# AD Designs



## edzyy (Aug 18, 2011)

Anyone familiar with the brand? 

Keep seeing it whored out on FB 



> When car audio started many years ago, U.S. made product dominated the speaker and amplifier categories. Build quality was rock solid and performance was second to none. With the desire to offer subwoofers and amplifiers based on "old school" principles, AD Designs was born in 2010 by Audio Dynamics which was founded in 1995. Audio Dynamics teamed up with a U.S. world class subwoofer and amp manufacturer that has over 60 years of experience. AD Designs speakers and amplifiers are hand assembled, incorporating cutting-edge technology and utilizing superior state-of-the-art components built to exact tolerances and specifications. All of the components used on our subwoofers are the results of over 60 years of continuous development.


AD Designs

Don't really see anything special & their prices are damn outrageous

Edit:



hurrication said:


> Their components are nothing more than tweaked buildhouse models. Their flagship line is built on the same buildhouse model as the Tantric components which are selling for like 250 bucks. They used to state in their "about us" on their website that their speakers were made in the US, but I sent an e-mail asking them why they claim they're made on home soil when they are blatant buildhouse specials. The owner e-mailed me back with a bunch of bs trying to justify why he thinks his subtle tweaks constitute more than just a "rebadge". An excerpt from his e-mail states the only differences between the buildhouse lines and his lines.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


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## minbari (Mar 3, 2011)

I used to live in Farmington. there are nothing special. They dont actually make any of the stuff they sell, its all made and designed by someone else.

not to say they arent good, just not great

look at thier "best" 15 sub. fs of 40hz and qts of 1.3 (holy ****!)


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## edzyy (Aug 18, 2011)

Figured much. 

One of their reps was down talking hybrid audio. Tool. 

https://www.facebook.com/groups/116643175034109/permalink/700846156613805/?stream_ref=2


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## minbari (Mar 3, 2011)

lol, ya. I talked to them once. they are the type that say everything else is crap in an effort to make themselves look good. I mean any company that claims CLD will, and I quote "Hear more warmth in vocals, body to string instruments, kick to drums, richness to horns, and low bass extension by transforming your doors into enclosures and taking out the rattles of auto body and interior panels." are tools. some of that is kinda true, 1/2 of it is pure marketing garbage.

Tried to tell me that ID wasnt as good as them too.


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## edzyy (Aug 18, 2011)

I was considering picking up their 2k set just for testing, but their rep think's he's meade jr with all the **** talking.

They just lost a customer.


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## minbari (Mar 3, 2011)

just read that whole FB thread you posted. funny stuff. I see he is still bashing ID, lol.

I just cant take anyone seriously when they're only retort to every argument is "buy a set and you will see" although I agree that hearing is beleiving, when it comes to speakers. its a tough market to pull the "trust me, I know what I am talking about" act when you have no rep to fall back on, lol.


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## [email protected] (Jun 12, 2008)

They are from STL? I have never heard of them


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## minbari (Mar 3, 2011)

[email protected] said:


> They are from STL? I have never heard of them


ya, Farmington, mo. little town about 70 miles south of STL.


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## [email protected] (Jun 12, 2008)

minbari said:


> ya, Farmington, mo. little town about 70 miles south of STL.


Family has some property out there. I just have not seen it in any dealers down here towards the city before.


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## captainscarlett (Mar 15, 2011)

When I spoke to Steve, he seems to be quite complimentary about them in comparison to other brands. Hands up I initially contact Steve with a question about DD. 

Apart from PWK's reviews, there seems to be little to no info about them. 






At just seems like the market is flooded with too many new brands popping up, being revived etc. Personally, for now I'll stick to what I know and like, Hybrid being one brand that I have enjoyed!


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## minbari (Mar 3, 2011)

cause they dont 

only two dealers in MO, according to thier website. Farmington and Kaiser.


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## sbeezy (Nov 22, 2008)

I think edgar is blowing this out of proportion! i was there for the supposed "debate" and hate of HAT I think steve is entitled to his opinion but he likes AD better than his HAT gear but he also loves his HAT drivers so where's the bashing?


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## miniSQ (Aug 4, 2009)

edzyy said:


> I was considering picking up their 2k set just for testing, but their rep think's he's meade jr with all the **** talking.
> 
> They just lost a customer.


I never heard an AD speaker in my life...and i do not know Steve, or anything about his qualifications, other than he has been at this for a long time and is generally very well respected. 

But at first glance, it seems you were trolling there, and i also think you are trolling here. There, your very first comment was that his speakers looked cheap. Here you started in on them being whorted out on FB. Neither comment seemed like it had any intention of you learning anything about AD.


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## sbeezy (Nov 22, 2008)

miniSQ said:


> I never heard an AD speaker in my life...and i do not know Steve, or anything about his qualifications, other than he has been at this for a long time and is generally very well respected.
> 
> But at first glance, it seems you were trolling there, and i also think you are trolling here. There, your very first comment was that his speakers looked cheap. Here you started in on them being whorted out on FB. Neither comment seemed like it had any intention of you learning anything about AD.


^This!:laugh:


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## edzyy (Aug 18, 2011)

miniSQ said:


> I never heard an AD speaker in my life...and i do not know Steve, or anything about his qualifications, other than he has been at this for a long time and is generally very well respected.
> 
> But at first glance, it seems you were trolling there, and i also think you are trolling here. There, your very first comment was that his speakers looked cheap. Here you started in on them being whorted out on FB. Neither comment seemed like it had any intention of you learning anything about AD.


You clearly have zero idea what trolling means. 

All I said was, this does not scream $350 dollars









...And it doesn't.

I could careless about AD at this point..their rep is a complete ass throwing out wild claims with zero scientific proof.


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## sbeezy (Nov 22, 2008)

Like I said in the original thread you can't judge sonic performance by just looking at something! Boss rev amps are a great example of that !

Sent from my SPH-L710 using Tapatalk


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## sbeezy (Nov 22, 2008)

He has both sets so he has experience with both ! I think you just don't like being disagreed with! Just as you got your panties in a wad over you thinking IB was the end all be all way to run a sub!

Sent from my SPH-L710 using Tapatalk


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## miniSQ (Aug 4, 2009)

edzyy said:


> You clearly have zero idea what trolling means.
> 
> All I said was, this does not scream $350 dollars
> 
> ...


Clearly, i was mistaken...no trolling going on here. 

i suggest you listen to the speaker before you comment further.

Case in point...Vandersteen 2Ci home speaker...retailed for about $1200, and had about $100 worth of parts in it, some would say the black sock was the most expensive part of the speaker. But the speaker sounded amazing!!!!

Of course it also looked amazing.

This was Steves point....and its a good one, those AD's look fine, and typical for a lower end comp ( which at $349 they are). He was saying judge them by how they sound, not by by how you perceive them to look.

As for Hybrid..i have owned a set of the Imagines, and i was not in love with the sound, but for Steve to say they were veiled by a thick blanket over them was a bit of a stretch in my opinion.

Image Dynamics comps...i have owned them too, i love the company..both before and after eric, but in my opinion the comps are not great.

I do know that Pete likes the AD subs, and i know he replaced his Hybrid front end with these AF comps and seems very happy with his choice.

But i am also not an idiot...they are both financially interested in selling AD speakers, but so far neither one of them has said anything deserving of your comments.

You said yourself, you don't take this serious enough to do any homework on the brand..so i would suggest dialing it back a little.


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## edzyy (Aug 18, 2011)

sbeezy said:


> Like I said in the original thread you can't judge sonic performance by just looking at something! Boss rev amps are a great example of that !
> 
> Sent from my SPH-L710 using Tapatalk


How else can I judge them? No one runs this stuff

& they're zero reviews online 



sbeezy said:


> He has both sets so he has experience with both ! I think you just don't like being disagreed with! Just as you got your panties in a wad over you thinking IB was the end all be all way to run a sub!
> 
> Sent from my SPH-L710 using Tapatalk


Dude, I don't care about his experience. He made outlandish claims and was called out on it.. He then acted like a child with his petty insults.

As far as IB goes, if a trunk is available, I'll always recommend it.

Why can't this man join and speak for himself?


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## miniSQ (Aug 4, 2009)

edzyy said:


> How else can I judge them? No one runs this stuff
> 
> & they're zero reviews online


i remember a time in 1987 when the same could have been said about certain a speaker company from florida. The 8w2 didn't look any more robust than these AD 2k's, but it sounded amazing!!


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## edzyy (Aug 18, 2011)

miniSQ said:


> Clearly, i was mistaken...no trolling going on here.
> 
> i suggest you listen to the speaker before you comment further.
> 
> ...


Like I said before, it's cool to like what you like

What's not cool is trying to discredit tried & proven brands & your only proof is "I said so"


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## SkizeR (Apr 19, 2011)

their "premium" amps are just copies of the audioque amps that all new companies copy now a days.


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## jpeezy (Feb 5, 2012)

Looks an aweful lot like Elemental Designs? However if they were to promote their product with demo vehicles, either a nationwide tour or setting up dealer hotspots around the country and started hitting some car shows and charity events, they might actually get somewhere.


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## miniSQ (Aug 4, 2009)

jpeezy said:


> Looks an aweful lot like Elemental Designs? However if they were to promote their product with demo vehicles, either a nationwide tour or setting up dealer hotspots around the country and started hitting some car shows and charity events, they might actually get somewhere.


i was thinking the same thing...reminds of the speakers and the business model ben had in the beginning of eD.


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## sbeezy (Nov 22, 2008)

They have a demo vehicle! I don't know about the national tour though, but their dealer network is growing!

Sent from my SPH-L710 using Tapatalk


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## sjr033 (Dec 30, 2011)

The mistake that the AD rep made, it's common and I run from, is promoting his product by downgrading competitors. He should had explained why the AD were good/better. For example if I was at a Ford dealer looking at a F-150 and all the salesman said was the Dodge Ram was junk, then I walk away. But if he explains that the Ford can tow more or has a stronger frame and that's why it's better, then you have a good salesman.


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## edzyy (Aug 18, 2011)

sjr033 said:


> The mistake that the AD rep made, it's common and I run from, is promoting his product by downgrading competitors. He should had explained why the AD were good/better. For example if I was at a Ford dealer looking at a F-150 and all the salesman said was the Dodge Ram was junk, then I walk away. But if he explains that the Ford can tow more or has a stronger frame and that's why it's better, then you have a good salesman.


This is what I've been trying to explain the entire time. 

Can't downtalk competitors just to downtalk

And do it with no proof at that.


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## hurrication (Dec 19, 2011)

Their components are nothing more than tweaked buildhouse models. Their flagship line is built on the same buildhouse model as the Tantric components which are selling for like 250 bucks. They used to state in their "about us" on their website that their speakers were made in the US, but I sent an e-mail asking them why they claim they're made on home soil when they are blatant buildhouse specials. The owner e-mailed me back with a bunch of bs trying to justify why he thinks his subtle tweaks constitute more than just a "rebadge". An excerpt from his e-mail states the only differences between the buildhouse lines and his lines.



> The crossovers are my personal design, different tweeters on the coaxials, different cones on the 4000 Series mids, and our own selection of spade and push pin terminals.


On their facebook page they have a picture of a RTA graph without equalization to quench room nodes bragging about test listeners from a blind test all chosing their entry level components over a Morel virtus set meaning they are a better performing set, but both of the curves are almost identical with the only difference being their set is about 3db louder. I'm sure the speakers sound good, but the owner's trickery and attitude is on the level that I would expect from a used car salesman. 

Check out their prices compared to the FOB quantity prices from the buildhouse!

2000 series
2000 series buildhouse line
3000 series
3000 series buildhouse line
4000 series
4000 series buildhouse line


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## minbari (Mar 3, 2011)

The buildhouse links dont work 

sent from my phone using digital farts


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## edzyy (Aug 18, 2011)

minbari said:


> The buildhouse links dont work
> 
> sent from my phone using digital farts


They work on my end


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## sbeezy (Nov 22, 2008)

The page we are looking for can't be found! what browser are you running ?

Sent from my SPH-L710 using Tapatalk


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## Horsemanwill (Jun 1, 2008)

just go to alibaba and search Guangzhou Huiyin Audio Co., Ltd.


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## edzyy (Aug 18, 2011)

hurrication said:


> Their components are nothing more than tweaked buildhouse models. Their flagship line is built on the same buildhouse model as the Tantric components which are selling for like 250 bucks. They used to state in their "about us" on their website that their speakers were made in the US, but I sent an e-mail asking them why they claim they're made on home soil when they are blatant buildhouse specials. The owner e-mailed me back with a bunch of bs trying to justify why he thinks his subtle tweaks constitute more than just a "rebadge". An excerpt from his e-mail states the only differences between the buildhouse lines and his lines.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


When asked about this, their rep Steve stated



> Like most every human, you have at one point in your life had a pet. Once you have taught the pet to do something, you expect that pet to act the same way. When for whatever reason it deviates from that expected behavior, you discipline it. Now, your light discipline practiced in front of 100 other pet owners will likely net you 1 waaaaay off the charts wacko in the group that goes absolutely ballistic over your discipline method or the happenstance that you wore goddamn corduroy jeans while administering the discipline. That guy is what i liken the affected DIY guy to. Like facebook, that is a place for people to post anything they want. Some people on facebook post interesting things, some post such vague **** that if you knew them better than their own mother you'd still have no idea what they were talking about....and others post complaint after complaint after complaint, like their life is made of nothing but complaints. I'm sure a close companion of that person would nod "yes" if asked if the dude does nothing but complain.





> For one, 90% of the products out there are modified versions of something "off the shelf".....hell a bunch of it is literally the same damn thing with a different logo on it. Look at how many off the shelf parts you see on at least 50% of subwoofers out there, common top plates, common T-yolks, common baskets, common coils on many, common cones, common dust caps, common spiders. I'd expect some bleeding P to complain that a company uses the same lead-in wire that another company they like uses. If you were to build your own speakers for the purpose of listening pleasure, you would stop once you reached your sound goal. If you tested 50 different models from 20 different build houses....you'd run through them till you reached the closest to your goal in that price range, then you'd have the company change this n that and send you a prototype to sample. You like it more or you like it less, then you have them change another thing or two and send another sample. that happens over and over until you reach your sound goal. If that speaker looks EXACTLY like the build house's piece, who gives a ****? Seriously, who but ________ on DIY or CACO or Caraudio.com gives a ****? Nobody. That guy is one guy and he isn't your customer....he's the equivalent of a damn OSHA compliance inspector. Irrelevant in the grand scheme of things and literally has a picture of one product and a picture of another as a comparison. For him or anyone else to complain about the stock build house lot pricing vs the retail price on the manf website shows how inexperienced he is in the field of retail or even wholesale caraudio......or sales of ANYTHING. Most manfs get their coaxial sets WAY cheaper than the lot prices on even the first series he linked to. I worked for companies that got loaded 12" enclosures with bells n whistles added to them, packaged n all for $25.....and their retail sure as hell isn't $50. His complaint isn't valid, it is a polaroid picture of inexperience and lack of understanding of retail business....simple as that. I never sampled a standard speaker from that build house. If you get a chance to get your hands on one and "the AD that looks like it", do us all a favor and give us your review. Then buy 1000 sets and become a manf and make some money. Or hock them at 2x their cost on DIY and become a forum hero for 3 days to a whopping crowd of 500.


Too much psycho-babble & window dressing.


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## hurrication (Dec 19, 2011)

Oh my... LOL. I just changed my avatar.. look at it!

That must be one expensive cone they use in the 4000 series.


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## cajunner (Apr 13, 2007)

cull the pool of redundant gear flooding the market?

sure, why not...

I mean, if you're going after the diyma jackals you'd better have more than a little marketing lionization of the goods...


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## hurrication (Dec 19, 2011)

What they don't realize is that people have no issues at all with good performing Chinese buildhouse products. The problem lies in the extreme price and the attempt at justifying that price.


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## Bayboy (Dec 29, 2010)

If there is a problem with over-inflated pricing then the problem will solve itself eventually. After all, many these days are comparing products within the same specs so if it is not hard to see the similarities.... I wouldn't sweat it. Just don't support their products if you feel it's not worth it.


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## cajunner (Apr 13, 2007)

some people feel a personal affront to the sizzle without the steak, and an online forum with "500" malcontents, is apparently enough of a sample size to warrant response from the representation surrounding this enterprise.

is it Critical Mass business modeling, is there enough room in the market to sustain another hyped outfit tagged by excessive retail points, and thrown at the baller pot, with sensationalized copy fit to tuck into a comic book's back pages, or is it genuine goods with the value in the product fitted by extrasensory perceptions of the guru tweaker man?

use your eyes and ears, use your imagination, but use your common sense.


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## minbari (Mar 3, 2011)

edzyy said:


> When asked about this, their rep Steve stated
> 
> 
> 
> ...


I guess he figures of he talks long enough. With enough unrelated crap, people will lose interest in the argument and give up?

sent from my phone using digital farts


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## edzyy (Aug 18, 2011)

minbari said:


> I guess he figures of he talks long enough. With enough unrelated crap, people will lose interest in the argument and give up?
> 
> sent from my phone using digital farts


Seems to be it. 

That PWK group has a Meade like following. 

They treat Steve Milton and Pete like gods & think they know everything.

Apparently, me and SkizeR that saw past the BS are "trolls". They've yet to answer what warrants such a high markup on their items 

I could honestly careless about the brand..just don't like when people take advantage of uninformed newbs to line their pockets


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## thehatedguy (May 4, 2007)

Steve Milton...yawn. He thought he knew it all when he worked for Digital Designs...lot of words that really meant nothing.


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## thehatedguy (May 4, 2007)

Pete missed the emo rocks look by about a decade...he is so full of it too.


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## captainscarlett (Mar 15, 2011)

thehatedguy said:


> ...he is so full of it too.


As a customer of Pete's I'm impressed by his design. However, that I've had my sub in a t-line i designed, and in a sealed enclosure with measurements from the manufacturers own recommendations (28-30). Fact is, I enjoyed all three enclosures, and for me it comes down to exactly that, enjoyment, not graphs plots (not having a dig at Pete in particular) and SPL figures. Sometimes I like my ears to do the work.

I do think Pete is a knowledgeable person, and I think he does a lot to prove his point, but I don't think he's the only knowledgeable person out there.


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## qwertydude (Dec 22, 2008)

edzyy said:


> When asked about this, their rep Steve stated
> 
> 
> 
> ...


I have to agree. If that guy thinks we're a bunch of brand bashing know-nothings he's an idiot. This isn't the SMD forum. Any good performing speaker can rise to the top of the recommended lists.

Sundown did it, they started just the same. Nearly no name recognition and generic products but because they built a quality product and sold it at a very reasonable price, everyone here has nothing but praise for their products. We all know Sundown's woofers are pretty generic, basically the same as the Skar even. But build it with quality, back it with decent customer service, and price it reasonably and you don't have to bash everyone else. Everyone will eventually come to you.


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## rton20s (Feb 14, 2011)

Not that he is the end all/be all on the subject, but Andy Wehmeyer has offered some decent insight on this subject recently. Not specifically about AD (I don't think he would ever do that), but about the industry as a whole. First a few quotes from him, and I'll follow up with my own thoughts. (I would encourage you to look at the entire thread that these came from so you can understand the context.) 



Andy Wehmeyer said:


> ^^ How long does the preposterous "cost cutting our way to a profit" have to continue before managers and shareholders are willing to sacrifice a little short term gain for revenue generation in the longer term that comes from happier customers?
> 
> Big public companies kinda suck, in my opinion. Of course, there are exceptions, but not many, it seems.
> 
> I'm currently meeting with factories to have them build my designs and I've heard every day for the past two weeks, "We can change your design to make it cheaper" to which I keep replying, "Tell me how you can change my design to make it better, then we'll talk about price. Show me something cool. Do your best work! Almost every one of my competitors is doing everything they can to make tweeters smaller, make magnets smaller, make mounting systems crappier, or just sell some low-performance off-the shelf thing. My customers expect better from me."





Andy Wehmeyer said:


> Guys, I don't have product samples yet. I'll be at the show, but I won't have a booth this year. Products are in development now, but samples are a few months out. All of this stuff is designed from scratch, so the process is:
> 
> Determine target performance specs, develop industrial design, develop mechanical design, develop acoustic samples to test performance, begin tooling of parts, build first sample using tooled parts, test samples, refine the parts, build second sample, test the second sample, refine if necessary, start production. Depending on the product and the performance targets, this can take between 6 months and who knows?
> 
> The other way is to buy a plane ticket and go choose a bunch of existing stuff and stick a label on it. That takes about two months plus shipping. I'm not doing that, so this is a longer process.





Andy Wehmeyer said:


> OF course Dayton is an OK manufacturer. I was referring to the hundreds of links I see here on DIYmobileaudio to Alibaba and all kinds of eBay sites where people are selling knock-offs and raw drivers from other kits.
> 
> All I'm saying is that when you choose to buy from those sellers, you undermine a part of the industry that's trying to make better stuff. I know it's difficult to sort the real from the off-the-shelf. I was shocked to see so many companies at CES pitching exactly the same products from second rate suppliers. Much of it was exactly the same. The REAL brands and manufacturers aren't doing this.


Now, to my thoughts. Do I see anything inherently wrong with what AD is doing relative to the rest of the industry? No. It just so happens that their basis of design is out there for the world to see on Alibaba. 

Is their MSRP higher than it should be? Maybe. But as a consumer, it is your responsibility to educate yourself. 

And what about Pete and Steve? In my opinion, they seem to promote whoever is paying them at the time. Whether this is through monetary compensation or free/reduced price product. They had a relationship with DD, and DD was the hot ticket. Then it was Hybrid and now it is AD. In a few months, it will be something else. Unless AD continues to line their pockets. 

Now, this isn't to take away from their knowledge/talent. They both seemed quite skilled on the surface, but I really don't know all that much about them. As a "representative" of AD, I think Steve could have handled himself better. Both in promoting the product (brand bashing?) and in his poorly conceived analogies. 

As far as Pete is concerned, I think some of the "new" has worn off and so you're starting to see more people distancing themselves from the PWK camp. Beyond that, the change in his videos from car audio focused to a "slice of life" weekly blog has done a great deal to lift a veil. He has gone from this anonymous guy with a strange accent who performed acoustic wizardry to a grown man who exhibits strangely immature behavior for the world to see.


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## Bayboy (Dec 29, 2010)

Man, it's like this..... for most of us, car audio is like a collage. As you play around with it over the years you gather bits of info from all sorts of sources. You learn by your own experiments as well. But the main thing is you sort through lots of ******** & truths to come up with what you view as usable to you. You piece it all together until it becomes your form or expression of art that you practice rather. We all think differently somewhat, but we all know ******** from the truth as well. There's just no need to dwell on the bs because we all see it... There will be more as it always has in the past. 

Now off to start up my smoker/grill!


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## miniSQ (Aug 4, 2009)

rton20s said:


> Not that he is the end all/be all on the subject, but Andy Wehmeyer has offered some decent insight on this subject recently. Not specifically about AD (I don't think he would ever do that), but about the industry as a whole. First a few quotes from him, and I'll follow up with my own thoughts. (I would encourage you to look at the entire thread that these came from so you can understand the context.)
> 
> 
> 
> ...


100% THIS!!!


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## tyroneshoes (Mar 21, 2006)

TW134 - 3000/4000 Series 25mm Soft Dome Tweeter Set

these look like my alibaba direct tweets down to the "german silk dome"

http://www.diymobileaudio.com/forum...-small-tweeter-only-business-suggestions.html

that ended up being pretty horrible. Red flag for me.


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## hurrication (Dec 19, 2011)

Did you get yours from the Huiyin buildhouse? That's where theirs are sourced from.


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## SkizeR (Apr 19, 2011)

tyroneshoes said:


> TW134 - 3000/4000 Series 25mm Soft Dome Tweeter Set
> 
> these look like my alibaba direct tweets down to the "german silk dome"
> 
> ...


you can get components with that exact tweeter for that price. that brand is such a joke. its a shame pete works for them now


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## tyroneshoes (Mar 21, 2006)

Yep. And they were horrible liars

http://www.diymobileaudio.com/forum...mall-tweeter-only-business-suggestions-5.html


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## captainscarlett (Mar 15, 2011)

I do struggle with this, *becasue it seems that only in the U.S.* companies want to push the point of products that are designed and built within their own country ..... which claim then turns out to be less than accurate! Focal's main marketing message isn't that the products are built in France! Hertz's main marketing messages isn't that it's built in Italy! 

The semantics about 'you have to do this that and the other' to be certified as a 'Manufacturer' is still somewhat of an irrelevance. The stuff is still bought from China! The best analogy is the car 'Manufacturer' Brabus. Yes, Brabus are officially a Manufacturer, but you can't tell me their 220 mph family saloon is based on the Tata Nano. It's obviously a Merc. 

Tata Nano | Fuel Efficient Petrol Cars in India | Small Cars in India


So AD Designs in my eyes, follows a long line of car audio companies who have products that either

*1)* Start their life in the Far East 
*2)* Are re-badged products
*3)* Warmed up leftovers from another company

That seems to be endemic of the car audio industry, and i include the use of home audio based drivers in that. Or in other words; _I've yet to be shocked that AD Designs are buying build-house and jacking up the price._ That's nothing new for the car audio world! I was shocked yesterday to see a pair of near £7,000 ATC SCM25A Pro speakers to be using what appear to be a $16.25 Tymphany BC25SC55-04 tweeters, as ATC have used this tweeter in other speakers, but AD Designs, I take it in my stride. 


The question for me is;* how does AD Designs perform?*



rton20s said:


> But as a consumer, it is your responsibility to educate yourself.



My only real concern is the enclosures Pete seems to be designing. Either the subs really do need the _complexity of the types of enclosures he has been presenting on his vlog *recently*_, or theirs a huge amount of *Ego* and *Showmanship* going on! I don't want to be overly critical or cynical, Pete has and does a lot to explain his POV on acoustics, but .... 


No one product sticks out. For all the talk of xmax, the next ten subs are going to have bigger xmax figures. For all the power handling talk, the next ten subs are going to handle more. The market is flooded with choice, and no company has yet to present me with a decent answer to: *What is it that your subs, amps, speakers do or don't do, that the next ten brands do or don't do? *

If you can find me a sales rep to answer that question, you've got a sale and you can take my money!


http://www.diymobileaudio.com/forum/1660476-post26.html
http://www.diymobileaudio.com/forum...s-industry-dogma/125363-re-branded-items.html


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## Smdaniel-11 (Feb 4, 2019)

miniSQ said:


> I never heard an AD speaker in my life...and i do not know Steve, or anything about his qualifications, other than he has been at this for a long time and is generally very well respected.
> 
> But at first glance, it seems you were trolling there, and i also think you are trolling here. There, your very first comment was that his speakers looked cheap. Here you started in on them being whorted out on FB. Neither comment seemed like it had any intention of you learning anything about AD.


I bought the 4000 set up and Steve added the 3.5” divers for free. They are equal to a three way Quartz set up. Not a set up from 20 years ago like the Q’s but like a $150 eBay three way. He stated it would compare the the Focal Utopia Be’s. If you have to dog others to sell your product it might not be fair to call anyone a troll other than the staff of the company! At best they are poor liars. I sold the 3 way for $100.00’s after 3 months to just get rid of it.


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