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Which one? ADS L880, L810, or L1090/2?

E

El-Coyote

New Member
Hey guys, I've found all three of these for sale locally in the $300-$350 range. All say they're working perfectly and in very good cosmetic condition, just wondering which ones I should make a priority to go after first?

I currently have a pair L420s that I like for the bedroom but looking for some larger three-ways for the main system. I'm going to start with them mated to a yamaha r-300 until I can get my HH Scott 355 matched up with a good power amp.
 
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Whish I could help but I've only heard the 810s. Nice dilemma you have there. I love my L710s and I'm sure you'll enjoy whichever ones you choose. Good luck.

cubdog
 
I'm thinking the 1090's. I have both the 810's and 880's and I prefer the 810's over the 880's by a decent margin. I'm betting the 1090's might even be better still.
 
Put the 880 at the bottom. I think 1090 too, but never compared them side by side with 810 (have heard both though). So, what motorstereo said I'm saying, I guess.
 
I have the 1090's in my main setup. Has to be one of the best sounding speakers I've owned. It pair nicely with my bigger Sansui's. Superb imaging on these. Dang, I used to live in the cities. They always had the best CL listings.
 
I have exposure to all 3, though never side by side comparison.

The 1090 is certainly the most speaker for your investment. But... The seriesII is voiced differently than all earlier ads models. Specifically in the midrange. This may or may not be to your taste. Also, I think the 1090 was available in a black vinyl woodgrain. If that is the case here, it would affect my opinion.

I'd take the 880's over the 810's. My memory is that they handle the transition from woofer to midrange a little more smoothly.

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk 2
 
That's not my memory of the 880, but unless somebody wants to bring an 880 over to my place right now (my poor 810 are speaker stands at the moment), I don't really trust myself to argue. There's also placement to consider for the OP. L810 are nearly a freespace speaker - they don't want to be near anything nor on the floor. The 1090 are similar, but obviously designed to sit on the floor. Not sure about the 880.
 
My experience of the L810 was that of a silky, if slightly recessed midrange, smooth extended highs, and an inescapable mid-bass hump. They need to be on stands and out from walls and corners.
 
The 1090/2 that I'm looking at are the black vinyl. I'd definitely prefer the wood veneer but I'm willing to ignore that since they seem hard to come by. Any ideas on what the differences are between the voicing of the series I and II? The guy who is selling the 880s has 810s that he is keeping so maybe that says something also.

Free space placement is definitely going to be tough, though I'll have no problem getting them out away from the wall and corner, middle of the room isn't really going to work though. To be honest for now I would be buying them to hold onto for bit since they all seem to be a bit below market eBay price and seem hard to come by over here. I'm going to be moving soon and I'm thinking towards the future.
 
I bought 810's new vs. the 710's my parents got. Back then I liked the somewhat heavier bass. 40 years later I prefer my (given to me by my Dad and refoamed) 710's with a sub. Never heard the 880's, only briefly heard the 1090's but liked them.
 
I have the 1090/2's, 1290/2's, 810, 710, 780 and 520's. The 1090's are one of my favorites but a bit different than the 810's. They seem a bit more refined than the 810's but I still love both of them. I didn't lke the 780's as much as any of the others.

I'd go for the 1090's but you can't go too far wrong with either.
 
two cents worth

I have a pair of 880's and am not impressed. They are very good but you have to drive them to a level above what I'm comfortable with for them to really shine. For that reason, I seem to prefer more of a "west coast" sound. I won't disclose the speakers I choose over them so as not to have the ADS crowd come down on me. On the plus side, my 880's were really inexpensive and I can always turn a profit on them. The seller wasn't impressed either. I thought I should have a pair of ADS in my collection. I won't dis the brand, from what I read here, other models are highly thought of.
 
Thanks for all the input, I've scheduled a time to go check out the 1090/2s. I wish they were woodgrain instead of black but oh well.

I really like the sound of playing vinyl through my yamaha r-300 and ADS L420s in a small room so that's what led me to look for some big brothers, I'm not an ADS only guy, I just don't know enough about other options and I like what I have. I mostly play older blues/rock and jazz and that combo sounds really clean, accurate, but rich and full also. I'm also going to be looking for a higher output receiver to drive the bigger speakers
 
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