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Power requirement for ADS L-1290?

Here's my weird question of the day:

I got a set of hand-me-down ADS L-1290s...(I know, I know, quite a nice gift. It's true. I'm very fortunate).

Everyone says they love power, saying things like 'the more power you give them, the more they sing,' and other nice but imprecise stuff like that.

They're rated at 300 watts maximum, and they're not terribly efficient; coming in at 90db at 8 ohms. Exactly how big does my amp need to be to get "decent enough" sound out of them? I fully realize that the very notion of "decent enough" is anathema around here, but I'm not wealthy, by any means, and look to the vintage audio market for my stuff.

Would 65 wpc be enough to get them to sound good enough? 80 wpc? 100?
jamesjems

Showing 2 responses by johnnyb53

johnnyb53
3,510 posts
 
I had the slightly smaller L-1090. I got by with 60 wpc for awhile, but when I fed 'em a high current 200 wpc amp they really came alive. They're not 90 dB efficient, not even in-room. They're more like 86. How much power you need partially depends on the room size, and current delivery is *at least* as important as final wattage. I strongly suggest a minimum *high current* 150 wpc. Even better would be to biamp at 150 to 200 for the woofers and 100-150 for the mid/tweet.

And get some outriggers and spikes for them as well. Back when I had mine I was able to get a pair of pedestals that ADS made for them. Then I set some spikes into them as well. Since those pedestals are pretty scarce these days and the L1290s are tall with a small footprint, the outriggers are a good idea to stabilize the setting of the speaker.
johnnyb53
3,510 posts
 
Br56's experience matches mine. The L1290s may have tested at 90dB in-room at 1w input (there's about a 3dB boost from room reflections on average), but these sealed-box speakers can use all the power, current, and damping factor you can come up with. I had the L-1090s as I mentioned 11 mos. ago in this thread. Going from a 60/90 wpc (relatively) high current receiver to a true 55-lb. high current 200 wpc power amp was like, "Whoa! No way is this amp leaving the house!" It seemed to add 1/2 octave of bass extension, plus increased clarity, speed, and dynamics, plus a more liquid sounding presentation. It wasn't just powerful, it was simply better in every way--natural-sounding mids and highs like a tube amp while maintaining that SS-style tight grip on the bottom end.

Anyway, it doesn't surprise me that 500wpc would open such a speaker up even more.
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