Amfibius: A comparison with the Quads yields what I like best about the Avantgardes (and probably to a good extent, horn speakers in general). The coherence of the Quads is hard to beat- to my ears the 57 is better than the later Quads. (I have not heard the latest crop, but my 'late' pair is a Crosby-mod 63, which improved the bass, and overall dynamics, yet is still not as natural in its see-through quality as the 57).
This exacting perspective becomes critical because the speakers cannot reproduce dynamics on any big scale- they sound congested on orchestral and rock- everything is in miniature on large scale works. (The speakers shine on simple, small scale performances, jazz combos, female vocal with less than a full orchestra behind it.)
The Avantgardes simply do not suffer these limitations. They are very dynamic, and bring an 'alive' quality to the proceedings which makes criteria like 'imaging' much less important. (Yes, they throw a very convincing 3d image across a wider spectrum of the musical bandwidth but at this point, you are not listening for 'imaging'- instead, you are hearing the instruments or voice, standing free of constraint). Are they 'transparent'?Yes, in ways that a lover of a good electrostat would be more than happy with.
Cars- have had a couple P-cars, 996 GT2 Clubsport and currently have a 993 C4 Cabrio. Judging by your name, the Amphicar must be on your short list. :)
This exacting perspective becomes critical because the speakers cannot reproduce dynamics on any big scale- they sound congested on orchestral and rock- everything is in miniature on large scale works. (The speakers shine on simple, small scale performances, jazz combos, female vocal with less than a full orchestra behind it.)
The Avantgardes simply do not suffer these limitations. They are very dynamic, and bring an 'alive' quality to the proceedings which makes criteria like 'imaging' much less important. (Yes, they throw a very convincing 3d image across a wider spectrum of the musical bandwidth but at this point, you are not listening for 'imaging'- instead, you are hearing the instruments or voice, standing free of constraint). Are they 'transparent'?Yes, in ways that a lover of a good electrostat would be more than happy with.
Cars- have had a couple P-cars, 996 GT2 Clubsport and currently have a 993 C4 Cabrio. Judging by your name, the Amphicar must be on your short list. :)