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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
marklg
7 posts
 
Tron 300B amps are ok match for avantgarde Trio,but you will clip 300B tube, 8 watts, not enoughpower for trios complex load, this speaker withdemanding music can easily handle 50 watt peaks.
no_slouch
48 posts
 
With my Trio 2.2s, later upgraded to Trio Omegas (huge difference, btw, like removing stuffed cotton from the horns), and using a pair of 225 subs in an 18 sqm room, I have tried Jadis 845, Zanden 300B, Hovland Sapphire, Lamm ML2, and Audion 300B power amps. The Lamms sound by far the most dynamic and detailed with full top to bottom extension, all other amps sounded somewhat anemic/rounded off though perhaps richer/more musical in some aspects. I have yet to find the sound I am looking for, but am sticking with the Lamms while I continue to tweak the rest of my system.
sdrsdrsdr
196 posts
 
Has anyone tried the ART PX-25 or Wavelength Cardinal with Trios. Anyone else have any comments on 45 SET's with Trios.
atmasphere's avatar
atmasphere
12,196 posts
 
I have a friend with the ART PX-25- its not bad on the Trio at all. There are no 45-based SETs that can drive the speaker- try as you like, 0.75 watts is not enough...

Most people I know that are driving the speaker successfully use surprisingly large amplifiers given the efficiency of the speaker. This is probably due to the impedance curve, which is tricky for a lot of zero-feedback amps (which otherwise will be the best sounding on a speaker like this).
no_slouch
48 posts
 
I should mention the Zanden 300B sound the best on many types of music from the midrange up - detailed and musical - but just sound anemic down below. If there was a way to biamp the speakers, or otherwise adjust the bass quality, I would stick with the Zanden. I tried biamping with Lamm and Zandens, and it sounded really wacky. I also tried left speaker with Lamms, and right with Zanden (ok, shoot me), and sounds surprisingly OK if I'm sitting in some off-axis position and don't mind the different sonic signatures - the brain somehow compensates after a while.
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