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ADS-910's

ADS L-910s are my favorite speakers--very efficient with excellent and true clarity. I first heard a pair in 1978 when I went into the dealer where I had purchased by original Yamaha CR-620...and there were those speakers paired with a Yamaha A-1 amp, and wow, I was hooked. It only took me 30 years to get that same set-up together :)

As noted, the plug connectors are notorious for contributing to signal drop out...as are those three slider switches (which can be dealt with using a Deoxit treatment...or two). I recommend that you put your ears up next to each driver to be certain they are all working (if not, it could be the driver, but it could be the crossover issues). It was pretty common to blow a tweeter or two at higher volumes, and for that reason I had Richard So rebuild my tweeters AND I found and purchased a spare set that Richard also reconditioned.

I can attest that these also work quite well with lower powered tube amplifiers, since they are 92dB or better at 1W 1M.

I discovered a trick for getting these heavy beasts up on the stands: with the speakers on the floor (and ample room behind), put a stand behind the speaker and tilt the stand toward the speaker to align the mounting holes on the stand and speaker. Screw the hand nuts into place and leave them a wee bit loose...some friction, but not tight. Then steady the base and slowly push the speaker toward the base...with some oomph, the speaker will raise off the floor and gradually balance and the stands will slowly tilt back and the speaker will rock into place avoiding a lift with the ol' back. It works best with two people, but I've done it alone many times. I also put two adhesive mount hard felt sliders on the bottom of each rail for easier sliding on a hard floor.

Enjoy those speakers...and good on you to NOT get the version with the LED crossovers...those actually added a drag to the circuits and degraded the sound quality. :music:
 
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Nice find, been in want of those for, well 30-40 years, had to settle for the L810's back in the 70's being I was a snot nosed gas pumping jockey on a budget. All these years later, I have landed the L880's and soon there after the L980's. I think the 980's have been the speaker I have been wanting, and I will keep them as long as I live.

But the lure to find more ADS always beckons. I thought my cave was bad, having two full systems with no less than 8 ADS speakers in the room. (M12/L610/L880/980)
But gone are the old JBL, Infinity, Marantz HD 880 and Jantzen electrostatics.

The ADS sound is just so lovely, magical and alluring, I can hardly wait to get home and hear them when at work.

Well done, and congrats, and great listening.
 
wajobu said:
ADS L-910s are my favorite speakers--very efficient with excellent and true clarity. I first heard a pair in 1978 when I went into the dealer where I had purchased by original Yamaha CR-620...and there were those speakers paired with a Yamaha A-1 amp, and wow, I was hooked. It only took me 30 years to get that same set-up together :)

As noted, the plug connectors are notorious for contributing to signal drop out...as are those three slider switches (which can be dealt with using a Deoxit treatment...or two). I recommend that you put your ears up next to each driver to be certain they are all working (if not, it could be the driver, but it could be the crossover issues). It was pretty common to blow a tweeter or two at higher volumes, and for that reason I had Richard So rebuild my tweeters AND I found and purchased a spare set that Richard also reconditioned.

I can attest that these also work quite well with lower powered tube amplifiers, since they are 92dB or better at 1W 1M.

I discovered a trick for getting these heavy beasts up on the stands: with the speakers on the floor (and ample room behind), put a stand behind the speaker and tilt the stand toward the speaker to align the mounting holes on the stand and speaker. Screw the hand nuts into place and leave them a wee bit loose...some friction, but not tight. Then steady the base and slowly push the speaker toward the base...with some oomph, the speaker will raise off the floor and gradually balance and the stands will slowly tilt back and the speaker will rock into place avoiding a lift with the ol' back. It works best with two people, but I've done it alone many times. I also put two adhesive mount hard felt sliders on the bottom of each rail for easier sliding on a hard floor.

Enjoy those speakers...and good on you to NOT get the version with the LED crossovers...those actually added a drag to the circuits and degraded the sound quality. :music:
Click to expand...

Thanks wajabu!

They are awesome!
Thanks for the stand attachment tip! Will save my back!

Glenn
 
Nice score! I had good luck with Howard's Restore a Finish and Feed n Wax on my ADS L520 cabinets. They looked much rougher than yours and cleaned up nicely.
 
MJB1959 said:
Nice find, been in want of those for, well 30-40 years, had to settle for the L810's back in the 70's being I was a snot nosed gas pumping jockey on a budget. All these years later, I have landed the L880's and soon there after the L980's. I think the 980's have been the speaker I have been wanting, and I will keep them as long as I live.

But the lure to find more ADS always beckons. I thought my cave was bad, having two full systems with no less than 8 ADS speakers in the room. (M12/L610/L880/980)
But gone are the old JBL, Infinity, Marantz HD 880 and Jantzen electrostatics.

The ADS sound is just so lovely, magical and alluring, I can hardly wait to get home and hear them when at work.

Well done, and congrats, and great listening.
Click to expand...

Thanks MJB

When I was around the same age, I spent every Saturday in a place called Harvey Sound. Drooled over all the stuff I could only dream about, so I know where you're coming from.

There's a lot of devoted ADS fans here. Well I've joined the club!
I haven't had much time with them yet, but I'm quite impressed already!

I'm still a little shell shocked at the acquisition of these.

Glenn
 
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montrecott said:
Nice score! I had good luck with Howard's Restore a Finish and Feed n Wax on my ADS L520 cabinets. They looked much rougher than yours and cleaned up nicely.
Click to expand...

Thanks!

I've been using Watco's Danish oil on all my restorations and have been very happy with the results. At some point I'll try the Howard's.

Glenn
 
Glenn,
My 910's have some water damage on the tops. Not too dramatic but I'd like to clean them up. I think you mentioned a light sanding and some Danish oil. Is that all you did? I've been wondering about using Restor-a-finish but am mildly afraid of making them worse. I don't want them to come out darker than original but would like to freshen them up. I suppose I could try the Howard's on the rear, which is veneered, or maybe the bottom where it wouldn't show if I didn't like it.
Thanks,
John
 
nerdorama said:
Glenn,
My 910's have some water damage on the tops. Not too dramatic but I'd like to clean them up. I think you mentioned a light sanding and some Danish oil. Is that all you did? I've been wondering about using Restor-a-finish but am mildly afraid of making them worse. I don't want them to come out darker than original but would like to freshen them up. I suppose I could try the Howard's on the rear, which is veneered, or maybe the bottom where it wouldn't show if I didn't like it.
Thanks,
John
Click to expand...

Hi John,

A lot of guys have used bartenders friend that has oxiolic (SP) acid, which is suppose to make water marks dissapear. You would need to sand it to the veneer, then use the bartenders. I have not used it, luckily none of my restorations had water stains.

Definitely test sand a spot on the rear down to the veneer and try the Howard's.

With walnut veneer, I only used Watcos. Staining not necessary.

On mine, I did a light sanding by hand, used a tac cloth to remove all the sanding dust and used an old sock to apply the oil.

Glenn
 
Thanks. I don't really have a (much) water stain, just what appears to be damage to the finish. I should just sand it down and try the Watco oil. What sort of grit progression did you use? I'm mostly just afraid of making things worse. If they were a pair of speakers that I didn't care so much about I would just go for it. But in this case I don't want a botch job, so I have just left them alone and enjoyed the sound.
Thanks,
John
 
nerdorama said:
Glenn,
My 910's have some water damage on the tops. Not too dramatic but I'd like to clean them up. I think you mentioned a light sanding and some Danish oil. Is that all you did? I've been wondering about using Restor-a-finish but am mildly afraid of making them worse. I don't want them to come out darker than original but would like to freshen them up. I suppose I could try the Howard's on the rear, which is veneered, or maybe the bottom where it wouldn't show if I didn't like it.
Thanks,
John
Click to expand...

Google "remove water stain from veneer":
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cuvjhDfSu4E
http://www.finishing.com/102/75-2.shtml

or this:
http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/how-to-remove-water-stains-from-wood-furniture.html
 
nerdorama said:
Thanks. I don't really have a (much) water stain, just what appears to be damage to the finish. I should just sand it down and try the Watco oil. What sort of grit progression did you use? I'm mostly just afraid of making things worse. If they were a pair of speakers that I didn't care so much about I would just go for it. But in this case I don't want a botch job, so I have just left them alone and enjoyed the sound.
Thanks,
John
Click to expand...

I usually start with a block with 220 grit, then go to 300. If there's some surface scratches etc.. I'll sand those areas by hand after the block sanding.

Checkout my AR3, and KLH Twehty Three threads. I sanded them completely with a hand sander to the veneer. Any sanding, just go slow.

Glenn
 
thanks, Glenn. I search for the other threads. Just got home with a moderately beat up pair of L810s. One slightly torn woofer cone and a mid with a broken lead wire. I can practice on these to see how it turns out.
John
 
nerdorama said:
thanks, Glenn. I search for the other threads. Just got home with a moderately beat up pair of L810s. One slightly torn woofer cone and a mid with a broken lead wire. I can practice on these to see how it turns out.
John
Click to expand...

:thmbsp: A perfect candidate for a fun restoration project!
Start a thread for us to follow along.

Glenn
 
GD70 said:
Thanks wajabu!

They are awesome!
Thanks for the stand attachment tip! Will save my back!

Glenn
Click to expand...

Don't you hate it when you accidentally-select one of the smiley icons (the ones that go ABOVE your post), and it ends up being the complete opposite of what you posted? Like a frown smiley or the beat-red, fuming-mad smiley? I couldn't begin to add up how many times I've done that (You make a post like, "Great-looking speakers, dude.", and there's a thumbs-down icon right above it, so the guy thinks you're being sarcastic or something :D ).

icon3.gif


:yes: :no:

:smoke:
 
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Most of the ADS speakers I've had, which is most of them, had a finish on them that made it necessary to remove all that finish before anything like Watco or Howards was applied.
 
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