Hey Vista
For me getting speakers that did everything came down to
1. system matching for mid range and treble, and
2. speakers that could deliver real bass.
Starting in the 1990’s I had worked my way through Mourdant Short, Image, and Monitor Audio speakers from silvers to golds, and my golds were lovely and I thought I had got there.
But then I built some rear loaded horns (Dallas II’s) to go with some really nice SETs that I bought on a whim, and bugger, I was hooked. The speed, presence and naturalness of a horn loaded, single driver, no crossover speaker was simply addictive.
And I loved it for four years then gradually realised i was listening almost entirely to blues, acoustic, jazz, light classical; but no rock, or metal, or electronica. And this was because music driven by voice, or brass, or piano, or acoustic guitar was beautiful, but music that was driven by bass simply had no drive. The Dallas II’s tapped out at 50Hz.
I kept reading and watching and then one day a pair of pre-loved Avantgarde Duos caught my eye and flirted with me for a day or two. What was a guy to do. And they were everything I’d heard, read, dreamed about. 107db efficient, 16ohm, SET friendly. All the speed, immediacy, and ‘being there’ of horns. Plus two beautifully integrated 250 watt subs. And suddenly I had it all. And it was the bass that took me that last step. Deep, quick, tight, tuneful bass that also opened up the mid-range and gave me speakers that whispered with Eva Cassidy, and roared with Tool and Led Zep.
That was my 20 year journey. Hope yours is as educational and exciting.
