When I went to pick up the ADS L420's a few weeks back the seller threw in a pair of Advent 5012's for a reasonable price. They needed work though.
The Advent 5012, from what I gather are the last rendition of the large Advent and the best with the soft dome tweeter. These speakers are large, larger than the Pioneer HPM-60's and larger than the JBL L26's.
These speakers needed a re foam on the woofers, bracing on the inside cabinet, sanding and a new coat of Minwax and crossover work along with new speaker terminals.
Here is how they ended up.
So far I have really enjoyed these speakers, the 10" woofer goes as deep as the JBL L26's I just recently had but the dome tweeter just images way better.
I have read lots of stuff on the Large Advent and the consensus is this is the best out of the lot.
I did do a few tweaks tot he cabinet and installed a brace at the weakest point of the front baffle.
I tried changing the 7uF and the 32uF series cap into a single 5.6uF but found I was blowing the fuses, this aspect of the crossover still needs some work. My best option is sourcing polyester caps of the original value and going the series route.
This is the third pair of Advent to date, I once had a pair of Advent 2/W's and a pair of 2002 of which I swapped the EPI tweeters for.
Woofer re foam
The Advent 5012, from what I gather are the last rendition of the large Advent and the best with the soft dome tweeter. These speakers are large, larger than the Pioneer HPM-60's and larger than the JBL L26's.
These speakers needed a re foam on the woofers, bracing on the inside cabinet, sanding and a new coat of Minwax and crossover work along with new speaker terminals.
Here is how they ended up.
So far I have really enjoyed these speakers, the 10" woofer goes as deep as the JBL L26's I just recently had but the dome tweeter just images way better.
I have read lots of stuff on the Large Advent and the consensus is this is the best out of the lot.
I did do a few tweaks tot he cabinet and installed a brace at the weakest point of the front baffle.
I tried changing the 7uF and the 32uF series cap into a single 5.6uF but found I was blowing the fuses, this aspect of the crossover still needs some work. My best option is sourcing polyester caps of the original value and going the series route.
Update: I have since returned the crossover to the original cap values in series using polyester film caps (7uf) and a Solen electrolytic cap in the 33uf value.
This is the third pair of Advent to date, I once had a pair of Advent 2/W's and a pair of 2002 of which I swapped the EPI tweeters for.
Woofer re foam
What amps did you pair with the Advent 5012 speakers? I inherited a pair from my Uncle and getting them refoamed and repaired by a professional. Just wondering what amp would match well with the Advents. I have a solid state Class AB amp and a Class D type amp.
ReplyDeleteThanks
I was using a Myryad T-40 intergrated amp. Try both amps and see which one sounds better. A push pull tube amp would make the Advent sing.
DeleteVery Beatiful Speakers, I Like It (Chile)
ReplyDeleteDave Fletcher
ReplyDeleteI too have a set of Advent 5012 speakers. I purchased these from Commercial Electronics in Vancouver in May of 1988 for $500. At the time they were certainly of the best around especially for the money and they reproduced all forms of music incredibly well. Incidentally the reason I am commenting here is because I still own and listen to them almost every day. As well I purchased and partnered them with a new Denon 3030 Optical Class A Integrated Amplifier running 110 watts of very clean sound to all 5 channels discretely. I am still using that setup today with the same incredible results.
I converted my curb score NLA to 5012's because they already had the 25th anniversary soft dome tweeters. I refoamed, recapped, regrilled and refinished them and they have stayed around while ADS L-520's, L-1290's came and went. I love ADS and wish I hadn't sold the 520's at least, but the Advent's had a wider range with lower bass and sounded every bit as detailed. I actually run them with an 8wpc EL34 SE tube amp and I hear no distortion and deep bass.
DeleteI think the 5012s outperform AR2aX's that I've heard as well. I'll never sell these.
dave, where did you get your surrounds from.. thanks
ReplyDeletecalvin
I used to get them from Main Street Electronics in Vancouver. They are now closed. So I have been buying on Ebay from audiodogs, they are in Canada and have reasonable shipping.
Delete