More power for my Duos?

Hi Boa,

Horns have been the mainstay of live musical events for ages, because they are so efficient, not because they are more realistic. Which means engineering costs and physical sizes of cones can be more manageable, and power amps can also be more manaegeble. Furthermore, the speakers are there for an artificial purpose, that is to increase the volume of the musicians to an ARTIFICIALLY hiher volume level to allow every one in the audience to be able to hear the music clearly.

The 'smacking of the lips'that you refer to is simply detail you are hearing as a function of the microdynamic capability of horn speakers. BUT that is not to say that cone speakers are not capable of such microdynamics. Detail is often described as transparency and this often comes at the expense of broad brush strokes which communicate more tonal warmth.

I donot think we are talking with the same understanding of the terms we are using, and it may well be difficuult to demonstrate what we each mean without being in the same room with the speakers. Nonetheless if you would kindly read steve rochlins review of the Galantes compared to his reference duos you will understand better what i am trying to describe to you.

Boa, I believe it would have been far more accurate and useful statement if you had proposed the following:-
Why is it that audiophiles who fill the pages of audiogon forums, audioasylum, reviewers etc etc. are all using horn speakers? which of course is the opposite of the truth. Afterall it is the audiophile that spends hours upon hours comparing his units with his audiophile mates, using repeated precise mental assessment of the pieces he hears. PA system designers and users have other more important practical issues to consider, and I know for sure sound quality is not at the top of their agenda's.

Luke.

Seems that the answers are more than what I bargained for. Unfortunately apart from Seadogs no clear answer to my question.

David Berning Siegfried 300b: Simply amazing resolution, transparency, and dynamics. Never heard better along these metrics. No congestion with classical music. I also didn't think the amp was lean in any way. However, the amp is no longer made and my friend won't sell mine back to me. I regret getting rid of this amp. I would highly recommend this one for the Duos. I think it would suit your purposes perfectly.
Kronzilla SM: Full bodied and good timbre. This is my current amp. It's a decidedly warmer sound than the Berning. Also not as forward. The soundstage emanates from behind the speakers but is coherent and stable. I don't like the fact that it emanates from behind the speakers but others do. All-in-all a great choice if you like a warm, full-bodied sound. Again everything is relative. It's a neutral amp but is on the side of warm and full-bodied but not to a fault.
Viva Sentesi: Similar to Kronzilla but not as resolving and the top end seemed rolled. Everything else was good though, especially at the price point.

Hope this helps. Someone I know uses the Kondo Neiro's with great results (not surprising).

Hi BOA, I thought it was clear that the answer was that it was not your amps that were at fault but other components? Please read all e mails carefully.

The bass of a pair of Avantgarde DUO's can be substantially increased and improved by the following means:

replace the subwoofer cords with Cardas Golden reference Power cords. This really sounds both nutsy and (slightly) expensive, but it really works and if you have enough money for DUO's you probably have enough for the cords. I was opposed to getting pricey cords til I heard them first.

upgrade the external wires to DUO 3.0 Cardas jumpers - available only from Avantgarde. (if you haven't done that already)

much much more warm bass!!