ADS L730 / Genesis II's

Just did a little comparison as I have not got my Genesis out in a while and the ADS have been serving standard living room duty for a while now. these speakers are virtually identical in size. ADS being a three way with soft dome mids and tweets. The Genesis a two way with passive, 8" woofer, 10" passive and the airspring tweeter. Both were powered by my minty SX-1010 and i did not take time to do amp matching which I'm sure would change this comparison to some extent. I'll come right out and say there is absolutely no clear winner here. Both sets of speakers sound real good. The ADS are slightly more balanced, the Genesis being a little bottom heavy and slightly boomy. Where i thought the ADS would take the lead is in the mids and top end. I have always loved the smooth domes on the ADS but in a back to back I'm actually leaning towards the Genesis for top end. The ADS sound somewhat thin and artificial on the top end and not as smooth or integrated as the airspring. I do prefer the ADS midrange clarity and crispness slightly better. As for bass response the Genesis with it's little 8" woofer and 10" passive continue to impress with huge bass and BIG dynamics. The ADS 9" stifflite woofer is impressive an more balanced than the Genesis but a little less involving and dynamic. Placement for the Genesis seems a little more picky because the bass will get boomy and overbearing if coupled to the room to much. I like them up off the floor and out in the room a little. The Genesis have better imaging and soudstage as well (very surprising) If push came to shove I think i would have to chose the Genesis as the winner here. This surprises me as I would have guessed the ADS would be the clear winner. The Genesis are not as balanced but the dynamics and smooth top end make it a little more involving and exciting to listen to. Also I never noticed the ADS top end being a little to crisp and almost on the edge of being harsh until I did this back to back comparo. I'm guessing the ADS were a much more expensive speaker and to this end the Genesis II's do an amazing job. Oh, the ADS are a million times better looking with nice real wood cabs, rounded finger-joint corners and stamped steel grill. The Genesis look like the cheap vinyl covered particle boxes they are.

GordonW from AK posted that adding a little weight tot he passives on the Genesis make all the difference in the world making them not boomy at all and going deeper. Going to try that mod soon.

interesting. after hearing the Genesis' i would have thought the 730's would have a clear advantage. i am most suprised when it comes to imaging.

i'll hazard a guess that changing the source of amplification will make bigger differences than what you are hearing with the SX-1010.

Excellent comparison.

Now, I have the ADS 3-way L630s which look almost identical to your L730s and Bolly's L830 Brauns, and I've got a pair of Genesis like yours, waiting for a re-foam.

I wonder if the larger mid on the ADS L810s, L880s, L710s, ect, make a big difference. One that would slant your vote. Now, I've read testimonials that it does make a noticeable difference- supposedly it really signs the ADS signature boldly, while never forgetting to cross the proverbial "T"s and dotting the "I"s. That said, I won't say the "lesser" mids of my L630s falter at all. Heck, they are still ADS after all.

Now, I've got some ADS L570 IIs, and EPI 100vs. Both are 2-way. I feel they are both excellent speakers, but the L570s, all-original, are a better speaker, in my world, than the EPI 100vs, which I got off GordonW for a song, and have been recently recapped, refurbished, and upgraded.

But, to each his own. I highly value your ear, and opinion, and would never dream of calling your findings wrong, or incorrectly biased, just different, in regards to that final decider, one's own personal taste.

After reading your post, it makes me want to upgrade those Genesis IIs even more, and as I get two out of the four of them, I'm trying to think of a way of talking my friend out of the other two. So far, I'm refurbishing his Cerwin Vegas and EPI 100vs, but I'm also thinking of giving him my Pioneer CS-201 IIs and my matching Cerwin Vegas, an excellent and loud and proud HED/CV-3000 model (he's got the only other pair I've ever personally seen).

Wish me luck- I'd love to claim that I've got four of them, with boxes, near-mint.

Glad to have read your post, and outcome on this.

By the way, I've decided the 3-way L630s will do me just fine for the time being, unless some 810s/880s come up for a fabulous price. I'd like to add some DCM timewindows next, possibly some Polk SDAs, to experience that crosstalk cancelling technology that's built in to them.

The Polks will be a barrel ful of fun, and as I like my Polk Monitor 7s way more than I should, or ever thought I would, some of our pals claim the ADS sound colored when compared to the DCM Timewindows. I'm also interested in speakers that aim drivers in other directions than just forward. Hence, my like for Allison, upper-ADS models, EPIs, and my unhealthy obsession with Bose as of late. Maybe a shot of penicillin will cure that.

But those ADS L630s I have are just peachy. Dunno how they differ from yours, in terms of size, drivers, ohm rating, but they are about the size of an 880/810- bought 880/810 grills off the 'Bay for cheapo for the badges, and lo and behold, they fit the 630s. Also, mine are 8 ohms. I think you said yours were 6 ohms?

Here's a pic of my L630s...

This post has been edited by thedelihaus on September 14, 2006 10:54 pm

Attached Image (Click thumbnail to expand)

When you heard the Genesis the EQ was jacked and the loudness on. I realized the tone controls were jacked around for my KLH's but thought the tone switch was off. After you guys left i hooked the Genesis back up and was scratching my head why they sounded so boomy and odd and then notice the tone switch which controls the EQ section was on. After switching it off it got much better. Then after turning the loudness off it got even better. I also switched the tweeters to the louder setting on the back and found it a better balance for the overpowering bass. Additionally i found the Genesis really like to be up off the ground and out from the wall some. I like the ADS a lot but I did notice right away the top end was not near as sweet as I remember your 810's being. I was also surprised today after the back to back comparaison as well. I thought for sure i would like the ADS a lot better but in the end it was to close to call and the more exciting to listen to dynamics and smoother top end of the Genesis won me over. Additionally these speaker sound quit a bit alike. I turned the tone controls on the amp off and ran them both flat. When A/B ing them I did not notice as much difference I usually do in a shoot out. Some speakers can sound totally different and you can still like both. These sound similar to me.

Well, that makes some sense. Those Genesis definitely had bottom end problems when I heard them, but having the loudness on an already bass heavy receiver explains alot. I'm still surprised, though, at how close the comparison came. I suppose you could try stacking them and running both pairs if they're so similar.

Are you going to throw the EPI 120Cs into the mix to see how the changes in the newer model may be positive or detrimental?

- JP

Paul, you'll have to use your own ears to make the decision on the ADS verses the Genesis II's. Dingus and Chari did not care much for the II's and even though i had the EQ jacked they still represent some of that sound they did not like. They do something for me and I can't really put a finger on it. I will say the ADS are speakers that you can just hook up and they sound great and balanced. The Genesis have more spunk and impact and maybe that's what i like about them. Maybe they are more exaggerated and that interests me? Dunno. Like i said there is no clear winner to me and that in itself was a surprise as I have predetermined that the ADS would be a good deal better.

I'm going to weight the passive like Gordon suggested as i think that is exactly what they need.

Will do that after i refoam them.

I just got done with one of the huge passives from the Pioneer S-1010's. I had to splice a surround into three parts and a bunch of other monkey business plus use a glue i had never used and I am less than pleased with the results. It will work but I'm guessing the surrounds will be on the stiff side and they do not look real sharp. Frustrating not having the right parts for the job. It looks as good as it could for a epoxied cone and spliced surround.

Kelly, in the end, I know I'll like both the Genesis IIs and the ADS L630s very much indeed. Both are excellent speakers.

As for the difference between the ADS L810s and your L730s, interesting that you've noticed a difference too.

Nothing wrong with the L630s and L730s, I think you and I will both agree, but interesting to know that there's a difference out there. For whatever it's worth.

Thanks for posting about the two here, the Genesis and the ADS.

Oh, and while I'm on- what do you feel about the Polk Monitor series? I've got 7s, and like them very much. If I'm recalling correctly, you weren't too fond of them. Am I mistaken?

Please keep me posted on the mods to the Genesis too. I eagerly look forward to your results.

This post has been edited by thedelihaus on September 15, 2006 12:11 am

Gordon Waters of Audio Atlanta? He does seem infatuated with passive radiators, so his advice, while possibly a bit biased, is likely good. The typical material used to add mass to PRs is good ol' modeling clay, the kind that doesn't dry out. If that PR has a VC former attached to a spider, you should be able to put some clay inside the tube to ensure an even balance and secure hold.

The only issue I can see is that the mass to add is typically calculated by taking box volume, stuffing, and desired tuning frequency into account. It's hard to do a good job of it by the seat of your pants, so you'll want to slowly add a little bit at a time and listen to the results to tune it in by ear. Even then you may not be able to hit the sweet spot.

When I built by PR based subwoofer, I used a hardware scale (grossly inaccurate) to determine how many washers to add to my 1lbs of clay (designers suggestion) and ended up adding too much. While it provided deeper low end, it really messed up the smoothness of the response on the top end. This was fine with a sub, but as that PR is associated with an 8" woofer that goes up to ~2k, this could be highly detrimental.

As to the S-1010, are you going to post pictures of the job in your past thread? Your experience could end up helping someone else out. (Scilicet, me.) It should be no surprise that such a task would be difficult as the curvature of surrounds for a different size does not adjust none-too-easily.

- JP