I would like to add my thoughts here as well. I am fortunate enough to be in the same city as Jim Smith so scheduling his time was very easy.
I have had the Avantgarde Duo’s for three years now and have spent a lot of time tweaking the speakers with toe-in and subwoofer adjustments. I had learned of Jim Smith when I was purchasing my Duo’s that at one time he was the North American Dealer for Avantgarde. After reading the advertisement for his book “Get better sound” and consulting services. I thought this is the perfect time to get someone who is very familiar with the setup of the Avantgarde speakers
After contacting Jim and scheduling him for a evaluation of my system. One thing I would like to point out, Jim Smith is very professional and flexible in planning, execution and follow up. If you are wondering if his book or services are worth it I can say without reservation that his book is a must for reference and Jim’s onsite services are top notch. This guy is dictated to results and doesn’t stop until he achieves that.
Once Jim arrived he asked that we not play music right away and focused solely on better understanding my environment, room, components also my music likes. He also asked who setup the equipment and why I had it that way. These questions were for his understanding and not to criticize.
Jim bought his own selection of music. He has certain CD’s that he selects to evaluate different aspects of the system. The tracks he selects are ones he knows very well and so he knew what to listen for. After listening and asking certain questions about what I thought my system was doing, Jim's initial thoughts boiled down to:
- The sound is bit too aggressive in the upper mids, lower highs
- We'd like more depth.
- We'd like the speakers to "disappear" more.
- We'd like to get a bigger, richer, more involving sound. More density of tone.
- We'd like to get rid of a slight nasality.
- The bass is too thin - I sometimes describe that kind of bass as "shriveled up". Too dry. It lacks the form, flow and body of real bass in live venues, either electric or acoustic.
I did feel pretty good about my setup after Jim stated that this was one of the best Avantgarde setups he had seen done by the actual owner. He did say we could make it better and that is what I was really looking forward to.
Jim told me he would send me his analysis and recommendations for correcting the above issues. He did state that the changes to be made could be done by myself and if I wanted he could come back to voice the system to the room. I did schedule Jim to come back and I made the necessary changes listed below before his return:
-Relocate the tweeter and mid horns with the speaker stand as shown on his reference diagram he sent me.
-Remove the spikes from under the SUB 225 bass speakers, leaving only the three outer frame rails to support the DUO
-Change the toe-in and elevation (forward/back tilt of speaker)
Upon Jims return to voice the system first task was to ensure we had the speakers positioned correctly. We used Jims grid system from his “Get Better Sound Book”, to me is the best system I had ever heard used. These adjustments were to address:
Soundstage depth- speakers moved out from the wall and spread out
Slight nasality - Speaker rake was point down ( adjusted the rake to point the speaker up a little)
Richer, more density of tone - Subwoofer Crossover setting at 140 and volume adjustment
Speaker Toe out – Speakers to disappear more
One other note is that Jim found that lack of bass was due to room wasn’t pressurized with the bass. We corrected this by closing the double doors to the room when in a listening session.
I have skipped a bunch of details around checking polarites, AC currents and RTA readings and such but tried to list the major points Jim bought out.
Conclusions:
At the end of the voicing session both Jim and I were very happy with the way the system sounded. Jim was the best investment I could have made to complete my system considering what I spent on my speakers and equipment. The system sounds the best it ever has and I learned a ton throughout the process.
I should also note that the items Jim listed that needed addressed were addressed. I have a life size sound stage with such depth and textures now. My speakers have disappeared with the stage extending beyond the width of the speakers.
One last thing I would like to say and that is Bravo Jim.
I have had the Avantgarde Duo’s for three years now and have spent a lot of time tweaking the speakers with toe-in and subwoofer adjustments. I had learned of Jim Smith when I was purchasing my Duo’s that at one time he was the North American Dealer for Avantgarde. After reading the advertisement for his book “Get better sound” and consulting services. I thought this is the perfect time to get someone who is very familiar with the setup of the Avantgarde speakers
After contacting Jim and scheduling him for a evaluation of my system. One thing I would like to point out, Jim Smith is very professional and flexible in planning, execution and follow up. If you are wondering if his book or services are worth it I can say without reservation that his book is a must for reference and Jim’s onsite services are top notch. This guy is dictated to results and doesn’t stop until he achieves that.
Once Jim arrived he asked that we not play music right away and focused solely on better understanding my environment, room, components also my music likes. He also asked who setup the equipment and why I had it that way. These questions were for his understanding and not to criticize.
Jim bought his own selection of music. He has certain CD’s that he selects to evaluate different aspects of the system. The tracks he selects are ones he knows very well and so he knew what to listen for. After listening and asking certain questions about what I thought my system was doing, Jim's initial thoughts boiled down to:
- The sound is bit too aggressive in the upper mids, lower highs
- We'd like more depth.
- We'd like the speakers to "disappear" more.
- We'd like to get a bigger, richer, more involving sound. More density of tone.
- We'd like to get rid of a slight nasality.
- The bass is too thin - I sometimes describe that kind of bass as "shriveled up". Too dry. It lacks the form, flow and body of real bass in live venues, either electric or acoustic.
I did feel pretty good about my setup after Jim stated that this was one of the best Avantgarde setups he had seen done by the actual owner. He did say we could make it better and that is what I was really looking forward to.
Jim told me he would send me his analysis and recommendations for correcting the above issues. He did state that the changes to be made could be done by myself and if I wanted he could come back to voice the system to the room. I did schedule Jim to come back and I made the necessary changes listed below before his return:
-Relocate the tweeter and mid horns with the speaker stand as shown on his reference diagram he sent me.
-Remove the spikes from under the SUB 225 bass speakers, leaving only the three outer frame rails to support the DUO
-Change the toe-in and elevation (forward/back tilt of speaker)
Upon Jims return to voice the system first task was to ensure we had the speakers positioned correctly. We used Jims grid system from his “Get Better Sound Book”, to me is the best system I had ever heard used. These adjustments were to address:
Soundstage depth- speakers moved out from the wall and spread out
Slight nasality - Speaker rake was point down ( adjusted the rake to point the speaker up a little)
Richer, more density of tone - Subwoofer Crossover setting at 140 and volume adjustment
Speaker Toe out – Speakers to disappear more
One other note is that Jim found that lack of bass was due to room wasn’t pressurized with the bass. We corrected this by closing the double doors to the room when in a listening session.
I have skipped a bunch of details around checking polarites, AC currents and RTA readings and such but tried to list the major points Jim bought out.
Conclusions:
At the end of the voicing session both Jim and I were very happy with the way the system sounded. Jim was the best investment I could have made to complete my system considering what I spent on my speakers and equipment. The system sounds the best it ever has and I learned a ton throughout the process.
I should also note that the items Jim listed that needed addressed were addressed. I have a life size sound stage with such depth and textures now. My speakers have disappeared with the stage extending beyond the width of the speakers.
One last thing I would like to say and that is Bravo Jim.