Question about ADS L7e Grilles

[Yodathedog]

I saw several ADS speakers on sale on eBay this morning and there was a pair of L7es that said they had the metal upgrade grilles. I bought a pair a few years ago that were missing the grilles. I got a pair of metal ones from eBay, but the mounting tabs were in a different spot and I had to make new mounting points. They were about 1/2” further to the outside than the original holes. Were there different grilles available for this model, or did I find another anomaly like the large L400s with 6” woofers?

Also, everyone has raved about the clean, crisp top end of the tweeters. I a/b’d them with my L400s and the top end was remarkably muted compared to the 400s. They look fine and I wouldn’t think they would need work, but they don’t sound right according to what I’ve read. Comments?

 

[smoke-libr8r]

I have a pair of ADS L400e that use the same tweeter as the L7e. I had a similar experience when A/Bing the L400e (206-0122 polydome tweeter) with an older L400 (206-0100 cloth dome tweeter). The L400e has a more laid back, mellow sound. The L400 is noticeably brighter. I believe that this is consistent with the general voicing direction that ADS took at the time. IMHO, both are nice sounding speakers, but they are quite different.

 

[Yodathedog]

I have a pair of ADS L400e that use the same tweeter as the L7e. I had a similar experience when A/Bing the L400e (206-0122 polydome tweeter) with an older L400 (206-0100 cloth dome tweeter). The L400e has a more laid back, mellow sound. The L400 is noticeably brighter. I believe that this is consistent with the general voicing direction that ADS took at the time. IMHO, both are nice sounding speakers, but they are quite different.

Exactly what I experienced. I’ve been told I have “women’s ears” since I prefer the brightness over the rolled off highs of some speakers. When I bought my first pair of ADSs my choices came down to ADS & Infinity (don’t remember the model, but it had EMITs). The L400s won out, but I still pine for some EMIT tweeted Infinitys occasionally.

 

[soundmotor]

Exactly what I experienced. I’ve been told I have “women’s ears” since I prefer the brightness over the rolled off highs of some speakers.

That is exact opposite of most women whose hearing into the upper frequencies is usually superior to men. What you describe is someone with less hearing capability into the upper registers not better. Bright speakers such as earlier ADS may drive some women out of the room.

As far as what is going on with your grilles, do you have a pic of the whole front baffle as well as the speaker? There was only one version of the L7e, there was no "metal grille upgrade" and all the cabs came from one vendor. Not sure what's up with the grille peg holes spacing.

 

[Yodathedog]

Here’s the pics.

And as far as the hearing thing, I like the brightness of the L400s better than the L7es. I run the 400s mostly flat with a little bump in the bass. I use a Pioneer SX-780 to power them.