owlsplace Posted March 7, 2016 Report Share Posted March 7, 2016 1 hour ago, lakecat said: Got the drivers today and installed them. What a HUGE difference!...lol.. These speakers sound awesome....with a clear, crisp response that makes you stand back and go..WOW! Nice flat response with volume....and can hear every detail in a song. Bass is more than adequate and fills the room. The sound is more JBLish so not necessary to compare to the AR speakers as it doesn't have that warmth....but is a professional crisp sound and why they were used as studio monitors. Breaking them in and not turned up the volume yet but anxious to hear them at volume....well....I did a little ....but thought wise to turn it down. I can see why they are popular with music enthusiasts. Okay, had a feeling you were going to say that ... price?, Richard's contact number and I'll cue mine up for overhaul Roger Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lakecat Posted March 8, 2016 Author Report Share Posted March 8, 2016 1 hour ago, owlsplace said: Okay, had a feeling you were going to say that ... price?, Richard's contact number and I'll cue mine up for overhaul Roger Lol....still in shock from what I originally heard. He charges $225 for this service. Removes old and puts in new everything....not just the fluid. Number is on his website. http://www.adsspeakersservice.com/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GD70 Posted March 8, 2016 Report Share Posted March 8, 2016 Nice to see that was the problem, and you are enjoying them. ADS speakers are pretty incredible. I don't find my 910's at all JBLish sounding. Very natural, easy to listen to all day long at volume. I love my AR3's but the 910's put them in the back seat in every category. I too plan to send my mids and tweeters to Richard as well before he runs out of parts. Post some pics! Glenn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lakecat Posted March 8, 2016 Author Report Share Posted March 8, 2016 2 hours ago, GD70 said: Nice to see that was the problem, and you are enjoying them. ADS speakers are pretty incredible. I don't find my 910's at all JBLish sounding. Very natural, easy to listen to all day long at volume. I love my AR3's but the 910's put them in the back seat in every category. I too plan to send my mids and tweeters to Richard as well before he runs out of parts. Post some pics! Glenn Hi Glenn....thank you. The 980's are known to be studio monitors and can see why. I think your pair and mine are different animals. Very detailed sound and no warmth to them at all..or colored as some might say. I don't know as I am certainly no expert but that is how it comes across to me. Very impressive sound and clarity. I guess I have to shake off the AR sound some more....:)...as that is what I am most used to. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GD70 Posted March 8, 2016 Report Share Posted March 8, 2016 23 minutes ago, lakecat said: Hi Glenn....thank you. The 980's are known to be studio monitors and can see why. I think your pair and mine are different animals. Very detailed sound and no warmth to them at all..or colored as some might say. I don't know as I am certainly no expert but that is how it comes across to me. Very impressive sound and clarity. I guess I have to shake off the AR sound some more....:)...as that is what I am most used to. Two different animal's for sure, but, the ADS sound signature is present throughout the lineup. I don't feel mine lack warmth, but just a clearer mid and high presentation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
owlsplace Posted March 9, 2016 Report Share Posted March 9, 2016 5 hours ago, lakecat said: Hi Glenn....thank you. The 980's are known to be studio monitors and can see why. I think your pair and mine are different animals. Very detailed sound and no warmth to them at all..or colored as some might say. I don't know as I am certainly no expert but that is how it comes across to me. Very impressive sound and clarity. I guess I have to shake off the AR sound some more....:)...as that is what I am most used to. I always thought mine sounded very clean with lots of power handling capability. I think they do well in a small room or near-field environment. Looking forward to a driver rebuild though and would love to pair them up with some 1590's. Roger Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lakecat Posted March 10, 2016 Author Report Share Posted March 10, 2016 On 3/9/2016 at 9:49 PM, owlsplace said: I always thought mine sounded very clean with lots of power handling capability. I think they do well in a small room or near-field environment. Looking forward to a driver rebuild though and would love to pair them up with some 1590's. Roger Been listening to them elevated about 36" off floor. Today, I am going to put them on the stands that came with this pair and is about 7" off floor and slightly tilted back....and see if there is a difference. Very open bigger room they are in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lakecat Posted March 12, 2016 Author Report Share Posted March 12, 2016 I have been trying to wrap my arms around this sound from these 980's as it is truly unique to me. I see Dru getting the 910's and looked at their specs and it actually goes lower (27Hz) than the 980's (37Hz) but only handles one hundred fifty watts to the 980's three hundred watts. I was looking at drivers on both and looked the same....but apparently they are not. The 1590 and 980 only share these drivers. This review explains it a little as I try to figure out all their models.... for the L980 I have had a weakness for ADS speakers for quite a long time. As part of my vintage speaker tryouts I've owned L300, L780II, L1290II, L9E, and L910s. I have a good friend who owns L1590IIs, so I have a lot of time in with those. The positives of the line are very compelling- great engineering and construction, very flat frequency response, and an open and clear mid to high range that is very lifelike. The downsides in the line is that the lower mids, handled by paper cone woofers, are not as fast and detailed as the upper range, and the sticky dome tweeters in the x10 and earlier series ran a little hot. Also, the sticky domes are delicate. All in all they still stand tall among fine midline speaker lines of the '70s and '80s and have a loyal following. The top line ADS speakers, such as the 910,2030,1530, 1590 and 980 were all touted as true monitor quality speakers, and those models all were in use by various studios in that capacity. They used tighter tolerance drivers than the lower models. They all offered high power handling and good protective circuitry, and very flat response. ADS refined the mids and tweeters in the x80 and x90 series, so they are smoother and more refined. In particular, those found in the 980 and 1590 offered exceptional smoothness in the tweeters and a lower resonant frequency for the mids, which were crossed over lower, thus relieving the woofers of some midrange duty. I've admired my friend's 1590II as they are one of the very few vintage speakers I've heard that hold up pretty well against fine speakers of today. The 1590s are too big for me to own as project speakers, so I've been on the lookout for a pair of L980s, which share the mids and tweeters with the 1590, coupled with a 12" woofer in a largish (27x15x13 60+ lbs.) sealed box. They are mirror imaged. The 980s are pretty rare, as they were a good bit more expensive than the others in the line, and the measured specs were not that much better than the lower models. What made them different is the driver quality. As soon as I hooked up the 980s I was very taken by them. They are indeed more refined than any other ADS I've owned. The top end is slightly truncated and not as finely detailed as a ribbon, but is as natural sounding as any I've heard. Mids are also gorgeous, smooth and natural, and mesh perfectly with the highs. The overall response sounds ruler flat from about 70 to about 10 khz. Below 70 there is a 3-4 db rise with system resonance, down to about 40 hz. Useful response is into the low 30s, and the bass is well defined and powerful, although a bit rich overall. Compare to my main speakers, VMPS RM30 planar/ribbon hybrids, overall the RM30s have much better resolution and clarity. In audiophile terms the RM30s are certainly superior. That said, the most important quality of any speaker ultimately is how much I enjoy listening for long periods, to all types of music. Using that criteria, with music from fusion to opera to rock and movies, the 980 are very fine, ranking not far behind the VMPS in sheer listening joy. That makes the 980, and the 1590, my favorite vintage speaker. There are other candidates, such as JBL L300 and Klipsch La Scalas, among others, but the 980 are just small enough to fit in my world while offering truly excellent sound. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GD70 Posted March 17, 2017 Report Share Posted March 17, 2017 Enjoyable read lakecat! I just finished restoring a pair of 1590 rosewood cabs for an AKer, and payment was a near mint pair of L980's with the optional factory stands. These are original untouched and sound phenomenal, only to be out done by my 910's, except the mid and high end clarity and detail is slightly better due to newer improved drivers with the 980's. I plan to send the mids and tweeters to Richard for preservation, not because of poor sonics, as I did with my 910's. Glenn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lakecat Posted March 21, 2017 Author Report Share Posted March 21, 2017 On 3/16/2017 at 9:58 PM, GD70 said: Enjoyable read lakecat! I just finished restoring a pair of 1590 rosewood cabs for an AKer, and payment was a near mint pair of L980's with the optional factory stands. These are original untouched and sound phenomenal, only to be out done by my 910's, except the mid and high end clarity and detail is slightly better due to newer improved drivers with the 980's. I plan to send the mids and tweeters to Richard for preservation, not because of poor sonics, as I did with my 910's. Glenn Hi Glenn....wow!....nice trade....:) The guy that bought my 980's loves them but he is a musician and probably has a much better ear than me. I really tried to love them and only really liked them....:) Hell...I might have had a wrong amp on them..who knows? He is a big ADS fan and has about five different lines of their speakers. He wants me to come out and hear them but is four hours away so will have to wait for summer. Good luck with yours..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GD70 Posted March 21, 2017 Report Share Posted March 21, 2017 When we were discussing the 1590 project, the owner offered the 980's as barter, which I initially turned down, as I didn't and don't need anymore speakers, but when I saw his sale post, I couldn't pass these fairly rare birds up,especially in the condition they were in. I'm enjoying them immensely, and just adds to the fun of the hobby. Too bad they didn't do it for you, but not every speaker will. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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