ADS L1530 thoughts?

halo71
halo71 Posts: 4,602
edited June 2014 in Vintage Speakers
Anyone got any words of wisdom about these speakers? Are they worth rehabbing with 2 tweets, 1 mid and possibly 2 woofers not working. And some slight water damage to the bottom of both cabinets?
--Gary--
Onkyo Integra M504, Bottlehead Foreplay III, Denon SACD, Thiel CS2.3, NHT VT-2, VT-3 and Evolution T6, Infinity RSIIIa, SDA1C and a few dozen other speakers around the house I change in and out.
Post edited by halo71 on

Comments

  • Mystery
    Mystery Posts: 2,546
    edited February 2013
    Oh man.
    That's a lot of things to fix and can add up the cost.
    Those drivers are not cheap.
    They are considered very nice from my research and can fetch anywhere from $600 to $900.
    There was a pair in Denver asking $1000 and it's no more there.

    Klipsch RB81, KG3.5, B&W DM602.5, Polk.
    Subwoofers: Klipsch RW10, Triad ProSub Bronze.
  • halo71
    halo71 Posts: 4,602
    edited February 2013
    Well...for what I can acquire them for...it might even things up a bit on rehab costs. And right now I am not even sure if it might be a crossover issue. From what I gather from the owner, he got them from someone else in this condition. And does not really know all that much about restoring them. But is interested in my Monitor 10's in trade.
    --Gary--
    Onkyo Integra M504, Bottlehead Foreplay III, Denon SACD, Thiel CS2.3, NHT VT-2, VT-3 and Evolution T6, Infinity RSIIIa, SDA1C and a few dozen other speakers around the house I change in and out.
  • Mystery
    Mystery Posts: 2,546
    edited February 2013
    Go for it then.
    Monitor 10's come too often.
    1530's only show up rarely.

    Klipsch RB81, KG3.5, B&W DM602.5, Polk.
    Subwoofers: Klipsch RW10, Triad ProSub Bronze.
  • drumminman
    drumminman Posts: 3,396
    edited February 2013
    I'd be sure you can source the drivers first. Some of the old ADS drivers are really difficult to find.
    "Science is suppose to explain observations not dismiss them as impossible" - Norm on AA; 2.3TL's w/sonicaps/mills/jantzen inductors, Gimpod's boards, Lg Solen SDA inductors, RD-0198's, MW's dynamatted, Armaflex speaker gaskets, H-nuts, brass spikes, Cardas CCGR BP's, upgraded IC Cable, Black Hole Damping Sheet strips, interior of cabinets sealed with Loctite Power Grab, AI-1 interface with 1000VA A-L transformer
  • halo71
    halo71 Posts: 4,602
    edited February 2013
    I checked So's site and see pricing for repairs....


    No love for ADS 'round her'? :cheesygrin:
    --Gary--
    Onkyo Integra M504, Bottlehead Foreplay III, Denon SACD, Thiel CS2.3, NHT VT-2, VT-3 and Evolution T6, Infinity RSIIIa, SDA1C and a few dozen other speakers around the house I change in and out.
  • Mystery
    Mystery Posts: 2,546
    edited February 2013
    halo71 wrote: »
    I checked So's site and see pricing for repairs....
    No love for ADS 'round her'? :cheesygrin:

    Try this site: http://www.adsspeakersservice.com/#!services
    I think the guy used to work for ADS before he started the repair service.
    All genuine parts.

    If your SO's site is same as this one, then you already are there. :redface:

    Klipsch RB81, KG3.5, B&W DM602.5, Polk.
    Subwoofers: Klipsch RW10, Triad ProSub Bronze.
  • motorstereo
    motorstereo Posts: 2,130
    edited February 2013
    Plenty of love here for the 1530's. My bud happens to have 2 pair of them. Some lucky day I'd love to own one pair of them. They're one of the smoothest sounding large speakers that I've heard.
  • halo71
    halo71 Posts: 4,602
    edited February 2013
    Mystery...yep same site.

    Moto...by now I think I am asking dumb questions and should make a jump! Don't think I have heard a bad review about these. Restoring them should prove interesting I think.
    --Gary--
    Onkyo Integra M504, Bottlehead Foreplay III, Denon SACD, Thiel CS2.3, NHT VT-2, VT-3 and Evolution T6, Infinity RSIIIa, SDA1C and a few dozen other speakers around the house I change in and out.
  • audiomagnate
    audiomagnate Posts: 48
    edited April 2013
    I owned a pair for a few years, and they are spectacular. Many consider them the best ADS speakers ever. 95 dB sensitivity and they go cleanly down to 14 Hz. I really miss mine. I sold mine for $1000 in Denver last year.
  • michigannick
    michigannick Posts: 8
    edited April 2014
    BUMP did you ever have Mr So redo the drivers for you he has done many for me and does awesome work! I this week :-) came in possession of my first pair of ADS L1530s and have been amazed by them. I have ADS L1290s series I and II and cant wait to get them in a room to A/B/ them ... the 1530s will kill them in low bass but the 1290s do some magic it will be fun to investigate!

    I hope you did the deal the one guy that said Monitor 10s are found often, is right i know 2 friends that have them in their closets displaced by better speakers)
  • oldmodman
    oldmodman Posts: 740
    edited April 2014
    I have had both ADS for the home and the car. Wonderful speakers. But they were very expensive. Wish I had kept them for the last thirty five years.

    If your plan is to just rehab them for resale I personally would not do it. You will probably wind up being upside down on the costs.
  • michigannick
    michigannick Posts: 8
    edited April 2014
    I know i wont be selling these or my 1290s any time soon .. BUT the impression i got from the guy starting the thread is that he had 2 bad woofers and 2 bad other drivers, the work Richard So does is not expensive and he could recone the 2 drivers and then rediaphram them for only a couple hundred dollars .. well worth the price even if just to sell ..
  • Audiophi1e
    Audiophi1e Posts: 1
    edited June 2014
    I had Richard So repair a tweet $65 and is now re-coning a woofer so that I can list these on ebay (ADS L1530) I hate to let them go. Fortunately I have had these for the past 16 years and will be happy to say that I have owned them. Truly remarkable engineering.
  • motorstereo
    motorstereo Posts: 2,130
    edited June 2014
    I had forgotten that I'd commented in this thread way back when. I did end up with a pair of 1530's for almost a year. They were no doubt the nicest sounding pair of speakers that I've ever owned. But................and it's a big but; they lacked the sda effect. It's very hard to go back to a normal sounding speaker once you've been bit by the sda bug so away they went.
  • halo71
    halo71 Posts: 4,602
    edited June 2014
    I never got the speakers. The Craigslist owner flaked out on me.
    --Gary--
    Onkyo Integra M504, Bottlehead Foreplay III, Denon SACD, Thiel CS2.3, NHT VT-2, VT-3 and Evolution T6, Infinity RSIIIa, SDA1C and a few dozen other speakers around the house I change in and out.
  • MAD
    MAD Posts: 105
    edited June 2014
    Baa,

    I have a pair of ADS l1090 v2 and they are a very balanced refined speaker with a surprising amount of bass for their size. But, as motorstereo mentioned, it is hard to go back and listen to regular speakers without the sda effect.

    I still can't sell them as they do sound great, and look great too, the only speakers I have with a dome mid.

    Sorry to hear the seller flaked out.
  • I have owned L1230s and still do. I have owned L810/2s, L1090s, and L1290/2s. I am currently using 5 L1290/2s in my hometheater setup. I bought my first pair of L1290/2s on Ebay and my second pair of L1290/2s on Craigslist. I have had Rich So rebuild tweeters, midranges, and woofers too, and also crossovers. The pair I got on Ebay sound awesome and the ones from Craigslist were older and the ferrofluid was slightly solidified in the tweeters and the mids, the woofers were abused and were distorting. I built the centerchannel L1290/2 copying the centerchannel speaker on Rich's website, purchasing all the drivers and a crossover from him. The sound is CRYSTAL CLEAR. Rich does purfect work. He came from the original factory and has been fixing ADS speakers for like 30 years. I think he has practiced enough to get it purfect. I know I could never get speakers this good today for the price I paid. Even after investing in some repairs I come out on top. I would put them toe to toe with speakers 4000$ to 6000$ on todays market and I know I would beat them in accuracy. They can be biamped and that also makes an improvement in sound. They last for about 30 or more years, so well worth bringing a pair back to specifications.
  • I can say i agree with Alkaloid, I have had my share of SDA's and ADS, I have very few Polks and to many ADS at this point, Richard So does do good work very good, and service is top notch. I am not sure if he is still working off new old stock or being an engineer there and having the relationships maybe he has had some short run production on the products to keep his stock, The ADS tweeters are all similar, and one of them was used for several generations of the Wilson WAMM speakers (upwards of 150k a pair) .. there may be more accurate materials now with some of the newer materials, but they really do have a magic as for the SDA effect, if you can nail yourself down in the narrow sweetspot it reaqlly is its own special thing, but over all hands down .. (then again its not really fair to Polk to compare things that had such a price gap between the two of them when new value for dollars would go to the SDA back int he day, but on the used market now i would say ADS plus some love from Richard S for decades more enjoyment)