Avantgarde: FAQs

Q. Why are the Avantgardes said to be so much clearer and so much lower in distortion than other high performance speakers?

A. (1) The primary reason is that each horn driver is being asked to move less than a tenth of the movement that 'normal' high-end speakers require. Acceleration lag and overshoot are greatly minimized. Factor in our lightweight rigid diaphragms and big magnets and you have a nearly distortionless speaker.

(2) A secondary reason is that while Avantgarde uses ultimate quality components in their crossovers, there are hardly any there. The speaker is designed properly to begin with and no 'corrective' frequency response and other 'engineering triumphs' are allowed in the crossover. The path is direct and so is the sound - which is why it has so much immediacy (like live music).

There is no passive crossover at all between the midrange driver/horn assembly and the amplifier. The horn throat and horn mouth (bell) surface area determine the roll-off acoustically, according to simple physics.

(3) The Avantgardes employ a controlled dispersion pattern. Approximately 85% of the sound reaches the ear directly. There's no need for room treatments to absorb or diffuse sidewall and ceiling reflections, because there aren't many

For example, when recording engineers make a recording, we've carefully decided how much direct vs. reverberant field to include in the recording. It's already there. So why would we want to create this false wall-to-wall 'soundstage' with reflections that are adding something to the original?

We spend lots of time and money in placing acoustic treatments just to absorb or diffuse the reflections from wide dispersion speakers. But even diffusing the reflections doesn't remove the extra energy. Depending on how colored the speaker is when heard off-axis (and they all are badly colored off-axis - look at their polar response), we end up diffusing/dispersing colorations!

And that's why more and more sophisticated music listeners are realizing that wide dispersion is an area where the high-end speaker industry has gone way off track.

Here's the bottom line on direct vs. reflected sound - Avantgardes project the recorded sound with amazing detail because the ear doesn't have to decode unwanted and colored reflections.

Q. Why wouldn't a conventional high-efficiency approach to high-end speakers provide the same low distortion as the Avantgardes?

A. A high-efficiency speaker still has to move a lot of air to get high sound pressure levels. Its drivers have to move a great distance. They experience long excursions.

The problem is controlling them properly the further they are asked to move (this discussion will ignore the problem of a driver's voice coil heating up and its performance changing as it's pushed hard!). Each Avantgarde horn driver is being asked to move less than a tenth of the movement that 'normal' high-end speakers require.

The loss of linear movement as driver peak excursions increase is largely eliminated with the 10dB+ increase in output from the horn. Why? With less than a tenth of normal movement, the driver can easily be controlled and stay well within linear excursions (and without heating up voice coils which can dramatically affect the sound).

Q. Why does Avantgarde Acoustic use ABS for its horn material? Isn't that a rather cheap material for a speaker that has such high aspirations?

A. Have you ever priced a perfect high-pressure injection mold? If the ABS weren't the best way to go, you can be sure that Avantgarde wouldn't have paid hundreds of thousands of dollars just to make the injection molds!

After significant research, the design team at Avantgarde discovered that all the other methods led to poorer results - from Fiberglass resin to lathe-turned wood. They discovered a great deal in their research, but three findings really stood out:

(1) The ABS is unconditionally stable - unaffected by temperature or humidity. Virtually all other techniques of horn manufacture could lead to variations and instability over the life of the product.
(2) The ABS is perfectly repeatable. The Avantgarde Hornspeaker you buy will be just like the production model and just like the model that got the rave reviews.
(3) The ABS finish is utterly smooth. Imperfections, seemingly very small, can cause unwanted turbulence in the spherical sound wave, producing unpredictable (and unwanted) colorations. Only the ABS was suitable for pure sound reproduction.

Q. Why are the Avantgardes known for their emotional impact?

A. Almost alone among loudspeakers, they have linear dynamics. And dynamic contrasts are the main tools that performers and composers use to 'pluck our heart-strings' with the message of their music. It comes down to experiencing the intent of the performer(s).

While not always, it's often a very subtle shift in volume, phrasing, rhythmic quality, or tone. To convey the message without loss, the musical dynamics must be expressed when played at whatever level you find you need to speak to your heart at that moment. Very often, it is NOT at the level at which many speakers are at their best.

Q. What is/are linear dynamics?

A. Linear dynamics can best be explained by examples:

(1) Unlike almost every other speaker, the Avantgardes don't need 50-100 watts to 'come alive'. Most speakers need to be pushed a bit to start to sound interesting. They don't respond equally to soft signals. The Avantgardes sound extremely interesting at milliwatt levels.
(2) Many speakers will reach a volume level that makes them start to sound strained. Often -- and unfortunately -- this level may not be adequate for all music. So the available operating region to sound really interesting -- but not strained -- is actually rather narrow.

Q. Why is simple music like a guitar and/or a vocalist so much more compelling? After all, it's not like there's any big dynamics that would require a horn...

A. You'd be surprised at the dynamic requirements for 'simple' music. In this case, it's 'microdynamics' - the subtle cues. When a guitar is played, there is of course the initial attack. Following closely is the sound of the strings vibrating and the guitar body resonating.

These following sounds can be reproduced convincingly only if the driver has 'settled' from playing the leading edge transient. Even at very low levels, the 10-to-1 horn advantage in linear motion reduction is still working. Only now it helps to resolve the sound of a real guitar ringing out.

Q. I've heard some people say that the Avantgarde woofers aren't 'fast enough' to keep up with the horns. What does this mean, and is it true?

A. There is a basis for this thinking that I'll cover in the next question. But first, you should know that no woofer is 'fast'. If it were fast (meaning that it could move very quickly), it would be a TWEETER!

Actually, what most audiophiles mean by fast bass is not a speaker that is capable of playing high frequencies (faster = more frequencies per second), but a speaker that once started, is capable of STOPPING quickly. In other words, once it has been asked to move a great distance to play a note, it will then cease to make any uncalled-for movements afterwards. This is the characteristic that many audiophiles call 'fast' bass.

The Avantgarde SUB 225 and SUB 230 woofers employ a 19 pound(!) magnet for each of their two drivers. This is the most powerful magnetic controlling force of any woofer we've ever heard of. That's one reason why a properly set up pair of Avantgardes are capable of some of the most musically lifelike bass we've heard.

Another unfortunate issue is that a few audiophiles are forever seeking the 'tightest' bass. But when was the last time you ever heard live music, acoustic or reinforced, and you thought about how 'tight' the bass was? In fact, the sound of live acoustic bass is most often full and rich, not dry and thin.

Here's a test for you. Next time you're at a nightclub, go up to the bass player and tell him his Marshall bass amp is too fat! See what he tells you :))

Q. Were those listeners wrong when they thought that perhaps the transition from the bass to the mid horn wasn't seamless?

A. Actually, I've heard Avantgardes that sounded that way myself! Of course, it only took a couple of minutes to easily 'fix' it.

Because the bass is infinitely adjustable, both the bass volume level, as well as the crossover frequency can be adjusted to compensate for various types of installations. With most speakers, if they need to be placed near a wall, close to a corner, or out into the room, the bass performance will vary wildly.

With the Avantgardes, the music lover has unparalleled flexibility to compensate for all types of installations. But this can be a two-edged sword. In every instance where I've heard the woofer stand out, it's been because the subwoofer volume control was simply turned up a bit too much, and/or the crossover level was set too low! With our simple techniques for adjusting the sub, you can easily set it and forget it, while taking advantage of the Avantgardes' unique ability to make the system perform at a higher level than others in various installations.

Q. How do the Avantgardes compare to...?

A. I decided to give you some basis for comparison, from my totally biased position:

Vocal realism well beyond any other current 'high-end' speaker's capabilities
Accuracy of timbre unmatched in many areas, but especially noticeable on vocals, all plucked instruments, and brass (which usually lacks weight and sonority)
Vocal phrasing unmatched (listen for musical phrasing subtleties you didn't know were on your recordings -- examples like Sinatra, Diane Krall, Nat King Cole, June Tabor, Elvis, Patricia Barber, Ella -- the list goes on. John Rutter's choral stuff and just about any opera comes ALIVE!)
Way easier on amplifiers than other high-end speakers - efficiency from 100-110dB, with a benign impedance above 8 ohms.
Your amp will probably never come close to clipping, and it won't sound harsh due to the speaker being a reactive or low impedance load.
With extraordinary efficiency, beginning with the UNO 3.0 (now over 102dB/1w/1m), and power handling in excess of 150 watts, peak levels are reproduced absolutely without strain or coloration.
Imaging and soundstaging much more precise than live - but frankly not any better than a few speakers which were designed to be great imagers.
Emotional impact of a live performance. I don't know of any audiophile speaker that will allow the music to speak into your soul, to pluck your heartstrings, that will stir you to get up and dance (or at least surreptitiously tap your toes if someone could be watching) as often as the Avantgardes.
Respect for all musical 'classes' - the Avantgardes are an equal opportunity loudspeaker. They let the message come through on all kinds of music. And that's how it oughta be, right?
What a fabulous bonus! The Avantgardes will help you widen your musical horizons...