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My first 3-way ADS L780/2

Mystery

Mystery

constantly upgrading...
Got a pair of ADS L780/2 yesterday from fellow AK'er at the GTG.
These are my first pair of ADS 3-ways.
I have L420's and had L620's.
These L780/2 are small bookshelf speakers and look tiny in front of my Polks but very good sound.
I heard 710 and 810 with dual woofer instead of one are much better but they'll have to wait for now.
How do you like 'em?

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I got a pair of L780/2's last weekend. They're very good. I have 910's also. They are better, but quite large. Both sets sound good with tube amps. Hope you enjoy your 780's.

John
 
I had a cosmetically really nice pair of the original series L-780 (original boxes and packing materials, too) bought from a co-worker for $75. I found them to be quite ordinary sounding compared to the L-710; of course, YMMV.

I sold 'em to a local for what I paid for 'em.
 
Very-nice. Vintage ADS speakers are such lookers (Well, I guess they're vintage at this point). I like speakers that look even better with the grills OFF. My W60E's are like that. And I love those dome-mids (What material is that anyway?).
 
mhardy6647 said:
I had a cosmetically really nice pair of the original series L-780 (original boxes and packing materials, too) bought from a co-worker for $75. I found them to be quite ordinary sounding compared to the L-710; of course, YMMV.

I sold 'em to a local for what I paid for 'em.
Click to expand...

+1

I've had two sets of L780 IIs, the second I recapped. They were underwhelming. I've just finished rebuilding a set of L710s and they are leagues better IMHO. I actually much preferred the L420 to the L780 II.
 
Hmm... I'll keep an eye for the L#10 series then.
About the L420's, I have them and while they are good, they are not even close to L780 nor close to L620's I had.
 
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Jeez, you'd think he bought a pair of lower-level Thrusters or something.

I mean, just sayin'...
 
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For the record, I think that the L-420 is a very respectable little loudspeaker. I have a pair kindly given to me by aker "iambiglou" and they're very pleasant to listen to.
 
Thought you were thinning the herd? What did the wife have to say about you bringing home another pair of speakers?
 
I had a pair of 810s that were very competent little speakers. The problem is big speakers have pretty much ruined me. Between AR9, Carver Amazings and now Altec Model 19s, I don't think a smaller footprint speaker can satisfy.

With that said though, for their size, the 810 was a nice speaker. Kind of like a JBL L100 but better.
 
Gang-Twanger said:
Jeez, you'd think he bought a pair of lower-level Thrusters or something.

I mean, just sayin'...
Click to expand...

True, I didn't mean to sound discouraging with my post and apologize for being a downer:)

To summarize I would say it would be a disservice to the ADS line to judge them by this speaker. The good news is if you like the L780 IIs you will love some of the more resolved models. If you hate the L780 IIs you might still love other models. I didn't hate them but found them a bit lumpy sounding and obscured through the midband.
 
Anyone ever measure the frequency response of the 780/2? The relative levels of the mid and tweeter could be varied with small changes to the series resistors in the crossover. I couldn't find the schematic on the web, so I pulled one of mine and compared it to the 780 series 1 crossover. There are some differences which I assume go with the changes of part numbers of the drivers.
 
Vaughn said:
True, I didn't mean to sound discouraging with my post and apologize for being a downer:)

To summarize I would say it would be a disservice to the ADS line to judge them by this speaker. The good news is if you like the L780 IIs you will love some of the more resolved models. If you hate the L780 IIs you might still love other models. I didn't hate them but found them a bit lumpy sounding and obscured through the midband.
Click to expand...

I don't mind comments from who have them whether it's good or bad or so so...
Compared to Polk CRS+, these 780/2 sound relaxed, less forward and less bright.
Polk has slight metallic tone on the sound while these have feathery tone on the highs.
Also these are very inefficient compared to Polks.
Overall, I like them but won't replace my main speakers.
 
nerdorama said:
Anyone ever measure the frequency response of the 780/2? The relative levels of the mid and tweeter could be varied with small changes to the series resistors in the crossover. I couldn't find the schematic on the web, so I pulled one of mine and compared it to the 780 series 1 crossover. There are some differences which I assume go with the changes of part numbers of the drivers.
Click to expand...

That would be great to check into, I have 700's and 780's, the highs on the 700's are stunning but the bass lacking, the 780's are the total other end of the spectrum.
 
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I love the looks of the L-780, especially the metal grill and fine cabinetry. I had the II version also, and enjoyed them for a few months but agree that they aren't ADS's best model in that general size and configuration. They sounded quite pleasant, and I felt that they gave of their best for low level listening. I sold them for a modest profit because to my ear they sounded a bit thin in the mids with cello missing the "wood" and sax missing some bite. I found this true for both the I's and II's, and was slightly disappointed that this was the case in a 3-way ADS.

I could have lived with them, however. It isn't that I found them so fatally flawed; it's more due to my having been more highly impressed with several other ADS models in the past, and thus felt that they didn't represent the brand as well as they could have. Though they did most things quite well, they weren't a great match for my listening preferences is probably the fairest way to express it. If they match up well for yours then you may love them and find them as alluring aurally as they are visually.
 
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