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Avantgarde Trios, SETs, and Impedance Curves

Has anyone ever seen an actual impedance curve plot for the Avantgarde Trios? I am about to acquire a 3 year old pair and need to find a great amp to drive them. I suppose conventional wisdom would be to use an SET of some kind. However, to perform their best, SETs really require a relatively flat impedance curve. So, I guess what I'd like to know is how badly does the Trio impedance fluctuate with frequency, and/or, empirically, what amps have Trio owners used that have rendered awesome performance?

How about it, Trio owners, any advice for a new Trio guy? Any feedback would me most appreciated!

Dean
theloveman
soundlogic's avatar
soundlogic
51 posts
 
Dean;
You can find second hand Audiopax model 88's running between 5-6 grand.
Jim Smith the former Avantgarde USA distributer could have used ANYTHING to demo his speakers in Atlanta, but his personal choice was the Audiopax. I think there was a few good reasons for this. Synergy is one.
I have Duo/Omega's and the Audiopax Model 88 amps and am One Happy Camper! A bonus with these amps are tube replacement NOT being a financial ball buster. Plus they can be had in matching Avantgarde Laquer.
Good Luck;
Tim
sdrsdrsdr
196 posts
 
I have Trio 2.2 and tried an Atma-shpere M60 MK.II. The sound was very, very fast. The highs were rolled off and the sound was dead. I got board very quick. I suspect there must be an impedence drop in the top end. I use a pair of Viva Aurora monos. They use the 845. They sound very balanced and extended from top to bottom. They are alot of power for Trios and can play them at an insanely loud volume. I have only tried this a few times for a couple of minutes to impress my non-audiophile friends. I found the sound to be fast until I heard the Atmas. The Atmas I felt were maybe to fast, if that is possible. I will be trying a friends Wavac 300b next week. E-mail me if you would like to know my opinion on how it sounds.
Steve.
711smilin
513 posts
 
Gotta check out the Mactone MA300, 22 watts, push/pull fast, dynamic, 3d soundstage, prefer this over ML2.
atmasphere's avatar
atmasphere
11,784 posts
 
The Trio is tricky to set up because the impedance curve is very unusual for a horn- high in the bass and low in the highs, due to the design of the crossover, which is mostly capacitors. A lot of SETs have difficulty with the speaker as a result.

FWIW It is very easy to set up the M-60 to work with the speaker, by using the same technique that the designer used: negative feedback. The speaker is so sensitive that about 6 db of feedback can be employed in the M-60, solving any rolloff issues. This is easy to set up with an external jumper arrangement.

We don't regard the arrangement as ideal, but since the designer's amps used feedback, that's what you have to use. Neither the Duo or the Uno seem to have this requirement.
dazzdax
599 posts
 
Why not solid state class A amplification, like Accuphase A-20, 20 class A. You can biamp or triamp the Trio's.

Chris
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