Pass Labs amps and Avantgarde speakers

I have added a pair of JL Audio Fathom 212 subwoofers sitting behind each of my Avantgarde Duo Omegas. It just happens that this is is the perfect location for best response from each of the subwoofers. I was able to crossover the subwoofer a bit high at around 100hz and crossover the Duo's subwoofer higher. The Duo's subwoofer is simply not that great for electronic music that I like and will bottom out during movie passages if the speaker is set to "Large".

The JL Audio Fathom's are so vastly more powerful, they match the extreme efficient horn speakers much better.

I find myself wishing for a pair of Avantgarde Trios to match with the JL Audio Fathom 212's. The Trios each down to 100Hz which would be perfect.

I just tried the First Watt F3 which sounded pretty muddy in the midrange and weak on bass control with the Duo Omegas. Had to send it back, not as good as the Pass Labs XA30.5

Even better than both of those however is the XA30.8... this unit is nirvana with the Duo Omegas. Worth the extra price. Super quiet, no hiss, sound extremely transparent and excellent bass control. The best amp I have heard so far in my system.

Beware it does not fit in a standard audio rack however.

I highly recommend the XA30.8. Honestly I doubt it gets any better than this in the entire universe of amplifiers. It excels in every way you can imagine.

I bet the reviews on the new Pass Labs Point 8 series are going to great

I would absolutely run a low powered SET into those speakers unless you are against tubes. A shame to own the AVs if indeed you are against tubes.

Mohano hi:

You have the bass of the Duo's sorted as they have their own 250w amp correct?
So all you need to drive is the mids and tweeters at over 105db effecient with a very easy load I believe over 10ohms, and easy low -phase angle.
So the ideal amp here is, for one of Ralph's Atmasphere OTL's on these.

Cheers George

Cheers George

You might want to have a listen to TRON, a bespoke UK valve amplifier company. Graham Tricker, the designer, distributes AG in the UK and has designed his amplifiers specifically to run with AG and other high efficiency horns. He has a distributor in Heggedal, Norway

http://www.x3mhc.no/

I use a TRON Voyager to drive my AG Duos and am extremely happy. The TRON sounds great and it has zero circuit noise - so it’s silent unlike some valve amps with AGs. If his current amps are too expensive, he is planning to launch a new lower cost 300B SET called the Atlantic at Munich in May.