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Acapella vs. Avantgarde

I currently run a Cary CD-306, Cary SLP-05 preamp, and Cary 805AE monoblocks with a pair of ProAc D38's (see system). The combination is sweet and involving, but the combo just does not boogie when asked to play a large orchestral piece, by Mahler/Wagner/Shostakovich. When the volume is turned up, dynamics are poor and the system starts to sound compressed. I suspect that the 50W Cary's simply does not have enough guts to drive the ProAc's, so I am considering replacing them with a more efficient speaker. Since most SET afficionadoes love horns, this led me to look into Avantgarde and Acapella.

I live in Melbourne, Australia. Avantgarde is available through a dealer here, but he does not have any in stock. The Acapella dealer is in Sydney (a plane flight away). I am looking to spend A$30,000 - which will buy a nice Avantgarde Duo, or a secondhand Acapella High Violon.

I have read plenty about the dynamics of the Avantgardes, but my concern is if they have horn coloration. Also, how do they image? Are they sensitive to room placement?

Would the Acapella High Violon's be a better buy, considering the pair I can potentially get my hands on have been heavily discounted? I have read that Acapella's suffer from disjointed sound because of the three different driver technologies (plasma tweeter, horn mids, conventional woofer). How much is this a problem? And are there any room placement issues? Given that the Acapella's have lower sensitivity (91 dB/W/m) would I be achieving a real upgrade by moving from the ProAc's?
amfibius
markxiii
109 posts
 
Amfibius, since your 805AE's are capable of putting out 70 wpc they may actually be OK. Are these Violons the "High" version with a single woofer or the more expensive "High Suboktav" version with two woofers?? The single woofer version is easier to drive, the "Suboctave" model has considerably better bass, but it needs more current to make these woofers moving.

Docsavage, do you mind sharing your thoughts on the Atmas vs. Einstein amps on your Campanilles?
satang
13 posts
 
You should add Edgarhorn Titan to your list. Great horn speakers.
jclnv
26 posts
 
Whatever speaker your considering against Duo's would have to be better than anything I have heard.
kurt_tank
1,189 posts
 
When I was at CES last month, I got to hear both the Avantgarde's as well as the High version of the Violons. The Avantgardes sounded good, but was not really my cup of tea. (I have never much liked the horns, either their sound or their looks). Until I heard and saw the Violons. They were impressive. (Too rich for my blood, but if it were my choice, I certainly would consider the high model of the Violons!

My two cents worth.
cmo
471 posts
 
Amfibius,

I wouldn't call the Avantgarde's "harsh and trebly". The AVG "sound" if you will, is revealing and VERY dynamic. I think whart does a good job describing things... If I can I'll add a little more to help you clear things up.

I came from big Martin Logans (Prodigy's) which were really nice. They threw a huge soundstage and were very fast and revealing..... But, laid back and polite.

Now, with the AVG's things are still VERY fast and VERY revealing. The main diffences are that these speaker are not laid back; I don't mean they are aggressive (although they can be w/the wrong front end or recording). They "jump". They are very dynamic; that drum thwack is gonna thwack man! It took me a little getting used to this "sound" after my nice sweet, polite 'stats...... Now there is no going back. Who know's where the journey will end, but I have to say, this horn thing is really cool.

More....... Take it as gospel that you will hear everything; cell phones, tube changes, the master-mix in the next room if it's on your same circuit, but like other have said; you can get it all sorted out with a little effort.

I'm not so sure about your room; it looks like you have your ProAcs pretty close to the front wall. You're going to need some space behind the AVG's (think 3-4 feet min.).

I'm not so sure about your amps with the AVG's either.... Transformer noise is an issue and you need quiet amps.

Hope all of this helps.

Chris
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