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Upgrading woofers in a/d/s L2030, need help

Hi folks, I have a pair of a/d/s L2030 speakers which have two 14" woofers in sealed enclosures. I am unaware of how many cu ft each driver is exposed to.
The drivers have a hexagonal shape.

I have owned a pair of infinity irs beta's in the past and loved the bass response. I am driving a bi-amp setup with one adcom 555 for the woofers both sides.

I am not getting enough bass out of the speakers, but I love the mids and highs, so I was thinking of upgrading the drivers.

I would create a plate out of metal to match the hexagonal shape of the original drivers, and then cut out an appropriate mounting circle.
I could get away with 13" or more standard 12" drivers.

As tacky as it seems, I may select a car audio driver that works well with sealed enclosures of various sizes. I had one of the 14" drivers replaced, and when it was out I noticed how puny the magnet was. And how today's voice coil structures and magnets seem infinitly larger.

Does anyone have any suggestions?

Thanks
Andrew
avninja21782
irvrobinson
295 posts
 
Do you realize how old this thread is?
doug99
288 posts
 
I'm pretty sure Michael Kelly of Aerial Acoustics built the 2030 speakers. I know he was one of the main designers of ADS speakers in the 80s.
klccharter
8 posts
 
Irvrobinson, do you go thru threads to make these comments? Do you own ADS speakers? I don't see your name anywhere in this thread outside of this entry. Aren't you going to correct Doug99 as well? I suppose you have Fisher speakers too.
jafant's avatar
jafant
19,602 posts
 
Sounds like an interesting speaker w/ those 14" woofers.
Yes, a/d/s was great at providing outstanding mids & highs.
The company also made great car audio speakers as well.
Those, too, were not known for their bass properties.

I would never alter the original design- rare and valuable speakers indeed.
klccharter
8 posts
 
SOME ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ON THE ADS L1530. IT APPEARS OXIDATION BETWEEN THE CROSSOVER BOARD AND THE CONNECTING POSTS WAS A MAJOR CONTRIBUTOR TO A TOTAL LACK OF BASS. I BENCH MARKED EVERY COMPONENT FROM THE POSTS TO THE BOARD CONNECTIONS. OXIDATION AND A TIN/NICKEL WASHER IN THE SIGNAL PATH WERE THE CULPRITS. I HAVE TWEAKED THIS SYSTEM SINCE I PURCHASED IT ON AUDIOGON IN 2004. FIRST WIRING THEM WITH ANALYSIS PLUS CLEAR OVAL THEN TO OCC AG AND CU FROM VH AUDIO. ALTHOUGH THERE WAS A MARKED IMPROVEMENT IN PERFORMANCE, I FELT COMPELLED TO ELIMINATE THE POSTS SO I COULD REALLY HEAR THE SUPERIOR WIRE DOWNSTREAM. REPLACING THE POSTS WITH WBT0708S AND THE CONNECTION TO THE BOARD WITH OCC CU WIRE MADE THE MOST SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENT OF ANY TWEAK I'VE DONE. NOW THESE SPEAKERS ARE THUMP MONSTERS WITH A STAGE THAT MAKES THESE ONE OF A KIND.
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