thoughts on ADS L880's

[progger7]

I have a pair of L710's that I enjoy quite a bit but they don't produce a wide enough soundstage for the large room they are in. I've moved them into my office where they are perfect. I've replaced them with Boston A400's which definately fill the room with sound. They don't have the mids of the L710's or quite the highs but they do everything else really nicely.

But this hobby is about exploration...so I'm considered a bigger ADS but would prefer to stick to the bookshelf size. I've heard some folks claim the L810's have a big of a bass hump. How much of an improvement are the L880's over the L810's and do they have a much wider soundstage than the L710's?

They'll be powered by either a Marantz 2275, Sansui 9090 or a yet to be obtained Yamaha CA 2010.

Thanks in advance for your opinions.

 

[uplander]

I've no experience with that particular ADS model, but I know that some with a lot of experience with ADS feel that the L880 really hit the sweet spot in their bookshelf models.

 

[adam-ads]

It sounds like you're looking for more bass, not just a wider soundstage. L810 and L880 have very similar MF and HF drivers so I don't think they'll give you much improvement in those frequencies. L810 has more woofer area than the L880 and, despite the slight hump, I think they're more suitable for a "large" room. What are the dimensions of this room?

I have a single 12" sealed subwoofer sitting near the center of the baseline of L710. The 710s are on their sides, about 8 feet apart, domes inboard, and toed in about 15 degrees. The room this system is in is only about 24x16x8 but I'm sure it would fill much more space.

Experiment with placement and consider a subwoofer.

 

[davidb1]

Adam is right on the money. My old 810s were more suitable to bigger rooms than my current 710s, but the addition of a sub took care of the bass and actually widened the soundstage. The 710s still won't play quite as loud.
Try mounting them as Adam suggested and get them as far apart as practical, this will take some experimenting.

 

[KOWHeigel]

I just wanted to chim in that I have a pair of L880's and I love them. I can't compare them with other ADS models but I have them in my downstairs which is kind of like a big square with a stairs and stuff in the middle and the sound emanates through the hole house without a problem. Obviously greater focus and clarity in direct line ... I would say they are position about 10 feet apart and the sweet spot is probably 15 feet away.

 

[Mystery]

...I've replaced them with Boston A400's which definately fill the room with sound. They don't have the mids of the L710's or quite the highs but they do everything else really nicely.

A400's are what I listen daily and they have very nice mid and highs.
They have replaced Polks that I really liked.
I have L620 and L420 but it'd be interesting to know L880 would beat A400's. :scratch2:

 

[motorstereo]

I have both the 810's and ba400's. The 400's have been recapped and the 810's are stock. Both are rotation speakers and I wasn't happy when it was the 400's turn to play. After a week or so with the ba's I'd decided I'd had enough and put the 810's back in and put the 400's into permanent ht duty where they'll see very little use. The 400's are great speakers no doubt but those 810's just seem to do everything right.

 

[progger7]

Well I've grown to love my ba400's. They really fill up the room with lovely sound. However, I noticed a bit of loss in detail...and maybe I'm just so accustomed to the ADS sound.

Its interesting. As soon as I swapped the L710's with the BA400's my wife's first comment was "they (the BA 400's) are not as good, not as clear". She too has grown to like the BA400's, and likes the way they look in the room.

I thought the L880 was a step up from the L810. no? The driver arrangement suggests they may image better.

-Erik

 

[Hanleyster]

Funny, I too just sold my A400s (along with a slew of others all at once) for a pair of L880s and AR-3a's. I really loved the sound of the BA400s... but I was missing grills and they just looked plain odd. I sort of got sick of looking at them. I also didnt like the fact that they were doomed to spend their life in the basement.. no way the wife would EVER let them upstairs. I only get to be in my basement a few times a month due to having toddlers.. however the upstairs speakers get daily use. I can use the 880s anywhere!