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Avantgarde Duo set up.

Genltlemen(and gentle women), I have a question.

In the manual, Duos require a set-up whereby the midrange horn is one hole higher than the tweeter horn (in their respective hole sets). Making the gap between the horns in the vertical axis larger and keeping the mid/high horns the correct distance apart from an acoustic perspective.

The manual also explains a "bead and ????something" method where you tilt the speaker front to back to get the bottom of the midrange horn visually touching the rear of the tweeter horn to get the correct position on the vertical axis.

I simply cannot get this to happen. With the reccommended horn position I have no chance of making this happen from my seating position. I'm much to low. Even with both the horns in the same holes, ie both two holes from the bottom, I cant get this " bead and ?????" method to line up. This is probably a function of my seating position being too low and being a faily long way away.

So I suppose my question is which is the best compromise ? Having the Horns in the Manual reccommended position. Or getting close the the "bead and thing" principal and having the horns closer together in the vertical axis.

Looking at various Gallerys on the web it looks like many people have their duos set up with the horns closer toghether than reccomended in the vertical axis.

I'm told that setup is critical with Duos so I'd like to get it as right as possible.

In your vast, collective experience which would be the best way to go ??

If you read this far...... thanks very much.

Myron.



borg7x9
cmo
471 posts
 
I bought my pair of Duo's from my (VERY COMPETENT) local dealer (they were his personal speakers). His first advise was; don't listen to what the manual say's about set-up!

Quick and dirty... here ya go.
1. Set the speakers at least 9 feet from your listening positition so the drivers can integrate properly.

2. You want your ears (height) to fall between the bottom of the midrange horn flair and the top of the tweeter horn. Now angle the speakers back so that the tweeter horn is pointed just below your ear.

3. Toe the speakers in so that you can just see the (outside) rear tightening screw through the inside of the front support.

4. IMPORTANT.... set the crossover at about 140Hz (a good starting place). The manual's recommendation is way too high and the reason people complain about bass integration issues with AVG's.

5. Connect you speaker wire to the Midrange horn first and to the other drivers from there. It is highly recommended that you upgrade your wiring harness ASAP. Mine is Cardas Golden ref. which is supposed to be one of the better one's available.

6. I would try to allow at least three feet from the front wall (behind the speakers). The distance between the speakers should be less than the distance to the listening seat as well.

7. I am using Cardas power cords on my speakers.... This is something you might want to consider in the future too.

These are some of the very best speakers I have ever heard and I am very happy to own a pair. Keep tweaking becouse they truely are wonderful when set-up properly.

Hope this helps

Chris
herman
2,273 posts
 
It sounds like you may be sitting too close. Try moving back if your room permits. You could also try varying the tilt of the speakers front to back to get the gap you desire,

"In the manual, Duos require a set-up whereby "

I think the key word in that sentence is require, which I would view as a suggestion rather than a requirement. It may be true that they achieved what they considered to be the best results with that set-up, but I would suggest that your room and equipment might require a different configuration.

That said, it is true that optimum performance requires optimum placement and that may well be different than what the manual says. Unfortunately that can only be determined by experimintation.
borg7x9 OP
91 posts
 
hi Chris/Herman,

Thanks for your Advice. Its very good to know that the set up in the Manual isn't critical for great performance with these speakers. I'm happy to experiment with positioning etc and from your comments I've got some good things to try.

Thanks for taking the time to help, I really appreciate it.

Myron.
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