A/D/S L1590 (Braun) Loudspeakers; A forgotten brand and misunderstood hype. 

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

Blast from the past! Thanks for covering them!

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.

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.

Tanks for this video ADS is my favorite brand in vintage speakers.Ihave 300e love de aluminum cabinet solid mid base for the size.

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)

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!

You are correct about the ADS. Thank you for this review.

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..

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!

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!

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.

Great info, thanks.

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.

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

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 :)

I still own my M12/90s, they work amazing well!

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.

Vintage 1986 LOL. I have a pair of L780's from 1984. They still sound amazing!

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.

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

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!

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.

I still rock my ADS L1290's.

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.

I have a pair of 750il in-wall speakers. I mounted them in some old pioneer floor speaker cabinets and they sounded so magical.

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 :)

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

You had me at Buckethead

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’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.

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

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.

I’d love to see Danny from GR Research get his hands on these, might just elevate them to incredible levels

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.

I bought my L710s new in 1982 and have never taken them out of service.

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.

I confirm this about braun, another brand that is amazing is grundig from the 80ies....see the grundig site of Massimo....

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

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.

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.

Hi, the Uruz or the Lore with a beryllium tweeter? Have you had the chance to hear that 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.

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?

Have you upgraded replaced the crossovers. from G.R. research .?

On the powered loudspeaker front. The powered large advents were earlier I believe. Late 70s?

Have you ever reviewed any A/D/S stereo equipment such as the R1, CD1 or C1?

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.

. I'd really love to know where to find stands for my 1590 II's...like you are showing here.

Try the a ADS L880, they’re never fatiguing and they’re essentially the same speaker but with only one 10 bass driver

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.

Grundig also had such sticky domes... and they also had Powered ones e.g. Grundig Monolith

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. 😩

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.

Did ads make small speakers with a passive sub in the 80s?

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.....

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.

3A made powered speakers back in the 70’s / 80’s .

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

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

I wonder how they stack up against vintage La Scalas.

please share detail about ADS M20

Braun ads is best !

Please describe their performance. Sound stage, etc.

1290's at my house. If you know, you know..

So did Phillips.

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.

31:50 bigger driver act as a cone and more damping. new speakers have 6.5, 8" as subwoofer. wtf

Please edit your reviews to 5 mins-ish.