ADS Speakers

jmacstack · 10-16-2009, 01:44 PM

I have some annoying distortion in one of my ADS speakers. I suspect the woofer is blown. I have tested the other 5 and all seem in good sounding order except one. Has anyone had to replace one of these woofers? I do know that as long as I match watts and impedance and as long as the replacement woofer fits into the existing space, I don't need to use an A.D.S. replacement. I'm just wondering if the distortion could be coming from something else, like a bad channel? Any ideas? Thanks, Jennifer

encantotom · 10-16-2009, 03:40 PM

distortion can only come from 3 places. the speaker itself, he source material or the amplifier.

from what you have said, it is not the source, you can go to the back of the radio and swap the wires for the speakers to be sure it isnt the radio, but if you turn the balance on the radio to the side of the speaker with the distortion and you have another speaker hooked up that is playing ok, then the amp is fine most likely.

as for the replacing of the woofer, it is possible, but the chance of getting one with similar tonal qualities is low. for some people that doesnt matter, i am an audiophile, so i wouldnt even consider it.

i have the original speakers in the bedroom that came from newell and i believe they are ads, i would have to go look. i put in new higher end speakers from Focal in the front and rear and do not have them hooked up.

give me the model number of yours and i will see if they are the same.

tom

encantotom · 10-16-2009, 03:48 PM

but i gotta tell ya, the idea of repairing those old speakers vs putting in new ones that are tons better is a foreign thought to me.

i have reconed speakers that are audiophile grade, but i wouldnt do that for ones like these.

but i am a nut and realize it.

tom

HoosierDaddy · 10-16-2009, 03:51 PM

Hi Jennifer.
My A/D/S speakers all connect to a (well hidden) crossover. If yours are the same you probably have one channel powering more than one set of woofer/mid/tweeters. In that case the crossover could be suspect as well. Three things to try:
1. Gently press in on the speaker cone with your hand by placing all your fingers evenly around the midway between the rim and the center of the cone. The objective is to press the cone straight in evenly.The speaker cone should move easily and quietly . You should be able to depress it up to 1/4 " depending on the size and construction of the speaker...Use great care here!!. If there is any scratching sound the voice coil is probably damaged.
2. A quick check could be done with a 9V battery. Check the voice coil by intermittently attaching the battery to the + and - terminals...first +to + then + to -. You should see the speaker cone move in or out depending on the polarity of the hook-up. If it moves freely and there is no visual damage to the cone it may be alright.
3. If that all checks out OK I would power that one speaker with a known clean source to determine it's performance.

As you may have found out already A/D/S is no longer in business but there are a number of brands that would work well as replacements.
Dean

jmacstack · 11-14-2009, 02:26 PM

Since A/D/S is out of business, I ended up replacing the woofers in both front speakers with another brand that had to be a bit modified to fit in the same space as the ADS woofers. Hopefully today, I will be re-installing the speakers back in the coach and we'll see how they sound. Total cost, $70.00. Jennifer