ADS L710 - I joined the ADS Club

[Krosya]

I dont know if its the peer pressure or my own curiosity, but after reading many threads about the ADS Speakers, and even after having listen to a couple of models, I finally and a proud owner of the ADS L710 (I think its version 2) speakers. They need some TLC, but so far my first impressions are positive. I will have to do some more listening/comparing to other speakers I have to form a better opinion, but for now I'm thinking I did OK by buying these:





What's your opinions of this model?

 

[beotek]

Besides the cosmetic dust cap dent you have on one of the woofers, the 710 is a great speaker. Tight fast bass and a great midrange. I think you did good. Hopefully you didn't overpay for the pair.

 

[mike0565]

Congrats, the 710's are a fine speaker. Never heard an Ads speaker I didn't like. You did good.

 

[mike0565]

Believe me, as you move up the Ads food chain the sound improves. The 710's are an excellent start IMHO.

 

[Drugolf]

Great choice. Should do well for you and you can always add a quality subwoofer if you ever feel the need to add some depth to the bottom frequency presence. I tried it and it was pretty darn good.

 

[cnolanh]

Sweet! A pair of those plays in my living room every day. I bet you'll like them.

 

[mars_volta]

Its a slippery slope from here on out.

 

[GD70]

Congrats! Nice model to start the ADS addiction!
Lets see more pics of the cabs and their condition.
Glenn

 

[Yukon888]

Nice find. Did they come with the stands?

 

[Porkloin]

Get yourself a paper towel tube and make sure that your tweeters are working. It's amazing how good they sound with only the sticky dome midrange working. If a tweeter is not working, jump through the diagnostic hoops (hook the midrange up to the tweeter's wires) to determine if it's a driver, crossover or fuse (I can't remember if the 710 /2's are fused or have a polyswitch). If you have a driver issue, get it down to famed ADS hero Richard So. That guy has to retire some day.
If you have a proclivity for going nuts when you find something you like and can't be happy with something for any length of time (taken directly from the Webster's dictionary description of "audiophile"), don't start wasting time and money on your ADS speakers until you've reached a pinnacle, like the 910 or the 1530 or the 1590. ADS fetishests, take note: I don't bother mentioning the 2030 as it is believed that the last known pair was sold to a Sasquatch in British Columbia.

 

[911s55]

Never heard an Ads speaker I didn't look like.

Two way or three way?

 

[Porkloin]

Believe me, as you move up the Ads food chain the sound improves. The 710's are an excellent start IMHO.

Mike, that's something I've been wondering about as of late. Other than biamplification or that unique crossover in the 910, haven't the changes "up the food chain" pretty much been one of size? Wouldn't a pair of 710's in a small room be comparable to your big, sexy 1590's in a proportionately larger room?

 

[Jelle]

No love for the L1230?

 

[Porkloin]

No love for the L1230?

Some think that the 1230 actually achieved a better mating of drivers than the bigger 1530s - the 1230s had a better balance of woof to tweet. I sold my 1230's to my ADS fetish buddy and he thinks that they're the best he owns (he has 1530s and 1590s).
But he hasn't biamped his 1530s yet.

 

[Krosya]

Congrats! Nice model to start the ADS addiction!
Lets see more pics of the cabs and their condition.
Glenn

I will post more later - they are not bad - one in the pic above has a stain on a top, like it had a plant on it for a while. They have a few small chips here and there, but nothing major. Also they need some new velcro for the grills - old ones barely hold them.

Nice find. Did they come with the stands?

No stands - one in a pic is a stand I had from before.

Get yourself a paper towel tube and make sure that your tweeters are working. It's amazing how good they sound with only the sticky dome midrange working. If a tweeter is not working, jump through the diagnostic hoops (hook the midrange up to the tweeter's wires) to determine if it's a driver, crossover or fuse (I can't remember if the 710 /2's are fused or have a polyswitch). If you have a driver issue, get it down to famed ADS hero Richard So. That guy has to retire some day.
If you have a proclivity for going nuts when you find something you like and can't be happy with something for any length of time (taken directly from the Webster's dictionary description of "audiophile"), don't start wasting time and money on your ADS speakers until you've reached a pinnacle, like the 910 or the 1530 or the 1590. ADS fetishests, take note: I don't bother mentioning the 2030 as it is believed that the last known pair was sold to a Sasquatch in British Columbia.

View attachment 875228

They do sound good and at this time have one issue - one of the tweeter is out - I knew that from the get-go, seller told me about it. But you are right - it was hard to tell when they were playing. I checked fuses - they are fine. Checked bad tweeter with ohm meter and it is indeed dead, so I have one on order. Cant wait to have them fully working so I can judge them better.

So far I can say that they have very impressive bass for their size and they are very clear and crisp, even with one tweeter out. Maybe even a bit too crisp/bright with some music. But I will reserve full judgement till I have them fully operational.

 

[GD70]

Owners of 710's love them, and may I suggest sending the mids and tweeters to Rochard So. He rebuilds ADS drivers with original factory parts. Richard bought all the parts inventory when ADS closed its doors. He does fabulous work and is very reasonable.
I have two pairs, 910's, and L980's. I had the mids and tweeters in the 910's rebuilt. I did this for preservation more than for sonic problems. The 980's are all original, and I don't fine either pair overly bright at all.

 

[Blue Shadow]

Mike, that's something I've been wondering about as of late. Other than biamplification or that unique crossover in the 910, haven't the changes "up the food chain" pretty much been one of size? Wouldn't a pair of 710's in a small room be comparable to your big, sexy 1590's in a proportionately larger room?

Oh, your question is directed to Mike so I'll not reply at this time. Oops, but I already got the quote in the thread.

Owners of 710's love them, and may I suggest sending the mids and tweeters to Rochard So. He rebuilds ADS drivers with original factory parts. Richard bought all the parts inventory when ADS closed its doors. He does fabulous work and is very reasonable.
I have two pairs, 910's, and L980's. I had the mids and tweeters in the 910's rebuilt. I did this for preservation more than for sonic problems. The 980's are all original, and I don't fine either pair overly bright at all.

The 710 is a well liked ads. Many prefer it to the 810 as it is more balanced, not a heavy on the bottom as the 810.

If he sends the mids and tweets to Richard, he will be spending about what the speaker are worth on the used market. Sure they will sound as good as an old 710 with new mids and tweets can sound but it doesn't seem to be the best use of funds when one could sell the 710s, throw in that 225 or so and get a 400 buck speaker that is arguably better than the 710.

That said, my 710s aren't going anywhere, soon, too nice and they work.

 

[will d]

Congrats! Nice model to start the ADS addiction!
Lets see more pics of the cabs and their condition.
Glenn

Glenn, there's a pair ads l-990's on ebay. Local pickup in Woodbury Conn. They need some tlc but if ya know someone in that area, they need a good home. Not sure i've ever seen that model before. Hmmmm, interesting.

 

[will d]

I dont know if its the peer pressure or my own curiosity, but after reading many threads about the ADS Speakers, and even after having listen to a couple of models, I finally and a proud owner of the ADS L710 (I think its version 2) speakers. They need some TLC, but so far my first impressions are positive. I will have to do some more listening/comparing to other speakers I have to form a better opinion, but for now I'm thinking I did OK by buying these:





What's your opinions of this model?

My opinion? Ya done good son. Excellent pair of speakers. My first pair of ADS were the L-700's. Essentially the same speaker but a two way. This year of 2017 marks fourty years of owning and listening to ADS speakers. That certainly doesn't make me an expert on the subject, but it certainly makes me a huge fan of their sound. Enjoy them friend, as I think you truly will. An obvious ADS fan,,,,,,,, Will D. ( My avatar says it all.)

 

[Drugolf]

Glenn, there's a pair ads l-990's on ebay. Local pickup in Woodbury Conn. They need some tlc but if ya know someone in that area, they need a good home. Not sure i've ever seen that model before. Hmmmm, interesting.

The 990's have a known issue with the woofers. I think it has to do with some failing glue causing some problems. Otherwise yes, just the next size down in the xx90 series.