ADS L1590/2 vlaue

[Blue Shadow]

It appears that the

ADS 1590/2 optional rosewood finish

ADS 1590/2 speaker bases

ADS 1590/2 shipping cartons

ADS 1590/2 protective dome covers

ADS 1590/2 Tower Loudspeaker System Owner's Manual

Add significantly to what a pair of 1590s are worth. This pair on the bay is at 1825 and selling in a couple hours. Guess all that stuff is worth $1000 or so to someone as folks here think the 1590 is maybe an 800 buck speaker, give or take. Well sold and for a rare speaker, well bought.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/ADS-L1590-2...347803?hash=item4b0d29265b:g:dNwAAOSw44BYPRpq

 

[Dennis Gardner]

It has just been a while since a pair in that condition has been offered for auction. The boxes, bases and original grills/mounts that haven't been destroyed by forward falls would add around 300-400 to a pair, the rosewood is worth an extra 200 and the fact that they are shipping them helps.

The seller listed them as mint too, which is a stretch, as the fronts show quite a bit of sun fading below the grills as most in this line did after a few years.

 

[Blue Shadow]

You are at Standard Price plus 600 and the option of shipping provides a larger window for buyers. Guess it works out like this

$800 for the speakers
+400 for the extras (and people think buying the shipping boxes for $50 is silly, maybe not)
+200 for rosewood

Gives 1400 for the speakers as is where is and the extra 475 to get to the price they sold for (discounting some shill bidding) because of larger audience that can win them due to shipping. Add that cost of shipping, unknown what that is as the buyer might just drive over and pick them up and you have a nice price for a pair of 1590/2 speakers. Maybe more in line with their overall quality as far as vintage speakers goes.

 

[Commodore999]

There's a listing on the web at one of those used audio gear sites for 2 pair of Rosewood 1590s, a pair of 1290s and 3 PA1 bi-amps. The asking price is $5500. The seller wants to sell all the speakers and amps as a set.

I guess it's time for the late 80's/early 90's ADS big hitters to step up to the purchase plate.

Not sure how you would use them all, maybe for a HT set up?

No affiliation.

 

[Eric Pearce]

Well.... I just paid a little over $1500 for a pair of black in near mint condition. Good grills, pegs, inserts - original boxes, dome covers, papers, etc. That broke down to $1125 + Tax (yeah, that sucks now), plus almost $400 to ship (which is a steal). May be too much for some folks' opinion, but I paid it and am SUPER excited. When I was in college, I used to hang out in the local hifi store listening to a pair of these (rosewood) running off a phat Macintosh amp. I've got a pair of NAD 2600a amps that I will bridge mono and connect through an NAD 1700 control amp / tuner. I CANNOT WAIT to hear these bad boys sing. I bought a pair of 990s in college and they have been my babies for 34 years. Judge away, I don't care...

 

[Blue Shadow]

I like the SP-3whatever.

 

[sancho22]

I would likely pay the same/close. Rare and well regarded speakers. Congrats!
Let us know how you like them.

 

[Eric Pearce]

Absolutely LOVE them! I'm awaiting my second NAD 2600a so that I can bridge mono and REALLY drive these guys. 2600a rated at 150w RMS, mono 300w RMS.

Yesterday was a fund day "auditioning" them with avery CD I could think of.

 

[EastPoint]

There’s a set here for 1250.

 

[Eric Pearce]

I actually looked at these before. My thought process.....

1) I actually like the black.
2) My grills are PERFECT
3) All original boxes / packaging / paperwork.
4) Speakers themselves are pristine - sound amazing. Not sure how / why / when the tweeters and mids will need a rebuild. I'll probably purchase a spare set when I have a chance to source them. Perhaps Richard So has them off the shelf?? I have had a spare pair of woofers for YEARS after I blew a set in my 990s. FORTUNATELY, ADS warranted them at the time (I was young and stupid and drunk and killed them with distortion).

There's actually 3 sets on the bay currently:

https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=p2380057.m570.l1313&_nkw=ads+1590&_sacat=0

I can HIGHLY recommend them all the above being ZERO factors to how they sound. I pushed mine pretty hard yesterday with some Telarc Digital CDs (the ones with the warning label about blowing up your speakers). I could NOT get them to distort. Pretty much as loud as I could stand and just took everything I could throw at them.

 

[Eric Pearce]

So can anyone here tell me when / why ADS changed up the location of the binding posts? I actually prefer them on the bottom - the little cover on the back seems a little jinky to me.

 

[sancho22]

Yes three sets right now...
I personally prefer the back vs bottom binding posts
I like changing gear, location and cables
The button is tidier and works well if you just want to set it up and forget

 

[Blue Shadow]

I have had a spare pair of woofers for YEARS after I blew a set in my 990s.

There is discussion in one of the long ads threads that the L990 was one not so good speaker. Reason was the woofer wasn't up to the task and recommendation was to replace em with an ads automotive woofer. I had a pair from CL for a short time. Brother came over one day and said, "I can't listen to those." Don't know why. Swapped to something else all was good. He didn't mind the sound of the 1590/2.

So can anyone here tell me when / why ADS changed up the location of the binding posts?

This happened part way through the 1590/2 production. There are some /2s with the rear cover/connections but all /2 guts and such. When those boxes were used up the move was made to the bottom connections. Hard for those that swap gear but I made some female banana ended jumpers to peek out from under the speaker.

 

[Eric Pearce]

That's an interesting story. My 990s are very well loved, but the bass doesn't hit nearly as hard as the 1590s (obviously). I have a pair of 206-0361 woofers that were designed for the 1590s that I thought about swapping into my 990s but never have. I've looked all over the interwebs, but can't find the model of the 990 woofers. Maybe I'm crazy, but Ken Rockwell seems to agree with me. Nothing against your Bro.... When I get my final setup, I'm going to A/V the 990s and 1590s to give them a good critical listen (obviously at moderate levels). Will report back my thoughts.

https://kenrockwell.com/audio/ads/L990.htm

As for the binding posts - see attached. I wonder if that's what the "NEW STYLE CABINET" on the box means....?

 

[Blue Shadow]

soundmotor was the one that said the L990 wasn't all that and he was an employee of ads. He had the info on the woofer swap. Seems you needed new woofers because you broke what was in there. Guess that says something. No argument, up to you what you like. I'm happy my L990 and my L1590/2 are enjoying life with new owners. I have other big speakers. I kept the L710 of the half dozen ads I have owned. And the car is ads at the corners.

That may well be what the label means, late style cabinet.

 

[Eric Pearce]

Gotcha - I guess that would be expected from an ADS employee. The 990s weren't around long - replaced by the 1090. This pricelist is supposedly from 1986 - I purchased my 990s in Spring of 1987. I don't think I've ever seen a pair 1090s advertised. And likewise, almost NEVER see 990s referenced in ADS reference materials.

On another note - has anyone replaced the binding posts / nuts? They plastic that is molded onto the metal sleeve seems to crack over the years. My 990s have only 1 plastic "nut" left.

Thanks in advance!! ~Eric

 

[sancho22]

An additional pair popped up in WI
Rosewood
Local p/u only

 

[Eric Pearce]

Well gentlemen, catastrophy struck yesterday. One tweet stopped working. Had a good conversation with Mr. So and all four tweets and mids are headed to Phoenix this morning! I was sort of expecting this would happen at some point, just not quite this quickly.

From what I read, the domes are supposed to have some electronic protection instead of fuses.... Can anyone enlighten me as to how that works, and where I may find a copy of tye Series II addenda to the owner's manual? It's still a bit fuzzy to me, and I've been through multiple threads. Perhaps I just didn't find the right one.

I discussed sending the crossovers in with the drivers, but I'm not sure I want to shell out the extra $$$s right now. In yall's opinion, is that being short sighted? Am I going to get new drivers back, and a failure in the crossover cause them to blow as well??

Thanks in advance from the 1590 "newbie"!!

Eric

 

[Blue Shadow]

The addenda for the II is part of the OM for the 1590 just additional pages or typed info, not OM type pages.

The polyswitch is a device that opens the connection when the rated amperage is exceeded and will close automatically bringing back the tweeter signal. Look up polyswitch to learn more

Did you test the tweeter to verify? Did you inspect the tweeter to see if it might have been the tinsel (wire from the input terminal to the voice coil) that had opened? Whatever they are out to the spa and will be back soon in great shape ready for the next 20 years.

I'm sure an RS rebuilt crossover is a nice thing to have but there are very few naturally decaying parts in the crossover, the electrolytic cap being one. I don't know if there are other 'lytics or parts that need to be replace. You might want to look at the crossover and see if replacing that one cap is something you want to do while the speakers are out of use.

 

[Eric Pearce]

So I have the owner's manual - from a NON series 2. I understand the "addenda" was probably just a page inserted (loose leaf) between the pages of the original OM. Does anyone have a PDF, or a copy of the addenda that they can scan / attach? I've looked in through the files in http://sportsbil.com/ads/, but don't see it.

Again, THANK YOU for all the assistance. The info on the crossover is exactly what I needed to know. Someday maybe.

To answer your question about the "blown" tweeter - when I pulled it out of the cabinet and disconnected the spade lugs, one of the spades pulled out of the speaker plate. So I ohm'd the wire and the other lug and got ZERO resistance. I took that as evidence that the tweeter was indeed fried at the voice coil level. There are "rebuilt" tweets on the bay, but after discussions with RS, his are of a much higher quality as he replaces the original dome / coil with new and re-does the factory coating better than the factory. And his prices are VERY reasonable for all 4 drivers. He said at least 3 weeks - I can wait. I know long term it will be worth it.