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New Proud Owner of ADS L1290

bushwood4568

bushwood4568

Member
So, for anyone who replied to my previous post about these speakers, I bought them! And got a Sony BPC surround receiver and DVD/CD player for free. When I first was testing them I didn't like how much treble there was, but using the switch to turn the tweeter down solved that. They aren't in as nice of condition as I hoped, mainly scuffs and scratches in places, cracked plastic on the binding posts, and dust on the domes. But, they work fine. Now a few questions, they are wobbly and I'd like to make them more stable. Would a base that allows the speaker to slide in, so I can remove it and not have to modify the cabinet work? Maybe it be an inch larger than the diameter of the speaker, and it has an inch deep cavity the size of the speaker that it slides into. Also is there a way to clean the dust off of the domes? I read it won't affect sound, but I don't like the way it looks and would like to clean it.
 

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ads base pics attached

These were an option.
sticky mid and tweet get dirty over time. Live with it until you get the 225 + to send em in and make em new, worth it for sound quality I have read that those that have.

You can also get some outrigger spike stands but they are kinda pricey for already built.

Congrats on the new speakers and extras. Enjoy.
 

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The domes on my 710's were always sticky even when new. Cleaning them was like removing lint from Scotch tape which means I never did.

I would install short spikes which are height adjustable. The only reason they didn't come with spikes as they were unheard of when ADS was selling speakers.
 
I have these speakers and love them. Mine came with black bases that screw in. I think they are pretty rare but you may want to look around. They do make them a bit more stable.

As far as cleaning the lint and dust off, I would hesitate to touch the domes but you can try to pick off the loose stuff with a pair of tweezers. 1290.jpg
 
Blue Shadow said:
ads base pics attached

These were an option.
sticky mid and tweet get dirty over time. Live with it until you get the 225 + to send em in and make em new, worth it for sound quality I have read that those that have.

You can also get some outrigger spike stands but they are kinda pricey for already built.

Congrats on the new speakers and extras. Enjoy.
Click to expand...
So the ADS base screws in? I guess I could build a similar one and screw it in. My mom's fiance can help me build it and he is pretty good with woodworking. I have looked into outriggers but they are too expensive for me pre built. Also, who is it that does the rebuilding? Where could I see what people think of having their domes rebuilt?
Poultrygeist said:
The domes on my 710's were always sticky even when new. Cleaning them was like removing lint from Scotch tape which means I never did.

I would install short spikes which are height adjustable. The only reason they didn't come with spikes as they were unheard of when ADS was selling speakers.
Click to expand...
When you say install spikes, do you mean to the base? Or to the speakers themselves and no base? I would plan on putting spikes in the base anyway.
Sounds like I shouldn't bother with cleaning them. I guess if it doesn't affect sound I shouldn't care.
 
You could easy drill those cab bottoms ( not the base ) and install threaded inserts for spikes to screw into. If possible you always want to decouple your speakers from the floor.

Or you could add a modern and more functional touch with DIY outriggers. I built these from eBay parts for less than $20.

P5080043.jpg
 
Poultrygeist said:
You could easy drill those cab bottoms and install threaded inserts for spikes to screw into. If possible you always want to decouple your speakers from the floor.

Or you could add a modern and more functional touch with DIY outriggers. I built these from eBay parts for less than $20.

P5080043.jpg
Click to expand...
Do you remember the parts used? What is the size of the metal? I'd probably use spikes from PE.
 
I had all of my domes refurbished by Richard So out of Phoenix. I think they were about $70.00 each. They came back to me "as new".
He has rebuild domes for my 1290's. 1090's, 810's and 710's. Very satisfied.
 
Another question: My listening space is in a corner of the basement. The "wall" behind me is open and the "wall" to the right of me is open, but along it is the furnace, and a shelf which seems to close it off a little. Could anyone give me some tips on speaker placement in my area? Would putting some wood on the back of the shelf (it is pretty long and the back of it faces into my area) to imitate a wall help?
 
Has anyone ever tried the regular armour-all protectant spray on a lt free cloth to clean their ADS domes? I had a pair way back in 1988, bought them from a neighbor who had cats. Tried this method and it worked perfectly without stripping anything.
Now for clarification, this is not the cleaner, which is more like Fantastik. It is just the good 'ol shining/protecting spray.
 
I think you can buy the sealant from vintage-ar on ebay to clean the domes with. It is the sealant that seals cloth woofer surrounds on old woofers like KLH and AR made.

Honestly though if they have ferrofluid inside they should be rebuilt at this point. People have said the sound is night and day.

BTW, even if you remove the dust, its just going to come back...
 
As a young man I bought my 710's brand new and within a few months the domes had already started picking up lint floating in the air. Having the metal grills probably allowed more lint to build up than with cloth grills.

Professionally cleaning those domes is temporary and seems a waste of money and it can't make them sound any better. I'd leave well enough alone.

I bought my spikes on eBay as well as the aluminum blanks. Used a threader kit to cut the threads in the blanks and screwed the spikes right in. Attach the outriggers to the bottom of the cabinet with wood screws just long enough to not penetrate the interior of the cab. Aluminum is soft and easy to drill.

Installing the spikes on the bottom of the speakers would be cheaper and could be done in a half hour tops. Drill the correct holes for the inserts, tap them in with a hammer and then screw in the spikes. You can wrap the drill bit with tape so you won't drill too far into the speaker cabinet.
 
Poultrygeist said:
As a young man I bought my 710's brand new and within a few months the domes had already started picking up lint floating in the air. Having the metal grills probably allowed more lint to build up than with cloth grills.

Professionally cleaning those domes is temporary and seems a waste of money and it can't make them sound any better. I'd leave well enough alone.

I bought my spikes on eBay as well as the aluminum blanks. Used a threader kit to cut the threads in the blanks and screwed the spikes right in. Attach the outriggers to the bottom of the cabinet with wood screws just long enough to not penetrate the interior of the cab. Aluminum is soft and easy to drill.

Installing the spikes on the bottom of the speakers would be cheaper and could be done in a half hour tops. Drill the correct holes for the inserts, tap them in with a hammer and then screw in the spikes. You can wrap the drill bit with tape so you won't drill too far into the speaker cabinet.
Click to expand...
So the spikes would fix the wobble? No outriggers needed?
 
Am I correct in assuming your binding posts are located on the bottom and the plate/speaker wires protrude a bit which makes it not sit level?

If this is the case you need to gain height at the corners so the binding posts and connections clear the floor. A very easy solution would be stick on feet depending on

how high you need to raise the speakers off the floor.
 
Looks like a great scroe to me! A little TLC will go long way on those beauties. I don't think you'll be needing the 10" sub with them, either! Nice snag!
 
Poultrygeist said:
Am I correct in assuming your binding posts are located on the bottom and the plate/speaker wires protrude a bit which makes it not sit level?

If this is the case you need to gain height at the corners so the binding posts and connections clear the floor. A very easy solution would be stick on feet depending on

how high you need to raise the speakers off the floor.
Click to expand...
Yes the binding posts are on the bottom. I really wish they weren't, it is a pain to flip them. The tweets are already higher than my ears, adding spikes would make that even worse, but I will hopefully find a nice clean chair that i can use instead of our old couch. It would be nice to have them off of the ground in case our basement floods, might minimize damage.
 
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