ADS 1290/2 & ads 1590/2 SPEAKERS

jaxs111

Hello, I picked up two pairs of ADS speakers,models L1290'S and the 1590'S
I was wondering if anyone has any info about these speakers ? I was looking to bi amp 1 or both pairs.
Can i use the adjustable crossover in my powered M&K MK-2000 subwoofer ? What ADS model is better sounding ? The L1290's or the L1590's ? I have listened to the L1290's which sound pretty good running them with a Adcom Gfa-545 100 watt per channel amplifier hooked in with 1 of 2 M&K MK-2000 powered subwoofers i bought back in the late 1980's or very early 1990's. Will a better and bigger amplifier make these ADS 1290's sound better ? Can anyone recommend a good solid state amplifiers to use with the ADS L1290's and the L1590's ADS speakers ?

Thanks,
Jaxs111

dorokusai

Any good quality SS amplifier will be fine and they're both winners as far sound goes. The bigger model is usually the more sought after. I wouldn't involve the M&K subwoofer at all since there's no real need to do so.

cnh

Welcome to Club Polk!

I've only heard bookshelf models and own a pair of those. But I agree with doro. I've found that ADS speakers are pretty compatible with most forms of good SS amplification--no problem. I've run mine on integrateds, separates and old vintage receivers and have yet to hear them sound less than good!

As said, the larger floorstanders are some of the most sought after ADS speakers! So you have some nice speakers there!!

Enjoy!

cnh

MrGlobe

Some very nice speakers you scored there. You must have had fun transporting that much speaker! I would agree the 1590 are more valuable. I would love to own either set of speakers, and I would agree that either pair should be able to do fine without a subwoofer, especially if you would have to hook the subwoofer up through speaker inputs as opposed to LFE

George Grand

Four or five years ago somebody gave me a pair of those 1290's. They almost replaced the AR-9's.

ADS guys know how to construct and voice a speaker. The 1290's should be good down to 28 cycles, with two 8" acoustic suspension woofers. Same place the AR-9 goes with two 12" AS woofers (and in a cabinet half the size of the AR-9). No subs required for RATIONAL applications. The 1590 takes up a lot of real estate.

I gave them to a friend in Brooklyn.

jaxs111

Hello, And thank you for the warm welcome to the Polk audio forum.
I just bought 2 pairs of ADS speakers which are the ADS 1590/2 and the ADS 1290/2.
I am currently using a Adcom gfa-545 amplifier which some people tell me its a under sized amp to run my ADS 1290/2 ? The adcom gfa-545 sounds like it has plenty of power to run these ads 1290/2 speakers. I find the adcom gfa-545 to be a bit bright and lacking detail ? Can anyone suggest another SS amp which is a better sounding unit ?

leroyjr1

Do you have a price in mind?

victor. askew

Hello and welcome to ADS ownership. You will not be sorry. I am driving my L1290's using a Nakamichi PA5 (150wpc) right now. I go back and forth between this and the Nakamichi PA7 (200wpc). Both are high current amps and either one makes them sound as they should, great. I love Nakamichi amps period.

will d

Nice to see ads speakes back. I bought my 1st set,1977 from magnolia hifi here in Seattle. they wereL700's. Again in 1978 i bought the L810's.Then was robbed in 1982 and lost them all. In 1985 i rebought and got the L570's. Iam using my L570's as fronts and i found one L570-2 on ebay, and this is my center channel speak. My rear speakes are ads L470's that i also found on ebay. I have a little denon1612 running them, and the system sounds great. I also bought 1ads L310, 4adsL300e's for a small room in the house. These are hooked to a harman kardon avr 154, and that system sounds great. Got all 5 300's on ebay also, its amazing how many are coming back, i love it. In 1978 ,i sold many ads speakers by letting people hear my system, and they were shocked.They thought i had speakers hidden in the walls.I pulled the grills off of my 810's and they watched those twin 8inch woofers go to town.Yea thats what i'm talkin bout.I also bought some JBL studio series speakes bout 6 months ago. the lc1, the 830's and810's.And my ads systems sound every bit as good as the JBL's. I have an Onkyo reciever runnin the JBL's.All in all, iam happy to see and hear them again as my L570's were in storage for the last 20 years.I have also read there is an individual named Rodger in Arizona who worked at the ADS factory, and is now doing any and all repair work on ADS speakers. NICE. So indeed, welcome to ADS OWNERSHIP. I find it a pleasure. Will D is out.

michigannick

I am a bit late to the thread but can add the mans name in Arizona is Richard So. I have not personally used him yet but will soon. I have exchanged emails and he is quick and responsive. I have run into several people who have used him and everyone I has always commented on the high quality of work, fast turn around and fair pricing of work. I am new to the forum as I just picked up my first pair of notable Polk's (sda 2b's) and am glad I can contribute something. I have two pair of ads 1290s and some of their book shelf 780/2 all are very nice as for how they co.pare to the sda I am just starting to experiment and also need to build an interconnect cable so I am going to do that before I compare head to head ... when I saw the very nice condition sda's for 140 I figured how could I lose ;-)

Ps google richard so ads speaker repair and you will find a great deal of people vouch for him.

He sells on ebay under ADS Speaker Repair Service - Richard So Electronics - Ebay under the store name ADS-Speakers http:stores.ebay.comADS-Speakers_rdc1. Richard So Electronics

4415 E Hidalgo Ave

Phoenix,AZ 85282

1-480-452-9736

Good luck. And happy listening

michigannick

Richard So. I have not personally used him yet but will soon.

To update This Week i received my rebuilt drivers back from Mr. So, and his work, attention to detail, quick response and quality of work as well as fairness is refreshing. I have been listening to the new drivers for 2 straight days Mr. So has restored my 2 pair of ADS L1290 drivers to news... they look beautiful and they sound amazing

I can only recommend Mr So with the highest regard, fast, fair priced service and practical advice. I would also point out he is a professional re-cone man and does exceptional work. I have only had him do the old ADS stuff, so far but as a technician across the board and as a business man to work with, I give a double thumbs up.

ads_speakers@yahoo.com is his email address and feel free to contact me with any questions you may have

Nick

Irrenhaus

michigannick wrote: »

Richard So. I have not personally used him yet but will soon.

To update This Week i received my rebuilt drivers back from Mr. So, and his work, attention to detail, quick response and quality of work as well as fairness is refreshing. I have been listening to the new drivers for 2 straight days Mr. So has restored my 2 pair of ADS L1290 drivers to news... they look beautiful and they sound amazing

I can only recommend Mr So with the highest regard, fast, fair priced service and practical advice. I would also point out he is a professional re-cone man and does exceptional work. I have only had him do the old ADS stuff, so far but as a technician across the board and as a business man to work with, I give a double thumbs up.

ads_speakers@yahoo.com is his email address and feel free to contact me with any questions you may have

Nick

Hey thanks for the info. I have a pair of ADS 780/2 that I am thinking of restoring all drivers. I already spoke to Richard and he offer a nice discount if I did all drivers. I guess they will be going out soon.

michigannick

I also have a pair of 780's mine are 780/II ... i have not done modifications to those yet, they are pretty new to the collection .. i have been experimenting with stands to get their imaging to be more like that of the 1290s .. i have L1290 series I and series II .. the 1's have the PA1 bi amplification active crossover and amplifier set up... .. So maybe i am asking a lot of the 780's to keep up with them .. but ;-) why not .. anyhow I am a fairly new poster i can be reached soannoyedbythis@gmail.com if you have questions I belive you will be more than satisfied even if there was not a discount. This would be an awesome time for you to upgrade the caps while the drivers are out for some love. Mr. So i belive does cross over upgrades as well, but those are so easy ;-) why not try something on your own .. erseaudio has nice caps at a very good price ... i find they compete with the "audiophile" caps quite well.. they are a bit slower than Partsexpress but the price point for 3% caps is great ..