TRIO COMPACT GOLDEN EAR AWARD |
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The Absolute Sound, December 2000/January 2001, Issue 127:
Golden Ear Awards 2000, Equipment |
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Gamut D200, Krell FPB 650Mc
Audio Research Reference 300 amplifiers Burmester 979/980 CD transport/DAC Avantgarde Acoustic "Trio Compact" spherical horn-loaded loudspeaker by Jonathan Valin |
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Five years ago, I rave-reviewed the world-class Avantgarde Acoustic "Trio Compact" spherical horn-loaded loudspeaker system and nearly got laughed out of the audio fraternity for daring to sing the praises of horns. Nobody's laughing any more. Properly set up (which they never have been, as far as I can tell, at any CES) and properly driven (I strongly recommend Lamm ML-2s or Wavelength Napoleons or Cardinals), these gorgeous flowers make music and music-makers sound astonishingly realistic. There is no loudspeaker on this planet with better dynamic range and scaling than the Avantgarde Trios. They are to intensities, small-scale and large, what electrostats are to inner detail. They also happen to be what electrostats are to inner detail, to inner detail. Indeed, ideally positioned and driven, these things sound a great deal like 'stats - that same speed, nuance, clarity, gorgeou color, and top-to-bottom livelieness. Only the Trios have balls like no 'stat (no other speaker, period) does: tremendous dynamic clout and range, tremendous delicacy and detail, couped with an openess and freedom from colorations unique to horn-loaded loudpseakers (and when mated with Avantgarde's great new SUB225 CTRL subwoofers, without any "holes" in the fabric of sound). I don't know why it took me this long to remind you how good the Avantgardes are, but, considering that they rival (and in many respects beat) their $70,000 competition, at $36,970 they are something like a bargain for well-heeled High Enders searching for the best of the best. (They are also the ideal solution for audiophiles looking for a truly uncompromising speaker that can serve double-duty for both home theater and two-channel/surround.) Provided you have the space to house them, you cannot buy a loudspeaker that gives you more "in-the-room" presence. They are to their ilk what Mercury recordings were to theirs. by Jonathan Valin, The Absolute Sound, December 2000/January 2001, Issue 127, pg. 47-51 |
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