INDUSTRY COMMENTS

Unsolicited commentary from industry experts [clear here for full-length reviews]

6moons.com publisher and audio reviewer Srajan Ebaen visited with us in Atlanta in mid-November of 2002. While evaluating our personal setup to gauge how his personal DUO/AUDIOPAX system compared, he conducted an extensive interview with Jim. It is published in two parts on his website. Click here for part I. To get to part II, take the arrow at the bottom of the last page, then click on the red moon of the page header. This returns you to 6moons' main navigation menu. From there, select "industry features", their monthly column for interviews with audio designers and industry personnel. Once in industry features, chose Part II of our dialogue from the options offered.

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Hi Jim (aka Horn Guy),
I trust that you're home safe and sound by now. Lesley and I want you to know that we really enjoyed the Duo demo at THE Show. Both of us were swept away with their magic. Easily, Best Sound at Show. I think that your enthusiasm for the technology is clearly justified and comes right through in the promotional materials.

Dick Olsher, EnjoyTheMusic.com

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The new Series 2.0 Avantgardes have raised the reference level for loudspeakers.

Geoffrey Poor, National Sales Manager, Balanced Audio Technology

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Back in 1977 when I opened my shop, Jim Smith of Magnepan visited the store to help lay out the high-end room. He was interested in making his Magneplanars sound their best. But he was also interested in making sure his competitors, Dahlquist and B&W, got their due as well. He was concerned about the electronics, the cables, the low-end room, the signs. To make a long story short, he was interested in helping my Audio Emporium store in Milwaukee represent itself as well as possible in addition to creating the best sound possible in a store setting where you have a multitude of products to display. I was struck by Jim's interest in my whole operation. I was impressed by his ability to dial-in good sound from product I knew well and hadn't dialed-in as well. Virtually every other rep we see just waltzes in and wants to sell stuff, paying no attention to display. Even if they do, they only care about their own stuff. Jim Smith proved he was a unique fellow in the AV biz. Jim left manufacturing and ran his own store for many years. He became a professional recorder par excellence, working for PBS and others. Fast forward to 2000. I saw ads for a unique, tuba-looking speaker in Stereophile and The Absolute Sound. They read incredibly well, pointing out things I'd been lamenting for years. The crux of the ads is that this former die-hard audiophile, accustomed to standing on his head and doing cartwheels for good sound, had discovered, almost by accident, a speaker so good and so easy to place, that he felt the weight of the audiophile world lifted off his shoulders. Further, he had discovered that all the jumping-through-hoops and tap dancing he thought was endemic to making a music system sound real was wrong. And here he was in print, not being afraid to admit it.

Wow! This really caught my eye. But, it could just be sales hype. This could be some slick boy who had a few scotch and waters with his "roll 'em over again" audio manufacturing buddies. It could be even more hype. But the punch line was the signature - Jim Smith. I knew immediately the 'ad' was sincere and that these speaker must be something very special.

I called Jim to say 'Hi, remember the old days?' He did. Then we talked about the Avantgardes. It all sounded good to me except, the speakers had subwoofer - two 7-inch drivers in a cabinet with a 200-watt amp. My heart sunk. How in the name of brass Kahunas can two seven-inch woofers push the pedal to the metal? These speakers were selling for over $10K a pair. I thanked Jim for the info but in my prejudicial ways, dismissed the Avantgardes as un-saleable. I hadn't heard them, mind you. I said to JIm 'if they ever bring that bass up to speed with the rest of the speaker, let me know.' Well, jaded audio guy that I am, I made this assumption without ever hearing the 7-inch drivers. I probably should have given them a chance. But I've heard hundreds of speakers out there with multiple 6 to 7" woofers, and while they are fast and tight, they do not have $10K/pair worth of slam.

It's spring of 2001 then. Jim calls to say hi. Ok Mister, make up your mind before you hear them - we've thought about guys like you and have upgraded the subwoofer modules. The new Avantgardes have two 10-inch woofers (each with a 15 lbs magnet!) and a 200-eatt amp. The bass now definitely keeps up with the rest of the speaker - and by the way, the sevens were pretty darn good too even though you didn't give 'em a chance. The efficiency of the new sub module is 100dB!

At this point, I became front-burner interested because I knew that Jim's passion for this product was real. He wouldn't have become the importer if they weren't very special. Debbie and I visited Jim in Atlanta for some Southern hospitality and a listen to his speakers. It took less than a minute to tell me this was a new level of resolution. The fine detail and dynamic contrast shattered the standards I've come to accept as the best available. Planars, electrostats, gas-driven etc... sorry, it isn't even close. I

If you're interested in creating the illusion of having the singer in the room with you, this is it! I haven't heard anything that can deceive you into thinking the performance is real - short of the Avantgardes! They're that good!

Some other good stuff about them - they're 100+ dB efficient. Whatever amp you have can drive them nicely! When we got them into our shop, we played them with the Bryston of course. They sounded great. We've since added BAT tube electronics - also great! But, while nobody was looking, I connected the UNOs to the Bryston integrated amp ($1,560). They sounded phenomenal. So while the Avantgardes will reward you for hitching them up to the best electronics in the world, there's nothing wrong with running them through something fairly modest while you're refilling the cookie jar. What's the best sounding music system for $12,000? How about the Avantgarde UNOs with the Rotel RA-1060 integrated amp and RCD-961 CD player? You won't believe it.

Dave Holmes, owner, Audio Emporium, Milwaukee

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Heard the DUOs for myself and totally agree - they're truly stunning. Yes, one of the finest sounds at the show as well as everything I've ever heard - period!

Bill Wells, Audiophile Voice

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The Avantgarde Acoustic room afforded me my first listen to the stunning DUO Series 2 horn loudspeakers. Driven by all BAT electronics, the DUOs sounded glorious, and far less colored than any other speaker I've heard employing horn-loaded drivers. The sound of massed choral voices was particularly sumptious, the speaker conjuring an eerie apparition of the original event. A true achievement. Not to be missed.

Andrew Chasin, Groovenoise.com

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It's true; I spent a considerable amount of time auditioning the DUO 2.0 at the St. Tropez... The combination of clarity, lack of distortion, and stupendous dynamics was most impressive. Easily Best Sound at Show, and I mean anywhere in Las Vegas!

Dick Olsher, CES 2000 report, EnjoyTheMusic.com

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I walked into the Nirvana and Wavelength Audio room to be greeted by a apir of eye-popping Avantgarde loudspeakers. This was my first experience with these horn loudspeakers and I was rewarded with a positive experience. The midrange did not have that cupped-mouth, hollow sounding hoot that most people associate with horn loudspeakers. In fact the midrange was open and clear with a slight warmth to the sound that added balance to the overall sound... this system will really change audiophiles' perceptions of good sound.

Gregory Kong, CES 2002 report, planethifi.com

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Up until now I have had reservations about horns... As a consequence, I had expected the DUOs to sound colored, ultra-dynamic, and to a certain extent the sum of two rather obvious parts. That is not the case.

... They can exhibit stunning ranges of subtlety, dynamics and ultimate loudness.. exemplary imaging to recordings... pretty much seamless top-to-bottom even frequency in-room... very uncoloured... transparency that many speaker systems are still striving for. They have an uncanny presence and immediacy... dynamic range matched more closely to real life than anything else I have heard.

So, to conclude, these speakers are simply the best I have ever heard in my domestic system. Nothing else has come close to recreating the power and finesse of a full organ, or bringing a full orchestra into the living room, and conveying the emotion of a solo performance.

Electrostatics now have a serious contender in the transparency stakes. The horn systems are so revealing... it's hard to imagine using anything else. My favorite reference speaker is now ousted in favour of these music-making devices. Don't be swayed by people telling you they don't perform and are coloured. These speakers make music in a way that you simply can't argue with.

Chris Beeching, Audio Quarterly, UK

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