Richard So in 2017 while the 1230's are original.
The 1590's seem to have a more pronounced mid-range than the 1230's. The mids just seem to be a touch stronger. Not better per say, but more pronounced. But the tweeters in both don't seem to have much of a difference. Both are clear, smooth, and unfatiguing. As far as the bass goes, they both can hit hard but a give a slight edge to the 1230's. The two woofers in the 1590's are quicker and punchier than the 1230's but the 1230's seem to go a bit lower. As far as the imaging goes they are both quite good but the 1230's have a slight edge. I think that's due to the cabinet design. The positions were swapped when I listened.View attachment 1727144 View attachment 1727146 View attachment 1727147
To sum it all up these speakers are extremely similar in their sound. They both have that great East coast ADS sound. The 1590's in my opinion are more of an "in your face" speaker where as the 1230's are a bit more laid back. It might have something to do with the mids being new in the 1590's.
Either way you can't go wrong with either pair of these speakers. My next test will be to bring the 1590's to Hudson Valley HiFi and square off with what Mike has in his showroom.
Music was
Donald Fagan/ Nightfly
Sting/ Soul Cages
Sade/ The Best of
Mark Knophler/ Private Investigations
Pink Floyd/ DSOTM
Click to expand...
Hi Mike,
Very good write up. Your summary doesn't surprise me though. First, the magical ADS sound doesn't change much between speaker models. As I read your report, I had very similar experiences with the 910's and L980's. Granted yours are both dual woofers, the 980s are a bit more forward, which I attribute to newer design drivers, even though the 910's mids and tweeters were rebuilt as well. Visually, the 1230's are much smaller than I thought, which is appealing to a lot of people that don't have a lot of space, but can get the big ADS sound.

Let me know when you're going to Mikes shop. I'd love to finally hear your 1590's, and see how they stack up to the new offerings he has.

Glenn
 
GD70 said:
Hi Mike,
Very good write up. Your summary doesn't surprise me though. First, the magical ADS sound doesn't change much between speaker models. As I read your report, I had very similar experiences with the 910's and L980's. Granted yours are both dual woofers, the 980s are a bit more forward, which I attribute to newer design drivers, even though the 910's mids and tweeters were rebuilt as well. Visually, the 1230's are much smaller than I thought, which is appealing to a lot of people that don't have a lot of space, but can get the big ADS sound.

Let me know when you're going to Mikes shop. I'd love to finally hear your 1590's, and see how they stack up to the new offerings he has.

Glenn
Click to expand...
I will Glenn. Just out of curiosity I feel I have to do it. I have to see if I'm being really brand committed. All his speakers sound great, but I have to see or should I say listen.
 
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