I will try yo answer some of the questions posed... Prices are listed on the importer's website at http://www.aaudioimports.com/. We are an Acapella dealer, and we get asked this question, to compare Avantgarde and Acapella, all the time, probably because of the apparent visual simularities (and the fact that they both start with the letter 'A' and they are often displayed with 'sportscar red' horns, doesn't help any). Compared to the Avantgarde, Acapella's horns have a more substantial construction and design which eliminates horn colorations and resonances. The higher end of the Acapella line also incorporates a plasma tweeter which is generally acknowledged to be one of the better, if not the best, tweeter currently available. The integration of the drivers and driver technologies is also done somewhat better by Acapella, as well. On the other hand, Avantgarde usually has tighter and more forcefull bass response and is usually quite a bit more efficient and can be driven by very small, sweet tube amps (although the top speakers in the Acapella line get up to 98-100 dB, which ain't too bad either). Just our opinion, of course, but the top-of-the-line Acapella speakers are *so* much better than any other speaker we have heard, and we've heard darn near all of them, that it is somewhat disturbing and really makes one completely re-evaluate the meaning of musical expression and experience. Well, on that metaphysical 'note', ;-) Enjoy! -Mike (Acapella dealer) |
Murray: I didn't actually "change" the Violon for another spkr. Rather, I kept my old spkrs (Genesis V, slightly modded) for two reasons: - The cost: I *thought* I could manage the asking price -- but changing circumstances decreed that I couldn't - (minor) Maintenance of the Ion tweet: very expensive to replace. Otherwise, I loved the sound of these spkrs. The low end extension didn't bother me in the least (I wasn't considering the "extended suboctave" option at all): a dipole subwoof on either side blended in very well for extra energy below 50Hz. Most, if not all of the time, the subwoof wasn't mandatory for in room music enjoyment. I found the tweet->horn integration excellent and the only cause for slight concern was the low end coupling with the horn(around 6-800Hz). Again, this is nitpicking.. I wouldn't say that the bass wasn't "tight" sounding in and of itself -- rather that coupling the horn with a dynamic woofer isn't easy and there may have been slight phase issues. In any case, I was confident that IF there was serious concern in that region, I could easily communicate w/ Acapella to solve the issue to my personal tastes quite easily & inexpensively (slightly alter the bass q...? X-over config? Change the driver for one with a stronger magnetic field? Many possibilities to play with). Speaking for the rich, however:), the Campanile is the model to go with; the full intensity of a Mahlerian orchestra is easily felt... |
