AVI Speakers - Any opinions or info

Hi,

I heard the Neutrons about 3 years ago. I have owned 2 pairs of Spendor S3/5s and heard the Harbeth P3s and my impression at the time was that I would take the Neutrons over the 3/5s or older P3s, thinking they were more extended and neutral but I don't know if I would have the same impression after extended listening. It may be that the treble is a little too bright, which can sometimes cause a mistaken impression of more extension.

TLH

For Woodpecker: the Neutrons are doing their disappearing act very well but that is what someone can expect from a very small monitor, it is one of the general qualities (and fun factor) of a small enclosure. If you close your eyes the good quality floorstanders will also disappear (I mean sonicly ;)) and it also depends on the recording itself (like Amused to Death). Dynamics and vocals are indeed astonishing btw.

For Agisthos: the review can be found on their website http://www.avihifi.co.uk/choicereview/choicereview.html and describes the system, with the Trios, pretty well.

I owned a pair of avi Nu Neutrons and they were incredible speakers,now known as the Neutron IV.I,supposedly upgraded, to the Pro Nine Plus (£400 GBP more expensive) and for me the magic that I had disappeared.I sold them and bought the Neutron IVs and they astonish me.Listening to Roger Waters album Amused To Death is an unbelievable experience.There are sounds being heard metres to the right of the right hand speaker and to the left of the left hand speaker.Look at the dimensions of this speaker,it is incredibly small,but dynamics and vocals are astonishing.If you led somebody into the room blindfolded and let them hear my system and then took the blindfold off they would be astonished when they saw the speakers.Of course,the bass extension is not that of a large floorstander,but the bass that is there is tight and musical and well defined.Well thats me done.I am in England,and I swear to you that I do not work for AVI but I love these monitors.

The brit magazine Hifi Choice does a feature every month where a dealer puts together a complete system for listening.

A while back they had a complete AVI system, cd/pre/amp and the Brio speakers. The article basically said it was the best system they had ever listened to. This is not the sort of praise you normally hear about the other monthly systems.

There must be something to this brand, and all their products seems reasonably priced.

AVI speakers represent great value for money. The sound is uncolored, fast, detailed with a vast soundstage and great dynamics. You can enjoy your music forever without getting tired. I do own a complete AVI setup (pre amp, power amp, cd player, Brio loudspeakers) and owned a lot of serious stuff beforebut I have never been as satisfied as I am now.

I have owned Merlin VSM speakers which where very, very good but I have a larger listening room now (65 m2) and like to listen loud with almost lifelike dynamics, the Merlins could not fullfill that role. The AVI Brio speakers are superb and do the job a fair amount better than Wilson, SF, Dynaudio, etc. and has the most articulated and tight bas I have ever heard before. It is also one of the few speakers (besides ATC and PMC) that do not compress at high volume levels.

The smaller 2-way systems do have the same characteristics and I recently bought a pair of active Pro9+ speakers for my son. He uses them with his iPod and I think the combination beats most hifi systems in their price range.

Give them a try, you won't be disappointed. And if I understand it right you like to resell them, take the whole AVI line and serious music lovers will reward you.

I am listening to my Neutron IV's as I write. I am driving them with my Linn Classik, mostly using an LP12/Valhalla/Ittok LVII/Adikt as my source. They are really impressive at any volume. They definitely have the studio monitor feel, but do a great job of combining accuracy with musicality. They bested the Linn Katans, Sonus Faber Concertinos, and the Vienna Acoustic Haydns in my listening at Overture Audio. They have gotten great press abroad, as they should when they get reviewed here. Resale is still a question obviously, but you probably won't want to sell them unless you move up the AVI line.