Avantgarde

[Gordon Gray]

Hi,

Just had a chance to listen to the "Duos" this weekend and found them to be so different from the ML sound. They did "space" quite well but . . .

Equipment was quite top end. Wadia used as a transport, dCS dac, Tom Evans preamp / SET amp, Stealth cabling, lots of room treatment, etc.

Any of you have personal experiences with the Avantgarde line?

GG

 

[amey01]

Hi,

Just had a chance to listen to the "Duos" this weekend and found them to be so different from the ML sound. They did "space" quite well but . . .

Equipment was quite top end. Wadia used as a transport, dCS dac, Tom Evans preamp / SET amp, Stealth cabling, lots of room treatment, etc.

Any of you have personal experiences with the Avantgarde line?

GG

No I have not. I am intrigued, but I'd never own a pair 'cos I find them too "out there".

 

[jfm]

One of the very best demos I've heard was the complete Avantgarde set, with the bass module. Large room needed, where they sounded "live," particularly a Hugh Masakela CD with killer vocals. "Dynamic" doesn't even begin to describe it.

Having said that, a CLX + 2 Depths would still be my personal preference. Would not need as large a room too.

 

[User211]

Just had a chance to listen to the "Duos" this weekend and found them to be so different from the ML sound. They did "space" quite well but . . .

C'mon Gordon, but what? Spill the beans, what did you really think?

I've heard them recently (briefly) with Tron 211s and they sounded great. I've just been round to listen to someone's system, and he actually owned a pair. He decided he didn't like them, for whatever reason. My guess is that they were just too big for his room, and he was listening too near field. I think you need to be some distance away to hear any reasonable integration between the horn and the woofer.

 

[sleepysurf]

One of our local Tampa area audiophiles had the Duos, driven with a top-of-the-line Cary tube pre, and Cary monoblocks. They are gorgeous speakers, but his listening room was very bright, with 2 story cathedral ceiling and lots of reflective walls and windows, and the Duos just didn't work well in that setting. He sold them, and is now auditioning a pair of used Soundlabs, which I hope to get over to hear next week.

Having heard Avantgarde's at CES and RMAF in the past, I recall them being exquisitely detailed, but don't recall the soundstage being as "transparent" as the bigger ML's. I think the "character" of any speaker, be it dynamic or stat, mainly depends on the speaker/room interaction, with everything else playing second fiddle.

 

[Gordon Gray]

Justin,

Could be it. Although the room was reasonably large, it was effectively near field listening.

I had a hard time "settling in" with the overall sound.

Gordon

 

[Spike]

I have heard the Duo's with all BAT electronics: Vk-D5 CD player, Vk-5i pre-amp, Vk-75 amplifier. The whole time, there was one word which came to mind: shouty. I had the impression that the singer was too close and "in-my-face" the whole time. It could be that the BAT electronics, being neutral and transparent were not a good match with the Duos. I also recalled wishing for some 300B amplifiers being around to tame the shoutiness.

Spike

 

[User211]

I was listening to a Technics SP10/Kondo M77/Neiro with RCA 2a3s combo via some home made horns last night. Trust me - the Duos would love being fed by that little combo - given the necessary accommodating room.

Half the trouble in assessing equipment is the variability of the environment, the driving gear and the recordings being played at the time. It's just soooooo difficult to reach solid conclusions. Most here should know this already. If not... in time you will