Gershman Avant Garde Owners

i used to own a pair of avant gardes for close to 3 years before selling them here on the 'gon. if i recall, the were spaced about 2 feet from the rear wall and about 9 feet apart. the quality of bass from them is really dependent upon the quality and type of amp used. when mated with an appropriate amplifier, the bass is definitely not boomy or bloated.

the tightest, quickest, and most natural bass extension i ever heard from them was when i used a pair of aragon palladium ii monoblocks. i ended up falling in love with tube amps and found that, while the bass extension was still deep, it seemed not as tight.

i replaced the gershman's with a pair of von schweikert dB99SE speakers. in my opinion, this is a real testament to the quality of the avant gardes. it took a $12k speaker to replace them.

they were about 5 feet out from the wall. and I was using a krell ksa100 mk11.
I sold them to a friend who is using the same amp and a conrad johnson pv9a.
I replaced them with a pair of JM Labs because I had moved my music into a different room configuration.

What I can say for the Avante Garde's is that I have not heard a speaker to date that can soundstage or image like the gershmans. Especially when put on the short wall of the room. with 10 feet behind them they are amazing and create a deep deep stage that sounds like it is 20 feet away..

A great speaker. Have mine for about 8 years.
Incredible low end clarity and detail.
Outstanding soundstaging . . . the further off the wall, the better.

Although the marriage is perfect with my Krell KSA100, a sweet, musical result is attained with my significantly lower powered Dynaco st-70.

In short, everything that Soundwatts said is absolutely true.

I also have a pair of Magnepan 2.6's. I'll never part with my 2.6's or my Avant Gardes. It's the best of both worlds!!!

Thanks for these responses folks. I have yet to talk to anyone with real experience with the Avant Gardes that doesn't love them. I'm pretty sure I will join the owners club next month if I can work out some sort of trial deal with Gershman (no dealer close to me at all). Plan to drive them with a Meridian G57 (SS, 200 watt, smooth as silk with tons of current).