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Avantgarde's are Great but Bass Integration?

I just back yesterday from an extensive audition of the Avantgarde Uno and Duo horn speakers. In a word, jaw dropping incredible speakers but .......I never felt really comfortable that the bass integration was going to get quite where it needs to be. Too much bass, too little, slight to noticeable bass to mids transition etc. We changed the settings on the subwoofer, moved the massive Duo's around, which actually was not hard given how the speaker is designed, changing setting positions etc. This speaker more than any other I have heard conveys a "you are there", "organic", and "pure oceans of spatial dimension" qualities in the all important, for my musical tastes, midrange and up. These speakers are so good that once we got things very close to being there with the bass I was convinced that anybody considering speakers, no matter, how little or how much you spend really need to hear how a speaker can take you to another world given a good recording.

What has been others experience with this phenomenial speaker especially in the area of bass quality and integration with the rest of the system?
nanderson
twl
3,251 posts
 
This is always a problem with horn loaded speaker designs. Bass horns are too big to get the bottom end people want, so they go with direct radiators. They never quite match. That's the answer. If you can live with it, fine. If you can't, then you must look elsewhere. I use high efficiency speakers, but I draw the line at front loaded horns. There are very detailed, efficient speakers out there that are not front horns, but are rear-horn loaded to increase bass efficiency. Many are single-driver types such as the Carfrae, Lammhorn, Beauhorn, Lowther, Loth-X, etc. Most use the very good Lowther drivers. They are considered to be among the finest speakers in the world by some. If you like the efficiency and detail and lifelike presentation of horns, but would like better integration and less coloration, then the speakers I mention above would be a good place to start.
ejlif's avatar
ejlif
1,377 posts
 
I just got a set of Duos with the Audiopax amps, and they have proved to be very challenging indeed. I can see why a lot of guys hate them, if not perfectly set up and placed with the sub controls set just right they fail to make audio dreams come true. I have not realised the potential of mine yet, but am getting closer everyday.

Not to mention the fact that the Duos take about a month of constant playing to really break in. They sound awful for the first week.

I agree that the bulk of the difficulty arises in the bass. Every little move I make to the Duos seems to have much bigger impact than what I have been acustomed to with box speakers. Plus the controls on the subs are extremely powerful with numerous possibilities for optimal settings. The toe in amount is also hugely important to get right.

If I had not been pre warned that the Duos can be very tweaky and difficult to get the most out of, I might have been ready to throw in the towel. This is not a set it and forget it speaker if you want to realise it fullest potential.
jtinn
1,124 posts
 
Sorry to say, you heard them the way most of us have. They are very impressive, but problematic. It is the downfall of the speaker. Maybe the Trio is better because of the added woofer horn, but the Duos do not seem to go down enough with the mid horn and clearly shows the problem.
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