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Avantgarde's are Great but Bass Integration?

I just back yesterday from an extensive audition of the Avantgarde Uno and Duo horn speakers. In a word, jaw dropping incredible speakers but .......I never felt really comfortable that the bass integration was going to get quite where it needs to be. Too much bass, too little, slight to noticeable bass to mids transition etc. We changed the settings on the subwoofer, moved the massive Duo's around, which actually was not hard given how the speaker is designed, changing setting positions etc. This speaker more than any other I have heard conveys a "you are there", "organic", and "pure oceans of spatial dimension" qualities in the all important, for my musical tastes, midrange and up. These speakers are so good that once we got things very close to being there with the bass I was convinced that anybody considering speakers, no matter, how little or how much you spend really need to hear how a speaker can take you to another world given a good recording.

What has been others experience with this phenomenial speaker especially in the area of bass quality and integration with the rest of the system?
nanderson
cawson4de0
2 posts
 
As a matter of interest, did you prefer the Duos over the Unos? I've heard convincing reports that the Uno (with 10" drivers in sub) as a more satisfactory design. I happen to have Unos as they were in my budget range and so well considered by Stereophile and others. I had not heard a Duo until recently abd I must say, I wasn't of the opinion they are any better, let alone £XXX better!

On the question of base coherence, I would agree it is not perfect, but anorther idea worth trying if you haven't yet done so, is to change the polarity of the bass unit. This is mentioned in the handbook (I think), but often overlooked.

I have found satisfactory settings for my subs and I'm very happy with the system generally. However I think that the bass performance varies a bit more rom one CD to another compared with conventional speakers. I find that on a few CDs the bass booms slightly more than I'd expect, but on most it's fine. Those few slightly booming CDs would possibly be less so on other speakers.

Overall, though I think they're fantastic speakers - I'm still looking for an ideal amplifier!
blw
147 posts
 
I auditioned the Duos a few weeks ago. The dealer (who is VERY good) had them set up in the corners as Twl suggests. In this configuration, I found the imaging distinctly sub-par for this class of speakers. Not that it was "bad", but it was obvious from 30 seconds that the other stuff he had (Avalon, Sonus Faber, ProAc are the ones I can remember) was imaging a LOT better. I found the bass to be somewhat light, but not as obviously "missing" as, say Magnepan 3.6's.

But personally, I didn't care for them primarily because they are REALLY immediate. 5th row set? No way! You are on stage with these AvantGardes! I found this to be too immediate and, I guess I would describe it as exhausting.
ejlif's avatar
ejlif
1,375 posts
 
The Duos are so picky, if everything is not perfect they won't sound good. I have tried them all over the place in my room and have been ready to dump them, but after sufficient break in and taking the time to get them placed I love the way they sound, exhuasting no way.

I can see why there is so much distaste for these speakers, if everything is not just so they suck.
They certainly aren't the speakers for someone who doesn't want to put a lot of effort into getting them right. If anyone heard these setup right there is no way they wouldn't have to admit they sound pretty darn good. Chances are if you are hearing Avantgardes sound bad it's not the fault of the speaker itself. Which goes for most speakers.

Setup is everything
marakanetz's avatar
marakanetz
5,473 posts
 
I listened yesterday Unos and newest SOLOs. The SOLOs are active monitors simply amazed me with excellent bass compared to Unos and tight organized sound with Capitole-2/Placette...
I was actually about to audition UNOs and listened to them more than one hour. Than after the dealer modestly offered me to listen to SOLOs and I said to myself Ge..., I'm already about to go home and almost have no time to enjoy them... Why didn't he offered me to listen to them first??

They need no poweramp, fully adjustable to the room with equalizer, height adjustable and don't need any amp. The built-in amp has a crossover unit for the subwoofer but these babes go down flat at 25Hz and look f..ng stunning... Oh, man!
So anyone who's dissapointed with Unos and Duos can now audition to SOLOs. They will retail soon at $8k/pr which is a bargain for a amp/speaker combo.
celebrat
13 posts
 
As a Duo owner, I have to agree with all comments regarding the need for careful setup in order to hear them as they are supposed to sound. Set up correctly they are most definitely World Class speakers. Fractions of an inch make an audible difference. When these speakers are set up properly, my experience is that the bass does integrate well with the rest of the system. Perhaps not with quite the speed and microdynamics of the horns, but as good as anything else i have heard. Also as an FYI, I recently did the wiring upgrade (2.2 to 3.2 status)and also added a second set of subs. Both of these added greatly to my musical enjoyment. The 2nd set of subs put the speaker into another class all together and made the bass exceptional(I have heard they are called "mini trios"). With the new Avantgarde Basshorns replacing trio subwoofers, a lucky listener may find a set of subs at a very reasonable price as i did. Good listening to all
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