GrandDesigns
New Member
I picked up a set of three (3) ADS SAT7 speakers locally for $50 plus a trade in of a box of random old electronics and computer server parts at a local electronics store. The ADS name drew me to these and they have beautiful cabinets, but some research ultimately indicated these were made at the end of the heyday of ADS and these are not highly acclaimed or widely used speakers, in spite of their claimed $2400 MSRP. The "SAT" name stems from the fact these are "satellite" speakers to be paired with a subwoofer, which I suppose was a trend really starting to gain traction around 1990 when these were originally sold.
Anyhow, I took pity on them and figured it was a good project for $50 in cash and a box of old parts, as I love to restore old things. Out of the three speakers, there were two with very close serial numbers, and the third cabinet had a higher/newer serial number and some differences in its details such as fiberglass insulation, mounting screws, and grill. The purchase also included one "new in box" original ADS grill.
The main problem with these is the domes on the midrange speakers always fall apart. Richard So is the last man in the world who has the parts to repair ADS speakers, so I sent two of the midranges to him for $150 for repair and an additional $20 to ship them back to me. The repairs and shipping took about 2 weeks and they were returned in perfect condition and sound great.
I tested several capacitors on the crossovers and amazingly things were in spec. The resistors were good, and the resistance of the indutors was fine. So I did not replace anything on the crossovers. One of the 2 paired cabinets was missing its woofer, so I moved the woofer from the 3rd outlier cabinet to the one in the pair that needed a woofer.
On the two older grills, the plastic mounting pegs were a poor design and all 8 pegs were broken because they're skinny plastic, around 1/16" in diameter, maybe slightly larger. The 'new in box' grill uses a modified design that can be seen in the photos. So I had to repair the 2 matching grills. I drilled 7/64" holes in the wider base mounting studs and replaced the broken pegs with 3/4" long, skinny threaded steel studs (small machine screws with the heads cut off). The steel studs threaded into the holes I drilled, and I coated the steel studs with epoxy glue and left them upside down to cure. This left a small drip at the end of each stud that mirrored the original shape of the original plastic studs. Then I painted them matte black, and used a thin smear of silicone grease so they'd insert into the rubber mounting holes easily. The end result is amazing, durable, and it looks similar to the original.
The cabinets are beautiful and had very little wear. I used Odie's Oil on them and that gave a slightly darker and shinier appearance to the wood veneer, as expected. Some of the photos show side-by-side before/after with Odie's Oil.
After the midranges were repaired and the woofer was moved over, I finally fired these up to give them a listen. I am no expert audiophile, and my hearing is not as good it was in my youth, but these have a very flat response. These are capable of a lot more bass than what they produce with no equalization, probably because they are designed to pair with a subwoofer.
I'm glad to have rescued them and brough them back to life. I have always been a fan of the original ADS car audio products, and it's great to own a pair of these speakers for home use, even if they're outside of the classic collection of vintage ADS models.
Anyhow, I took pity on them and figured it was a good project for $50 in cash and a box of old parts, as I love to restore old things. Out of the three speakers, there were two with very close serial numbers, and the third cabinet had a higher/newer serial number and some differences in its details such as fiberglass insulation, mounting screws, and grill. The purchase also included one "new in box" original ADS grill.
The main problem with these is the domes on the midrange speakers always fall apart. Richard So is the last man in the world who has the parts to repair ADS speakers, so I sent two of the midranges to him for $150 for repair and an additional $20 to ship them back to me. The repairs and shipping took about 2 weeks and they were returned in perfect condition and sound great.
I tested several capacitors on the crossovers and amazingly things were in spec. The resistors were good, and the resistance of the indutors was fine. So I did not replace anything on the crossovers. One of the 2 paired cabinets was missing its woofer, so I moved the woofer from the 3rd outlier cabinet to the one in the pair that needed a woofer.
On the two older grills, the plastic mounting pegs were a poor design and all 8 pegs were broken because they're skinny plastic, around 1/16" in diameter, maybe slightly larger. The 'new in box' grill uses a modified design that can be seen in the photos. So I had to repair the 2 matching grills. I drilled 7/64" holes in the wider base mounting studs and replaced the broken pegs with 3/4" long, skinny threaded steel studs (small machine screws with the heads cut off). The steel studs threaded into the holes I drilled, and I coated the steel studs with epoxy glue and left them upside down to cure. This left a small drip at the end of each stud that mirrored the original shape of the original plastic studs. Then I painted them matte black, and used a thin smear of silicone grease so they'd insert into the rubber mounting holes easily. The end result is amazing, durable, and it looks similar to the original.
The cabinets are beautiful and had very little wear. I used Odie's Oil on them and that gave a slightly darker and shinier appearance to the wood veneer, as expected. Some of the photos show side-by-side before/after with Odie's Oil.
After the midranges were repaired and the woofer was moved over, I finally fired these up to give them a listen. I am no expert audiophile, and my hearing is not as good it was in my youth, but these have a very flat response. These are capable of a lot more bass than what they produce with no equalization, probably because they are designed to pair with a subwoofer.
I'm glad to have rescued them and brough them back to life. I have always been a fan of the original ADS car audio products, and it's great to own a pair of these speakers for home use, even if they're outside of the classic collection of vintage ADS models.
