Please help - 3 top-of-mind choices for Avantgarde


Hi - I have just bought a pair of Avantgarde UNOs speakers and need to rebuild all my system around it (sounda familiar???).

I have a pair of QUAD amps (vintage - loan from a friend) and having great results, some say SET is NOT the way to go with the UNOs, but I may relay on the vast experience here - please advise of the best amps you think I need to consider.

PS: Manufacturer recommends a minimum of 10 watts per channel amp, I would rather prefer monoblocks.

Fernando
128x128flg2001

Showing 1 response by tubes108

I own Duos which are slightly more efficient than the Unos. The AGs, in order to achieve good bass performance, require more power than you'd think. Regardless that the amp does not drive the woofer, as it but feeds the bass signal to the woofer's amp.

What I suggest doing is to eval some amps at your home. What works for others might not necessarily work for you--there are just too many variables including your choice in a preamp. I've owned and used with my Duos &/or evaled a Joules Electra OTL amp, the Audiopax, the Art Audio PX-25, and the Viva amp.

The Joules OTL is a fabulous amp. It has provided me with much sonic pleasure driving other speakers & performed well sonically with the Duos, though not the best fit for the Duos as the sensitivity is too high. (This high sensitivity is a benefit when using near every other speaker in existance except for the 104 db Duos.)

The Art Audio PX-25 provided A+++ performance. Actually the synergy with the Duos was shockingly good. And yeah, this is what 6 or an 8 watt amp, but it has an excellent power supply along with excellent transformers. This amp enabled the Duos to play big classical pieces and have a huge soundstage. Something that not every Duo owner can achieve. I used the stereo version of the Art Audio PX-25 amp and would have no qualms using this (and I've but used monoblocks for many years). The mono version of this amp will provide even better performance. Note that the Art Audio PX-25 amps have a special low gain option fine tuned for AG users.

The Viva monoblocks were also fabulous. The Duos had dead silent backgrounds when I used the Viva and Art Audio amps. And this was while using a preamp that has above average gain and a very high gain phono stage. The Audiopax also is worth hearing. I would stay away from Atmasphere amps.

As you said, you need to rebuild your entire system. In order to achieve maximum performance from the Duos I had to change my already excellent interconnects, speaker cables, and power cords. I also benefited greatly from replacing the stock Cardas power cords that came with the 3.0 Duos. It may be that you will need to play with your cables in order to get all of the sound potential that your Unos and electronics are able to provide.

Have fun.

Note: I’ve never heard anyone say to stay away from SET amps with AG speakers. Like anything, there are good SETs and not so good SETs. I’d think that a good SET amp, designed to provide quiet backgrounds with highly sensitive speakers, will be better than most non-SET amps at providing quiet backgrounds.