• The move to the new server is done. There are some software and database maintenance updates in process. This has us passing the hat around to help out. We appreciate any donations. Seriously, even a dollar helps. The payment page may be found here - https://www.audiokarma.org/support.html

ADS 570/2's...wow

legalalien

legalalien

Well-Known Member
40+ years in this hobby and I've never owned any ADS's, that is until this past weekend. A minty pair of 570/2's showed up on CL so for $120 I figure what the hay. I've been running an audio only setup in one of our vacated kid's bedrooms currently consisting of a Yamaha CR1020 pushing a pair of Yamaha NS690's. It's been a nice sounding setup but the 690's I feel are just too big for such a small (11' by 13') room. So in go the 570/2's and WOW, these things sound terrific! I don't think I'm giving anything up to the big Yammy's, at least in this size room. The drivers look perfect and the cabinets have a few light scuff's but a couple of coats of Howards orange oil has really got them looking pretty. I'm gonna put them on taller stands to get the tweets up to ear level but all in all I'm impressed, these have a clarity and a refined musicality that is very satisfying, I get the sense these will be very non-fatiguing to listen to. To you ADS guy out there, where do these 570/2's rank in the ADS pecking order? Thanks...
 
Register to hide this ad
Welcome to the ADS club.

As far as "ranking" the 570 is toward the bottom in the product line. There are numerous larger and more expensive ADS speakers, and a couple of smaller ones too.

Don't take that as a knock on the 570's, they are still an excellent speaker in their price/size class and can give many larger and more expensive speakers a run for the money.

In the end, as long as you enjoy them, not much else matters.

Congrats on your score, hope they bring you years of enjoyment.
 
L520s (same thing just older) were my first vintage hifi salvation army score. I was used to listening to all sorts of small junky speakers, or HUGE old speakers that obviously had tons of bass but not much else.

All of a sudden this tiny set of speakers had a certain bass depth that I couldnt believe was coming from such a small speaker. It was the first speaker that showed me you dont need 12" woofers to have nice bass notes produced.

I put them on ebay and the winning bid was $11. I forget why.. they must have been a little rough. I assumed shipping would be $50 but it came out to $70. lol
 
Oh, as far as pecking order. They are fantastic for a smaller room, people only need bigger ADS speakers when the room gets bigger.
 
Thanks guys I forgot to ask in my initial post about the grills. Mine are in perfect condition but I noticed there is a very thin layer of some kind of transparent cloth on the inside of them, I'm assuming this is a design element? I haven't tried them with the grills off yet but was wondering if there was a consensus on leaving them in place or not, thanks.
 
Leave them in place, they are sonically transparent. The thin felt is to prevent dust from accumulating on the sticky tweeters.
 
ADS is the best line of speakers ever made, regardless of price. At least the 80s-mid 90s models.
 
Ah, another new ADS club member! They are great sounding speakers.
I was lucky enough to grab a pair of 910's, my first ADS's. The deal was too good to pass up and practically fell into my lap!

Post some pics when you get a chance.
 
Maybe those were mine...I just sold a pair this past weekend for that price. Whether they were formerly mine or not, I'm glad you like them! I thought they were pretty good too.
 
Another question, this time regarding the wood veneer cabinets. Mine are in pretty nice shape with the exception of one 6" scratch on the side of one speaker. As I'm kinda anal about such things I've been trying to figure out if the wood that wraps around the speakers which is about 3/16" thick is a solid piece of walnut (?) or is it a thinner piece of veneer over something else? Close inspection and I can't find anywhere where it looks like a thin veneer, it seems if that's full 3/16" piece of wood. If so, it would seem like an easy task to lightly sand the perimeter of the speaker and give it a nice linseed oil finish, yes/no?
 
Careful, ADS had some master carpenters building these boxes, it may look like solid wood but I am pretty sure it is a thin veneer over MDF. Solid wood isn't good for building speakers for a few reasons.
 
legalalien said:
Another question, this time regarding the wood veneer cabinets. Mine are in pretty nice shape with the exception of one 6" scratch on the side of one speaker. As I'm kinda anal about such things I've been trying to figure out if the wood that wraps around the speakers which is about 3/16" thick is a solid piece of walnut (?) or is it a thinner piece of veneer over something else? Close inspection and I can't find anywhere where it looks like a thin veneer, it seems if that's full 3/16" piece of wood. If so, it would seem like an easy task to lightly sand the perimeter of the speaker and give it a nice linseed oil finish, yes/no?
Click to expand...
Can you post a pic of the area in question?
 
I agree Hanleyster and I'm not suggesting the entire cabinet is solid wood but there is a 3/16" piece covering the perimeter and with the 45 degree edges on the corners and all I can't find a single spot where the veneer has worn off. That would be some incredible workmanship for a 30+ year old speaker!
 
It's a veneer over MDF. Previous experience trying to sand and refinish a pair of 810 cabinets taught me that.
 
I successfully refinished my 570/I's, but I have nearly 20 years of professional woodworking experience. The original finish is lacquer so you will need to strip instead of sand or else you WILL go through the veneer. ADS did use quality veneer. It is not the thinnest I've seen used, but was still intended for commercial production. The reason it looks like solid wood at the front and rear edges is because the MDF was ripped into lengths and edge-banded before being veneered. They then cut all the miters to fold up the cabinet, thus the look of continuous grain all the way around. One of the bottom corners will be where the grain doesn't match. Exactly how I would've done it for myself.

For stripping lacquer on a project this size I like Formby's "Furniture Refinisher" (now owned by Minwax). It's pretty watery but it won't swell the substrate (MDF). Just brush it on and start scrubbing with a Scotchbrite pad or steel wool. Once you have all the Lacquer removed you can wipe down the whole cabinet with a damp rag until all the stripper is neutralized. Then, and only then do I start sanding to remove scratches. If they are deep enough I use an iron and wet rag to steam the compressed wood fibers. All sanding at this point I do by hand with 220gr.

On my 570's I then used 10 coats of hand-rubbed Teak oil and they came out beautiful.

Just be careful and mask off the front baffle because it is paint and will melt from the Formby's (at least on the 570/I the baffle is painted). Oh, and wear gloves!
 
I have (2) sets of ADS bookshelf speakers, (1) of those sets are L570/2. Great speakers, challenged only by the L8e. Surprising amount of bass output and how loud they play. ADS sold a boatload of them on that count. We gave our daughter a Sweet 16 party and I used my L570s, EAW UB12s, and a Sunfire. It was impressive and the L570s kept right up. The cabinets were made in Germany by Hados. They made office cubicle systems in later years. At this age about the only thing to consider is changing out the electrolytic capacitors.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom