Anyone know about ADS M15 Loudspeakers


Tell me what you know and what you feel they are worth.
japosey
$40! the M-15's sold for over $2k when they were new! i had a pair of L-1590's in (real)rosewood and they sounded fantastic, as did a pair of M-12's i heard at a dealer. i don't know about soundstage depth, but A/D/S had the most impressive sstereo imaging i'd ever heard until i upgraded to B&W 801's. you may be able to pop some of the dustcaps outward with a bit of scotch tape. if you're handy and have the time those speakers have an awful lot of potential.

Well these need some repair to get back to acceptable cosmetic condition, but I didn't tell you that I could buy the pair for $40. The problem is the dustcap is dented on 4 drivers. I imagine it would cost me at least $200-300 for repairs and I need to sand and slap a coat of finish on the enclosures too.
I have an older pair of the L1290s, which are a little smaller and older than the M15s. I think that they are a great set of speakers for the money. I have since upgraded to another set of speakers, but I will never part with these ADS speakers. I'm not sure if it it was an actual upgrade or just a lateral move in another direction. If I purchase another home with room for another set of speakers, they will be going in that room. The speakers have a domed tweeter and a domed midrange. Some people say that the domed midrange is not as accurate or nuetral as it should be. I very much enjoy their sound. They are very easy to drive. I believe that they are above 90 db with an impedance that doesn't drop much below 8 ohms. I was driving them with an original B&K ST-140 with great success. They are bi-wire and bi-ampable. They are fuse protected. They have a good clean low end with excellent highs and mids. My 1290s do not have the same bottom end that your M15s will have. I have had many speakers over the years, but these have never given me one minute of grief. They are my perfect spare set of speakers. I have a set of KEF 104.2 and a pair of Platinum speakers that will be sold before I sell these ADS 1290s. If I were to trade in my 1290s it would be for a pair of 1590s or M15s. Jim
I had a pair quite a few years back...bought in 1991 and sold in 1997. They were great. But I would not pay more than about $300 for a pair in excellent shape. Their woofers aren't long throw so their bass response is good but limited. They aren't terribly efficient, so they need decent power. Their tweeter will get spitty when pushed hard. These are their downsides. Their upsides are many and when used with decent electronics in a not too big room, they are killer. I wouldn't mind having mine back.

R
grat speker, and getting pretty rare...if they are absolutely functional and cosmetically mint...anything under $600 would be more than reasonable.....if they require work, look elsewhere