2. speakers
  3. 1134801781

Avantgarde..... Still a contender???

I am thinking seriously about a drastic change in my system.... I am becoming very intrigued with the idea of high efficiency horn speakers and low-powered tube amps. If you look at "My system" you can see that this is a big change from my current set-up. The trouble is I haven't heard many horn designs (but so far really like what I have heard) and wonder if the Avantgardes are still thought of to be state of the art. Can I do better (for less money)? Any input from you SET guy's is very much appreciated. There just aren't very many (any) dealers doing horns in my area so I need some help on this one.

Other issues are:
1. Is my room large enough (21x15x11)?
2. What would be a good amp to start with (without
breaking the bank)?
3. Is there a good low-powered amp that is balanced? Or,
is single ended REALLY the way to go? (the rest of my system is balanced, and I'd love to keep it this way)

OK enough for now.

Thanks

Chris
cmo

Showing 1 response by jayarr

jayarr
117 posts
 
I own the Duos. I don't hear any horn "shout" and prior to purchase compared them side by side with cone/box speakers and again heard no shout. As to the integration issue I have listened nearfield(6 feet away) and heard problems with integration. However, past 12 feet away I hear no integration problems at all. I have no idea whether I'm sensitive to this or not. Also for such large speakers they completely dissappear in the room(aurally not visually). Sometimes for the fun of it I listen in the dark and cannot locate the speakers in the room with music playing. Your room size seems fine as long as you can sit 12 feet away from the speakers while still having some distance between the speakers and the front wall. My personal feeling is that these speakers are tailor made for SET or OTL amps. SET are usually single ended but some OTL's such as Atmosphere are balanced and should sound good with the Duos. I also made the jump from SS/cone speakers to horn/SET and will not go back. More musical involvement. Hope this helps.
More to discover