1.0 Series
The SUBs
When we first heard the UNO 1.0s, it was in the fall of 1998. At that time, the Avantgarde Acoustic UNOs, DUOs, & TRIOs were sold with a choice of two similar powered subwoofers, the SUB 217 or the SUB 217 PRO (better parts & performance, same design).
The 217 series of powered subs were the same physical size as today's SUB 225 series, although their weight was about 60% of the SUB 225 series. The SUB 217 used two slightly opposed 7" drivers, in a ported enclosure. The internal amp was 150 watts.
These SUBs were sold until the fall of 1999, when Avantgarde-USA became the distributor for the Americas. Although AG-USA continued to offer the SUB 217 PRO for the following two years, the truth is that once the SUB 225 was introduced (fall of 1999), we actually never sold a pair of the Avantgarde Hornspeakers with the 217 PRO.
The Horns
The UNOs and DUOs, until the fall of '99, had used a crossover network to divide the frequencies between the mid and treble horns. One of the significant upgrades to the 2.0 series was the elimination of this network (see 2.0, The HORNS).
The TRIO horn drivers and crossovers continued as they had been (already having won many awards, they were hard to improve upon).
2.0 Series
The SUBs
There have been (as you'd expect with any high-tech electronic product over a 2 ½ year period) numerous slight evolutionary improvements to the SUB 225.
The original SUB 225 appeared in the fall of 1999. It employed twin 10" drivers, in a sealed and acoustically inert (heavy!) enclosure. The SUB 225 power amp is 200 watts.
Over the time period from fall of 99 through December of 2001, the SUB 225 series went through continual evolutionary improvements (described below). From our viewpoint, no one change was truly significant enough to warrant a new model.
The first SUB 225 amp modules offered volume and frequency controls, as well as a 0-180 degree phase switch (to alter the polarity of the SUB 225s for situations where the polarity might result in a better blend with the mid horns).
First step
After a period of time, we introduced a slight electronic refinement to the amplifier module. This resulted in even greater low frequency headroom, not usually noticed except on those occasions when the SUB 225 found itself in a home theater installation, with dinosaurs and the like on the rampage!
Next
After a few more months, we introduced an operational change to the SUB 225, but it continued to have the same complement of controls. Only now the phase switch became a three position low fequency roll-off filter.
This allowed the owner to select full range operation to below 20 Hz, or to begin a roll-off at 25, or at 30 Hz. The reason these controls proved to be so popular was that the owner could choose an earlier roll-off if his/her room wouldn't support the deepest bass.
This yielded an even greater level of headroom and apparent "agility" to the SUB 225 in situations where it was most desirable. Now the owner could pick the type of bass response that best suited the installation.
The 0-180 degree phase switch function was now accomplished by simply reversing the polarity of the wires coming to the inputs on the SUB 225.
And then?
Soon after, Avantgarde Acoustic introduced a new woofer surround material to the 10" drivers. What had been a urethane surround became butyl rubber. The reason for this was that -- in some parts of the world -- the air pollution was so high that it was feared that the urethane surround could eventually decompose from exposure to air-born contaminants.
Finally
In the spring of 2001, we addressed the only SUB 225 concern that seemed to remain. In approximately 1 out of 100 systems, the client lived in an area that was apparently saturated with RFI and/or EMI.
This handful of systems would (depending on the variability and strength of the radiated local interference field) occasionally produce a radio or TV station in the background, or some changing noises that couldn't be easily described. Although this was true only for the tiniest fraction of our owners, and it never seemed to happen when we would visit, it remained an annoyance for them. For some reasons, suggestions that they move a few houses away didn't receive much enthusiasm!
The Fix
So we asked Avantgarde Acoustic designer and engineer Matthias Ruff to come over to the US. We then flew him to the three locations where there was this intermittent noise pick-up problem. Matthias designed and installed individually tuned circuit "fixes" on the spot.
Then he returned to Germany and designed a new input board that included the new parts. Of course, 99% of our clients never knew that the amp module was now different, including a higher sensitivity, and a greater resistance to hum & noise pick-up from "rogue radiators".
This modification led to the most recent Avantgarde Acoustic SUB 225 amp module update. With the new input circuit in place, it now became possible to provide an optional line input, balanced or unbalanced. This was primarily made available for the home theater market, where SUB 225s are typically used with a processor. Especially valuable with the introduction of the new SOLO powered Hornspeakers.
The Horns, UNO & DUO
With the elimination of the crossover network between the mid and treble horns, the UNO & DUO performance envelope exploded. This meant that the mid-range driver was now being driven directly by the amplifier, with virtually no crossover components in the path to degrade the sound.
In addition, the UNO and DUO tweeters had become increasingly more efficient, to the point that the 1.5 dB attenuator pad on the mid-range horn was no longer needed. Not only did we gain transparency and presence by eliminating the crossover, the speaker became almost 1.5 dB more efficient!
Its tonal balance went from being very good (perhaps slightly lean) in the 1.0 series to being, well, simply phenomenal as the new 2.0! Rich, full bodied, and eminently involving.
TRIO
All of the Subwoofer evolution described above also applies to the TRIO. However, the TRIO horns themselves seemed to be at the very top of the evolutionary chain. Nothing we tried could improve upon them materially.
Then, in December of 2000, Avantgarde Acoustic introduced an improved model. We called it the TRIO 2.0 PLUS. What made it better wasn't simply the 3dB increase in efficiency from 107dB up to 110db/1watt/1 meter.
Although the new TRIOs did seem to be much more dynamic and alive (AMAZING, since those were the hallmarks of the TRIO 2.0 anyway), the real technical advantage was the easy 19 ohm load they presented, as well as a smoother impedance curve at all frequencies.
The Sound
What listeners heard was a sound that was much more dynamic and alive, with a smoother response, and remarkably, greater solidity and agility in the bass (due to the new bass horn driver having more extended and defined response than the original).
From December 2000 until December 2001, we shipped the TRIO 2.0 PLUS, as well as continuing to offer the original 8 ohm TRIO 2.0 with just one SUB 225/channel, as an upgrade from the DUO without spending more than twice the money for the TRIO 2.0 PLUS.
Let's get practical...
As a practical matter, we'd like to give you our personal viewpoint on all this:
Unless you fall into that 1% category that lives in a high RFI/EMI area, and you can occasionally pick up a radio station or other unwanted noises, there's no reason to change SUB 225 amps. In fact, here in the Atlanta area, where I want to demo our very best sound for industry people and consumers, I've tried the new amps and couldn't hear any difference.
Model Designations Within a Series
There are no sonic differences between the 2.0, 2.1, and 2.2 models. The number behind the decimal point simply refers to the level of finish within a series and designates a cosmetic rather performance upgrade:
UNO/DUO/TRIO - 2.0 - ABS White with Nextel 225 Subwoofers
UNO/DUO/TRIO - 2.1 - Metallic Lacquer Finish (Blue, Red, Green, Silver, Charcoal, Pearlescent White) w/Nextel 225 Subwoofers
UNO/DUO/TRIO - 2.2 - Metallic Lacquer Finish w/Metallic Lacquer 225 CTRL Subwoofers
