A/D/S L1590 (Braun) Loudspeakers; A forgotten brand and misunderstood hype.
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- čas přidán 13. 09. 2024
- Given some context and biography of a storied 1980's hifi brand. Who is Dr. Godehard A. Guenther? How about Michael Kelly from Aerial Acoustics. Yeah, A/D/S had some heavy hitters behind them.
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I'm 17, and have been on an audio journey for quite a while now. I never had anything too great until I found a pair of 710's in in my uncles attic!! I didn't know what they were and was just happy to get another pair of speakers. I feel so lucky to have such great sounding speakers so early in my life, I've never heard anything better and with the way people talk about them online I'm not sure I will anytime soon
LF, I love your story. I myself grew up on L710's and yes, you are lucky to get first hand exposure to such well built speakers. It makes me happy to read stories of such young, budding audio enthusiasts. Enjoy those tunes and thank you for watching!
Hang on to them. You will be glad in later life if it was possible for you to hang on to such special audio engineering that came from your Uncle. Enjoy.
Dude!! Same I'm super young and just started my Hi-Fi journey with some old 1959 Scott 99D Integrated tube amplifiers and I got 80S l300c and ADS l620s and dude you are right These are insane how good they sound man I'm searching for a pair of ADSL 1290s or the ADS and 1590s If you get a chance man check out the ADS 1230
I have two sets of the 1290, a set of 710 and 810 and L780 and L200e. Yep! They are indeed, pretty addictive. ALL ORIGINAL, no rebuilt or re-coned.
The 1290 and 710 are beyond any listening experience EVER. They don't even sound like speakers. Close your eyes and you would swear you're listening to a real violin, a guitar, a chello, a piano, a singing voice, etc. I don't know how they did that, some kind of magic in a bottle.
The 810 sound great, but a little bright. The L780 also sound great, but you can hear that you're going a step down, with only one woofer, instead of two, and smaller tweeter. The L200e are great quality, but of course very small, and you miss having no midrange.
My advice: If you can find a 1290 or 710 in original condition, ie never worked on, they you need look no further for high fidelity speaks, you have reached nirvana.
Thanks for sharing M. You found the magic.
Still have my 1290's. They are simply amazing.
Thank you for talking slowly, articulately and peacefully. A breath of fresh air for my ears and brain. It was a relaxing discussion not having that rediculous sound of excitement and yelling. It drives my autism and ADHD apparently bonkers. I was able to listen to this whole video focused and enjoyed the calm passion.
Wow, I really appreciate this comment KF. Thank you
Finally someone who knows this brand and loves it like me! I also have numerous ADS models. Two sets of towers and L1590s . Thank you so much for this video.
Glad you liked the video, welcome! What are your other models? These are what I've owned so far:
ADS L710
ADS L9E
ADS L810
ADS L780
ADS L1230
ADS L1590
I got 2 braun l1000 should I go for 2 wharfedale diamond 12.4s or use the brauns?
I have had 710, 810, 630, 880, 980, 1290, and 1230. Love them all. Just didn’t have room for them. Still have the 630 in my living room. It does everything for me.
Thank you for sharing. Such a consistently great speaker company till the near end.
I've been using Braun LS100's since 1986. They are still my daily drivers. I love them. I'll be extremely sad if they ever fail.
Blast from the past! Thanks for covering them!
You bet! Thank you for watching.
I have been a ADS fan since I was in high school in the late 70's. My first pair were L-570's. I found some L-710's and a SW-4 10" sub used in the mid 80's. Sold the 570's, but still have some B-7's and a couple pairs of the ADS mini speakers. My 710's sound so good I have strayed but always came back to them. Currently powered by a vintage McIntosh 2100 amp. Never had the money or space for any of the larger ADS...still wanted them though.
Tanks for this video ADS is my favorite brand in vintage speakers.Ihave 300e love de aluminum cabinet solid mid base for the size.
Right on! Thank you for watching and leaving a comment.
I agree with Gene, if the L1590's sound bright the caps are shot. It's normal on speakers
this old. Use 'Clarity' or 'Mundorf' brands if possible. I sold ADS back in the day (way back)
and they are definitely not bright. I still have a pair of tiny ADS/Braun 200C's.(Great mids)
Not sure that polyester caps degrade like that in 20 years. They don't use electrolytic caps. It COULD be the case, but not necessarily. Even 5% metal poly would be more neutral/lower ESR than stock, which can be a bit bright on top.
My brother in law gave me my first set of ADS speakers years ago , A pair of L300e ,
I put them in my home studio and used them as monitors for production ...I loved the sound , just a sound I absolutely love and ifs hard to find an equal in a decent price range..
Thank you for sharing Seth.
Happy New Year
Good day, just happen to view your video on the ADS L1590, good info. I have the L1230's (circa 1987) and can agree that these are great. I just stumbled on to a pair (traded in) at a McIntosh dealer next to an assortment of high-level B&W's, bad news for B&Ws. As I played these everyone in the shop asked, "what I was listening to and can they purchase them". (Funny) Once the owner heard the conversation, he asked to talk to me privately. He simply said, "why don't I help you load them on your truck and check them out at home, just get them out of the store." I later paid $400. I did talk to Mike Kelly (Areila Acoustics) by phone (very gracious with his time) in Mass in the same town he helped design the L1230. They sound great still...... but thinking now to check out caps, any suggestion would be appreciated. Appreciate your honest sound reviews, thanks!
Ha ha, no surprise there...luckily so much terrific vintage audio gear still exists out there today. Enjoy the heck out of those L1230's! Thanks for watching.
I only learned about ADS about five years ago, when I saw a pair of L810s on their stands and had to have summa dat! A month later I got my own pair and loved them immensely. A year later I was fortunate to have a pair of immaculate 910s practically drop into my lap. They're likely my end-game loudspeakers.
Very nice, enjoy those 910's!
It was a TELARC monitor, if I remember correctly. It's my favorite sealed speaker system.
I'm kind of old and very late to the A/D/S party, I bought a pair of L570/2's with metal grilles a week ago. The 570's are my first A/D/S speakers, and now I am looking for a pair of L810's with metal grilles.
I sold ADS and still own some. The 1590 was a monster, for both rock and classical. The plate amps are very rare, but a great idea. We had 1590's on the floor. No monster cable in them. I think that was a later modification by the owner. I would call the sound neutral. The crossovers have electrostatic capacitors. Time to recap. If you go with film or other audiophile caps, you will have to compensate for the lower ESR, or they will be too bright. You want a lot of power. We drove them with a 350 watt Perreaux or a 200 watt Adcom GFA-555. Telarc used ADS to mix their records and CDs. Get the crossovers in line and you will love classical.
Its interesting about the Monster Cable on these because the putty job is so clean like in other factory application between the cavities. Thank you for the advice Brono.
@@2ChannelListening Nothing wrong with doing the job right! Shops would sometimes do rewiring of a speaker for customers. It was a common mod.
I have a 350 watt perreaux on My ads l1590's
A buddy of mine bought a pair when they came out with the the plate amps. For a source we used my Hitachi DA-1000 CD player. His neighbors did not like us that day and night. We spun CD’s for about 8 hours straight. FYI: 35 years later he still has them, and they still sound awesome!
Must have been mind blowing back then to grab something like this with its own power, ready to go. Yeah, I'm going to invest in tweaking these, get that crossover sorted out and revisit with a follow up video down the line.
Thanks for the comment HiFi!
I don't even know at this time how many pairs of a/d/s I own, along with a pair of Braun L300. My primary speakers are the L1290 with the smaller 8" base drivers. I now own two pairs. I enjoyed these for many years and had no complaints. Then I came across the optional PA-1 bi-amp amplifiers and bought four. I really didn't expect to discern a considerable difference. I was wrong. The sound stage both wider and deeper. but what really impressed me is the spacing, the silence between notes. This air that allows each note to have a separation of silence is something I never experienced, even with good electrostatic and planar speakers. This precision in sound staging can only be achieved with a dynamic driver and I have resolved to end my search for a perfect speaker and wish to just enjoy the music. One closing note; pull them out into the room, left against the wall and you won't justify the added expense of the bi-am modules and won't get the best that these speakers can provide.
Terrific information and share. I can only imaging the 1590's with those PA-1's installed. They really knew what they were doing, the good Dr. was ahead of his time.
You bought 4! I've owned a set of 1590's for over 25 years. I remember seeing PA-1's all the time on ebay back then for around $400. I kick myself for not grabbing a set. I haven't seen a set of PA-1's for sale in the last 10 years.
might you be interested in selling a pair of your pa-1's? :P
@@MattMcD85 Sorry, using only three of them as LCR.
Ahhh...my first love in speakers. Bought a pair in 1986 and paired with Adcom 555 pre and power. Could actually shake the rafters with a frequency sweep on a Denon test CD. Not to say there isn't something that can be done about the frequency response, but the top end was always a little hot with these. But those woofers...OMG...that's impact. The use of 10" drivers was such a smart move to maintain incredible transient speed. The other smart move was using butyl rubber for the surrounds...not foam, which was the usual material of the day.
Yes sir, thank you for watching and sharing 👍
Yep! Cranked up some Tool's "Chocolate Chip Trip" and when the bass and kicks start up, it felt like those dual-10.5" bass drivers were going to crack the foundation!
EDIT: 910s, btw
I’m still running my L880 speakers that I bought at a tweeter etc. warehouse sale for 500 bucks, back in 1987. I still love them. I’m driving them with an Adcom GFA 555 mk1
Very cool Greg, that's the way to get them. Thank you for sharing.
I have a pair of those l 1590's I bought in 1986 still in immaculate condition like yours... I still have the covers too. I wish I had the special biamplification amp you could stick on the back... I've never found a speaker a like better.. They can really pump out some volume too. ADS also made the very best car audio speakers as well and the the ads car stereo amplifiers were the best as well..Love ADS!
Right on, covers too 👍. Thank you for watching and sharing your ADS love ❤️
I still own my M12/90s, they work amazing well!
Glad to hear it, thanks for watching.
In the mid 70’s I sold ADS Speakers when I was a sales person at Stereoland in Detroit and we could sell everyone we had. Then in 1982 I bought a pair of L810/Mk2 which I still have and use for listening to music. I will have them until the day I die. Also every car I owned from the mid 1980’s to early 2000’s had ADS speakers and amps installed.
Did the car speakers have the same sticky domes?
@@2ChannelListening They had sticky dome tweeters and midrange. I mourned when Directed Electronics bought ADS and eventually discontinued the ADS line.
I have a pair of 750il in-wall speakers. I mounted them in some old pioneer floor speaker cabinets and they sounded so magical.
Wow, never seen ADS in wall speakers, especially given their robust woofer basket. I imagine they would sing with the right cabinet. Cool, thanks for sharing 👍
@@2ChannelListening they're the same drivers that are in the cm7. Woofer, mid and tweet as well as crossover. They just have a neat wooden wall mount setup made by
a/d/s.
ADS like to be in sealed enclosures, so that is an interesting proposition.
My sincere advice: Don't EVER let those L1590's go - beg, borrow or steal if you have to, but don't ever let them go.....
Ha ha, I understand the enthusiasm. Thank you.
I've had my ADS 1230s for 40 years. They still sound as good today as they did when bought. Richard So recapped the cross-overs. The drivers I left alone. One of ADS' strong points is that their products sound great with any genre of music - from Bach to rock to Coltrane. These aren't just rock speakers or classical speakers or jazz speakers. Every now and then I get a hankering for something "different,." Monitor Audio, JBL, B&W, Eggleston and others produce great products but I'd have to spend thousands to equal or better the sound of what I've got. Hence the reason I've kept them for so long.
Thank you for sharing your passion!
Vintage 1986 LOL. I have a pair of L780's from 1984. They still sound amazing!
No doubt, hard to believe these are approaching the big 40 barrier. I'm vintage now, lol.
I appreciated this video on ads speakers and would appreciate more in the future on other models you have had experiences with. I always felt these are sorta forgotten about. So many models out there would be nice to know what recommendation for a good small monitor. Thanks!
Noted! Thank you Brandon. AR92 and ADS L710 restored are in the wings!
Love your Reviews and Esp knowledge of Audio History. Would love you to talk about The Snell Audio Speakers. And the Dayton Wright Audio Speakers ( esp The DW XAM 1s ,)etc
I appreciate that Calvin. My knowledge comes from picking a speaker of interest and looking at the company, what they have accomplished. There are so many more brands, boutique one offs I am not aware of. I have zero knowledge, let alone seen a Dayton Wright electrostatic speaker. Snell is an intriguing beast and unfortunate fall from grace. Thank you for watching and leaving a comment. You can find my direct email at 2Channellistening.com
WHERE CAN I FIND THOSE STANDS ? Please...
Very nice discourse. Thank you.
I used to sell ads back in the mid '80's and bought the 1590 II's at "salemans accommodation" (wish I got rosewood!) . Still have them, still love them.
I never found them overly bright, unlike say Canton, for example. One of my speakers did begin to sound dull, so i sent all the domes and the crossovers out to be serviced (ferrofluid, caps...) You rightly state the importance of Amp and source. Im presently using Adcom 565 monoblocks for roughly 500w per side, sourced by Audio Research sp-9 mk3. Yeah, a real classic rig :)
You can't beat the depth and control offered by high power, combined with softness and 3D offered by a few tubes in the chain. But especially the power...I'd strongly recommend a big Amp to anyone interested in these.
Oh, 200s, 300s, 400s, 300s in-wall, 570s, M12s, too :)
Just discovered your channel, and very much appreciate the history of Dr. Gunther and his connection to ADS. I used ADS car amplifiers and speakers for years. I've got a pair of L300C speakers and brought them up to date by replacing sand cast resistors and electrolytic capacitors with non-inductive Eagle resistors and Dayton polyester film caps. The original electrolytic caps were quite dreadful sounding. I also bought a 7" ADS woofer pulled from a L710 speaker. I put it into a 1 cubic foot sealed cabinet to make a powered sub-woofer to augment the L300Cs.
If you're still having issues with L1590 speakers, perhaps replacing the vintage resistors and caps in the crossovers may solve the muddiness / smearing these speakers are conveying. Wishing you success in getting them to sound top notch :)
Thank you for watching and sharing your journey with ADS. Good call making a mini sub with the L710 woofer, although some may gnash their teeth on that admission!
More gnashing of teeth may occur due to using a KEMO M034N (German Made) bridge amp with a transformer coupled Low Pass Filter to interface with an Olasonic Nano-UA1 Class D 2 channel amp :) That said, it's the most involving yet minimalist stereo system's I've ever put together that I didn't custom build ... BTW, Nice dig at ASR :)>
@@DrGIzmoBRad well you fine sir dig deep into the weeds to unearth that combination! Minimalist indeed...I appreciate your post.
Got my L530f Braun speakers & have never found more sonic articulation anywhere. The woofers of course must be refoamed but that sticky dual mid & tweeter highend is the source.
I still rock my ADS L1290's.
Nice, keep'em rockin...thanks Johnathan.
You are correct about the ADS. Thank you for this review.
Thanks for watching!
I had some l-710's. High quality crossovers with precision parts. No cheap electrolytic caps. Individual chambers for each driver. Very detailed and sweet. Never fatiguing. Open and transparent. The 710's imaged better horizontally due to studio driver alignment. The towers are Like an alternate (better) alternative to Kef 104/2 or 107.
I completely agree with you. I owned L710's and L810's. The L710's were probably the best in the range for total balance. However, turn the wick up on the 1590's and one can be wowed by the output. Thank you for sharing.
@@2ChannelListening also- I was overseas in the 80’s. I could get polk audio for just a little less money. The ADS are far superior for probably $50 more than the polk audio monitor 5’s.
The loudspeaker factory Backes & Müller was founded in the mid-1970s and has started to develop and build active loudspeakers with built-in electronic crossover with amplification.
Fantastic, thank you Michael. I'll have to look up these vintage goodies from Germany.
I sold the ADS line of speakers in the 70s and 80s. As far as the big ADS speakers 1290,1590, and 2030. We sold alot of 200 watt plus high power amps. The sound sounded like it was still in the box. Tell we got the Denon Poa 8000 and the preamp. $8200 for the pair. 200 watts of class A . It was night and day difference in the sound quality. The Denons pushed them around with ease. Yes I have owned several ADS speakers, they still are one of my favorite speakers. I have aline on some 1590 with the power plates. Going to try to buy them. So I say if you buy one of the big ADS speakers try several high powered amps and preamp with them.
Good advice and thank you for this contribution Ray.
I’ve been listening to Kirksaeter speakers which are very similar German brand, not nearly as well known as ADS speakers, but without the sticky dome midrange driver. Audio karma has some horror stories of those sticky midrange. Someone put a Christmas tree to close to his ADS speakers. Who would have guess tree needles sticking to the driver. Kirksaeter has a fabric soft dome midrange but without the sticky goo.
Hello Ron, yes these sticky domes are a source of anxiety at times, especially when moving the speakers around. Not a pet friendly speaker, luckily I have no pets, no cats to perch atop.
The Kirksaeter 260D's look like some kick butt speakers. Can't really find much on them in English. Looks fairly similar to the L1590. Thanks for mentioning your speakers and watching.
On the powered loudspeaker front. The powered large advents were earlier I believe. Late 70s?
I bought my L710s new in 1982 and have never taken them out of service.
Awesome Ed!
@@2ChannelListening the drivers are in good shape but I do wonder if they could use a re-cap of the crossovers. Do you know if there is anyone out there on the east coast who services these?
@@edd2771 I do not have any East Coast repair contacts, sorry.
I currently have MK1290, L1590, 1290, and L570 bookshelf models. All are amazingly well designed for what they are meant to do. You know this already. I like your knowledge. Thanks
Thanks for sharing, that's a great collection you have. Do you have the PA1 for either of the towers?
Great info, thanks.
You bet! Thanks for watching
I used to sell Audio in the mid to later 70's , got to attend a lecture by Dr. Gunther in Northern California where they were first introducing the ADS 2030, they had talked about them producing a plate amplifier that could be mounted on the back of the 2030 , rumor was that Threshold or Nelson Pass was to design the amplifier, Gunther was a fan of his designs, I don't know if that ever came to fruition but the 2030 was very impressive utilizing to 14 " woofers mounted in two separate baffle enclosures. They used the Police track " Shadows in the Rain powered by a Threshold Stasis ll amplifier to drive them. I believe they also used the Threshold SL10 preamp. Denon turntable also used but don't recall the tonearm or cartridge that was mounted. That was jaw dropping bass, I Appreciate your channel, would be interested to know if you ever heard the Philips designed Motional Feedback speakers? Had a chance to hear a small bookshelf that blew me away, they also make a larger bookshelf type speaker placed on some stands those I heard a couple of years later at a Pacific Stereo warehouse type store that sold used gear.
That's a demo I wish I could have heard with the big 2030's. I have not heard of the Philips speakers, let alone would recognize a pair if I were holding them. I appreciate you sharing this bit of history and your experience. Thank you for watching!
there are a couple of CZcams videos of those speakers. They were an active speaker, i know the larger one was tri-amped.
.
I'd really love to know where to find stands for my 1590 II's...like you are showing here.
These were custom built by a prior owner, they are unidentifiable unfortunately. Good luck with the hunt.
Thank you.
I’d love to see Danny from GR Research get his hands on these, might just elevate them to incredible levels
Why not just buy his speaker kit? Then you can have the full Danny Richie experience.
@@kohnfutner9637 Because I’m not in the market 😂 And with everything going on, Danny is struggling with resources
You had me at Buckethead
Lol, awesome! Welcome aboard the Soothsayer Train! :-)
Can I give more details of how they sound, what are they like, how do they compare to A, B, C, etc.
These are one of the more challenging speakers for me to draw a comparison of. For anyone in audio land that has not owned a large pair of ADS, be it L1290's, L1590's, L1230's or L1530's, you must have at least owned a very large set (not Cerwin Vega) over 46" tall. There are a few characteristics unique to the big ADS. They have a pro audio quality to the sound, yet, because of their size, they engulf you with sound, the more output, the more you will feel the presence. As much as I like my Tekton Uruz, they are juniors to the ADS. The Uruz tweeter plays more on level with my ears and the output of a single 10" driver does not ever overwhelm me. The L1590's can handle so much power. Just like people went gaga over the introduction of Tekton Pendragons nearly ten years ago, let me tell you, the ADS are the O.G. of big sound.
Unlike Altec Lansing or JBL horns, the ADS have a cohesive frequency response that isn't dramatic. Because the tweeter sits a few inches above normal ear height, the mid-range driver is more or less where you are parked. The sealed cabinet bass has natural damping and shove, giving a more realistic kick drum quality, lacking port noise smeared effects.
The total presentation is more akin to a large KEF. For me, I think there are more qualities shared between the well engineered KEF 104/2 than any typical big American speaker. Where the ADS is better than the KEF is in its ability to still give a decent sized ambient picture at low listening levels. When KEF's are turned down, they sound particularly small to me. There is no hiding how big the L1590's are, not with one watt or one hundred. The L1590's are like the Dolph Lundgren of speakers: they can speak scientific fact to you, act refined and polite one minute, then pick you up and throw your ass across the room in a split second. Having owned JBL L250Ti, I still find the L1590's more refined and yet capable of rocking out with unstrained SPL's. While both speakers are rated at 90db per 1w, I know the ADS respond better to low watt tube amps, making them incredibly flexible for such a large sealed cabinet speaker. The ARE special.
Find me a midrange driver that goes as low in frequency with as low a mass and as high a magnetic gauge as that huge ADS dome mid driver. That aspect alone gives the ADS mids a resolution akin to electrostatics.
Lucky the ones able to design crossovers to make the most out of such vintage gear. Danny I think would be very happy to look out for aged and "cheesy" parts within the crossover network. - Not too much happened within the last 35 years with speakers, proven once again. BTW My father owned the matching HiFi chain "Atelier" by Braun. There even was a VHS video recorder on offer, so it wasn't limited to audio in the later years. They had ambitious plans for some "futuristic" gear like LP size "LaserDisc" they actually never built. I remember that compact cassette component very well with a huge 6x6x2 inch slider moving slowly and silently out of the front plate like a miracle. My father hated it when I pressed that slider button just for fun. But it was just too tempting for a 4 year old child to do so one can imagine. These beautifully designed components had their downsides, all of them suffered from overheat related malfunction and early aging which lead to an overall gradual degression of sound quality. Inside they were packed, I mean really packed with hundreds of electro-chemical components in up to four layers of PCB. Stuck relays was another huge problem with these components. Worst was the power amplifier "PA4", which went out for servicing every few month and sounded poorly from day one.
Ha ha, great comment Picky, yes, the crossover becomes one of the most often overlooked items when choosing speakers I think. It's certainly something I want to know up front with modern, newer speakers. Soon enough, I'm sure everything we listen to will be self-powered DSP enabled boxes.
Thanks for watching and contributing.
I confirm this about braun, another brand that is amazing is grundig from the 80ies....see the grundig site of Massimo....
Interesting comparison
Advent put out a powered speaker in 1977 - 1978. Sold for 450$ a pair. Many years before 86.
You forgot to mention Ed Meitner along with the other 3 boys. A big addition. These speakers are not bright, they are clear. Non forgiving on poor recordings. Extremely revealing. Way ahead of their time and still available at ridiculously affordable prices. All can be repaired and rebuilt by Rich So who came from the factory in Wilmington MA. One of the unknown bargains still out there due to the fact that they last over 50 years. I use the 1290/2s. My hometheater is 5 of these and 4 CM5s for height in Dolby Atmos.
Good call, I was not fully aware of the "PAL" Advent loudspeakers. As for the many ADS I've owned and other owners systems I've sampled, I stand by my statement where the L1590's are gear dependent for extended listening enjoyment. Very revealing can mean bright to someone else's preferred sound profile.
Regarding the woofers, my understanding is the OEM woofer cone supply is long gone, a new cone material has to take its place if badly damaged. Not even Richard has OEM woofers for most models. Is this not the case? I'm sure many would like the OEM replacement update if possible, versus some poor paper replacements. Thanks for your contribution and information!
Have you ever reviewed any A/D/S stereo equipment such as the R1, CD1 or C1?
I used to have some ADS mini monitors in my dorm room in undergrad. I regret selling them, they were incredibly rich and balanced speakers, and I always wondered what the bigger models would sound like.
Hey, thanks for stopping by Poetryonplastic! The 780's were really impressive 3-ways, nice balanced tone like you mention. Luckily, the lower models are still very affordable compared to the big boys.
@@2ChannelListening btw, I remember we chatted about Alta not too long ago. I just turned in my review of their new Alyssa bookshelfs to my editor. Should be up on Audiophilia by friday if all goes well.
@@poetryonplastic I look forward to your review! Good luck.
I wonder how they stack up against vintage La Scalas.
Ooh 😲 that’s tough! I’d still take the La Scala for percussion instruments and dynamics. The L1590 have the voice accuracy and bass textures. What a match up 👍
These were big sellers when I was a teen getting into Hifi in the 80's.I always ans still think the ADS/Braun industrial design was amoing the best in Hifi history under Dieter Rams.Have been meaning to get a coffee table book of his work.He was in my mind the Saul Bass of Hifi
The cool thing about ADS is its hard to pick any speaker that is their icon, they have so many. Luckily there are a number of good examples in existence, although dwindling.
Have you upgraded replaced the crossovers. from G.R. research .?
On that note, and gawd I hate to say this...I changed speaker cables and amps - the ADS sound smoother again, more like their flat selves. I know the cross-overs caps should be replaced as some point. The Jeff Rowland amp took out some of the bite.
Try the a ADS L880, they’re never fatiguing and they’re essentially the same speaker but with only one 10 bass driver
I believe L880's are even more rare. Thanks for watching.
You are right they are unsung heros,have had few pairs of ADS in the past they sound very good my favorite was a pair of L570 wish I still have them built like a keg.
Thank you 😊
Grundig also had such sticky domes... and they also had Powered ones e.g. Grundig Monolith
Great stuff here! Ive always been interested in this set as I own a pair of Altec 501's from the SAME year as well as a pair of the active version, the model 512s. The overall appearance is practically identical(Dual 10's & Dome mids/hi's) though Japanese sourced Carbon Fiber woofers & Diamond deposited metal domes are used. I cant help but feel it was Altec who copied A/D/S, but because theyre released at the same time, its hard to say. Your overall impression of the sound sig is also eerily similar to the 501's sound. I do also agree with your notion where its difficult to find a pair of current towers that pack the kind of punch delivered from this design. I would say mayyyybe the Klipsch RF7-III, but never heard them so cant be sure.
Yeah, I have always been super curious about the RF7 III. I've heard so many Klipsch, but not any RF7's yet. Have not seen those 501's, but having owned the Acoustic Research LS9's, I think I would go LS9's again, a bit more forgiving and the bass was a little better diffused, integrated. All amazing speakers for their time regardless. Thank you for watching.
@@2ChannelListening Ive come across other brands as well who made towers around that time which bear similar resemblance to the A/D/S. You should review other iterations of the "90" series towers that came after if you can ; )
@@2ChannelListening Altec also released a 5 way active tower in 1987 fyi, the Bias 550, @ 12k a pair! Id be interested to hear your take on the Carbon Fiber Altecs should a good deal on a pair ever come your way. Ive yet to find any other brand using woven carbon fiber in the 80's, im sure you couldnt name any others yourself could ya?
@@AllboroLCD I've never even caught of whiff of these www.stereophile.com/floorloudspeakers/489altec/index.html
From my perspective and knowledge of opposite knowledge? You should be using studio passive amplifier with these and not marantz and other such reciever. They work phenomenal with Tandberg power amps and preamps as well. These are meant to be bi amped and or basic left right amp. But the Biamped is what they came with if you had gotten the option. They're studio reference monitors used in mastering facilities and also in studios. They are also audiophile home stereo speakers. They aren't mixing speakers. They're proofread speakers. They don't lie. Very flat frequency response, and no need for a sub woofer due to the extended long range of the double 10 inch woofers and crossover network. If you set them up in a studio tuned room and tone the towers to your room acoustics? That harshness in the tweeter will go away. The reason for the -30db in the 29hz? That leaves room for tuning your low end to the listening position which is usually the equilateral triangle of the listening position. That's why these were the only bi amp capable speakers in that year. They're studio speakers and not stereo speakers to listen to Mariah Carey on. Give a studio engineer a radio shack speaker. He'll tune it to dead flat frequency response in a controlled acoustics room. These are what you use for these type of speakers
Tandberg was another big studio amps used for passive monitors
www.ebay.com/itm/294311310761
Thank you for your exposition on the subject of ADS. I’ll put Mariah Carey away…👍
He lost me at “bright.” My 1290s are anything but. In fact, that “shouty” reputation is also hard to buy. These are smooth speakers. I’ve heard people say the opposite about the 1590s. I’ve heard they’re bass heavy. I’ve never heard them though.
I can tell you that I have heard two pairs, my friend also has 1590's. With certain gear, amps, preamp, they can be downright hard to listen too without fatigue. I've owned several pairs of ADS and would agree, all the others, especially the L710 and 1230's are smooth. Love their monitors. There's a lot going on with the big 1590's that's hard to tame.
Have you heard of Acron? i got a pair of 900B in mahagoni and they look completely the same with the same drivers. I alwys thought they were the company that invented these small aluminium Acron 100C and 200C. (they even have the same names A/D/S used) Grundig also used the Same parts for their monolith.
Hello and thank you for this. No, I was not aware of Acron. You are right, the only visual difference I see is the use of the spring loaded terminals and slight cabinet variation. At the end of the day, it comes down to those lovely Braun sourced drivers and cabinet dimensions. Sort of the German version of what BBC did with variant licensing, very loosely mind you. Thanks for watching.
I have an excellent condition pair of M15 a/d/s speakers that I bought new. I was wondering what the outriggers are you used for your speakers?
Congratulation with your find! Unfortunately, I did do some digging for other folks who asked, I bought the speakers with them already installed and that collector had no idea. There are no distinguishing marks and the sheer thickness of the metal makes me think they were custom made. The mounting bars were twice the thickness of any outrigger I've ever seen. Sorry I cannot help you there. Could try Soundcity.
@@2ChannelListening Thanks for the reply, enjoy your channel and reviews, nicely done!
@@charleskeeble5212 thank you sir! 😁
I had 4 ads/Braun l810 speakers in 1975 with quadraphonic sound with 2 Phase linear 400 stereo amps, were always very smooth and punchy.I suspect on the L1590 it's time to change the capacitors. when they go bad they don't filter like they should.I have changed many sets of capacitors to bring speakers back up to spec night and day difference.
Yeah, it is worth looking into and spending the money on these, absolutely.
Thanks for sharing Gene. Did you stick with stock or upgrade the caps?
What order crossover do they have, what's your favourite caps.
It's not just the capacitor but the inductance value as well and resistance
@@2ChannelListening you wouldn't go wrong with audionote, claritycaps, or mundorf. Try motor run capacitors for the base drivers.
shield all capacitors and inductors and resistors in copper foil tape and the magnets of the drivers, solder like headphone wire and earth it out to a separate bolt and nuts where you can connect another wire you might like to try a 220 pF capacitor on that as well.
@@2ChannelListening I would suggest leaving stock and same value make sure you have air core inductors and if Resistors are in circuit upgrade them to Mills Non-Inductive Resistors.If you want to take to next level send speaker to GR-Research but with shipping and parts its getting to expensive'
I suggest reading humble homemade hifi capacitor test.I don't know if it is still relevant today or what products are available. But it is sort of like rolling tubes.With a little more work involved. You have to read between the lines And decide what sound you want. Best doesn't mean best for you.I like a cap on top end to extend and add some sparkle. On mids I want it smooth, lush. Bass I want punch.
@@johnsweda2999 Yeah upgrade to
air core inductors and if Resistors are in circuit upgrade them to Mills Non-Inductive Resistors I suggest reading humble homemade hifi capacitor test.I don't know if it is still relevant today or what products are available. But it is sort of like rolling tubes.With a little more work involved. You have to read between the lines And decide what sound you want. Best doesn't mean best for you.I like a cap on top end to extend and add some sparkle. On mids I want it smooth, lush. Bass I want punch.
Did ads make small speakers with a passive sub in the 80s?
Yes, L420, two way bookshelf speakers. Also L400e. Really nice monitors. I do not remember the sub.
There's a pair of Avalon acoustic radians on eBay for $1800 obo but you have to pick them up in California and I'm in NC. 😩
Huh, I just looked up Hifi Shark and it is not showing these, or on Ebay...do you have a link?
Hi, the Uruz or the Lore with a beryllium tweeter? Have you had the chance to hear that comparison?
Hi Mike, I have not heard the Lore BE version.
please share detail about ADS M20
See latest comment I added above
@@2ChannelListening where boss????
3A made powered speakers back in the 70’s / 80’s .
Are you talking about Reference 3A from Canada?
1290's at my house. If you know, you know..
Lol, very true statement. Thanks for stopping by.
what is the soft dome mid-range and tweeter seas
Is that quite common with ADS it doesn't sound right.. could be the age of the crossover should have shown a picture of the crossover
Curious what you say about the bass what is a stuffing and how much
Its the 206-0118 meant for the L1590 v.1. Not sure who made that specific unit, there is no other identifying markings on the backplate. I don't know how one can tell, do you?
Usual old yellow fiber fill, it all looks stock.
@@2ChannelListening the fill will be nasty fibreglass make you itchy
Why did you mention seas then? Well sometimes you can tell by the construction of the driver looking at other drivers from the manufacturers, you did quite a lot of research on them Nothing came up for the tweeter and mid-range but you said the workers were German company, maybe they make the midrange and tweeter would make sense
You didn't say how much fill was inside the speakers? That's important to know and is anything connected to the side walls of the speakers not just the fill?
@@johnsweda2999 yeah, I was careful with that stuff, moving it out of the way slowly and will wear a mask when I pull both woofers out.
Please describe their performance. Sound stage, etc.
I'm not ignoring this request Vic. I have been giving it thought as to an appropriate description that wouldn't match a 1,000 other speakers. I could give some cliche that even bookshelf speakers have been given, but that's not how I roll, so please be patient on this one. Thank you :-)
@@2ChannelListening thank you. Will there be a sound demo?
See latest comment I added above -
Braun ads is best !
Thanks Patrik
Seems to me like there's way too much of the frequency coming from just the little mid-range. Geeze the big woofers only up to 350 and the mid covers from 350-5k. That makes almost the midrange the only speaker playing, the rest are just complementary to the mid. I don't think I'd like those crossover points. Just judging from my minds eye how I think that would work out. I would expect bright and shouty honestly.
There's a lot of forceful mid-bass bump from these woofers. All in all, for the year, its a pretty amazing package.
So did Phillips.
Not exactly a commercial success though. I can only think of Meridian as the most successful, continuous builder for hifi residential. Thanks.
31:50 bigger driver act as a cone and more damping. new speakers have 6.5, 8" as subwoofer. wtf
I happen to have a $3,600 pair of towers on hand that are only sporting 5.5" drivers. What exactly did I say that is false? Look at the $6,000 KEF R11 - again, my statement holds very true. Put the ADS L1590 up against any modern $6K speaker...there will be lots of hand wringing.
@@2ChannelListening Would something like the ADS 1290/2 get blown away by something like a ascend acoustics serra tower? Or should I go with these and save the money? I'm looking to get away from klipsch for a smaller mid sized room. Thanks
Really need some help on a new speaker for a 30 wpc vintage tube Amp with some dynamics. It's a PP el34. Similar to a dynaco st70 but better. Thanks so much for any advice on what to buy
Please edit your reviews to 5 mins-ish.
Lol, well, you did say please :-)