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Avantgarde Acoustic is undoubtedly a most famous German address for horn systems. Besides the UNO, DUO and TRIO (by now internationally accoladed classics) the SOLO just became the newest while smallest member of this family. The team around developer Matthias Ruff once again went out on a limb.
The SOLO -- the first coaxial spherical horn system to emerge from this maker of the Hessian Lauter Valley -- seems dedicated to music friends for whom terms like precise rendition, powerful drive and simply breathtaking dynamics are standard vocabulary whilst not "suffering" parallel luxuriously palatial environs. Hence, the SOLO blends unobtrusively into any home. This renders the semi-philosophical quandary, about which Avantgarde horn system is best, irrelevant. The proper question instead merely asks which is the most suitable.
The currently marketed models aim at different listener profiles. Regardless, anyone who's heard -- nay, experienced -- a single example from the Avantgarde Acoustic stable will appreciate the depth of emotions these loudspeakers elicit in the listener. That includes yours truly - but more about that later.
The SOLO is the first active coaxial High-End horn system for the demanding music lover with a rather smaller listening room (ca. 15 sqm). But then it's no mere loudspeaker. Rather, it's a system. Come again? The acquistion of the SOLO naturally includes a pair of loudspeaker, albeit one outfitted with inbuilt amplification. It thus adds twin monaural power amplifiers into the picture, which should be a welcome boon for anyone asembling a complete system. Considering their asking price, it's relevant to remember this inclusion, as well as other technical advantages.
To wit: Each SOLO contains a highly damped 150-watt amp module direct-coupled to the transducers for impressive control. A feedback loop monitors and continuously compensates for phase shifts in the 2kHz crossover network and enables output differentials between LF and HF transducers. Bandwidth is 30Hz to 20,000Hz. As an aside, each active module weighs in at 20 lbs, clear evidence that more than "three parts" were used. This includes a soft-start feature to prevent in-rush current spikes.
Connectivity is via XLR socket, rather redefining the common idea of loudspeaker cable connection. For preamps with single-ended outputs only, standard accessories include Avantgarde XLR-to-RCA adaptors - which still doesn't exhaust the options. Envision a stepped attenuator to control the relative balance between both drivers, followed by a switchable subsonic filter and variable bass EQ, flexibility that's of vital importance since it affords the customized tuning of each system, both to the personal bias of its owner and the respective room response. Ingenious - no more setup incompatabilities. Put differently, optimal performance is assured regardless of where. This temporarily included my sun room whose obvious reverb liabilities I won't have to detail. Simply put, it's probably the worst possible environ for a loudspeaker. Alas - no problem for the SOLO. Thanks to its -- incompletely rendered -- adjustment options, it feistily performed without hiccups. I refer to them now as "fun balls", not least because of their curvacous dimensions (46cm diameter, 46cm depth, without stand).
Regulation of bass output is vital and, no surprise, the equivalent HF compensation has also been accounted for. This empowers the listener to determine the amount of treble presence. A toggle enables -2dB/+4dB cut and boost. Hard to imagine a room to which the SOLO couldn't adapt. Very hard! Before I forget, a ground lift switch above the IEC inlet can decouple the amp to banish ground loops.
In principle, the SOLO is a 2-way bass reflex system, with a 12-inch woofer and 1-inch tweeter concentrically mounted on the former's back to radiate through the vented pole piece of the oversized 4-inch woofer voice coil. This technical trick insures tightly controled, coherent point source dispersion in both vertical and horizontal planes, assuring first-rate sonic neutrality and image stability. Naturally, constructional chassis details and materials all contribute to a loudspeaker's sound. In the SOLO, this truism has been eloquently exploited, with audible results that speak for themselves.
Usually, a dual-concentric designs employs the actual woofer diaphragm as waveguide for the tweeter. Unfortunately, such a mounting scheme couples woofer motion to HF performance to introduce audible colorations. The unique SOLO solution puts, as it were, the horns on the usual brigade of coloration critics since its construction differs noticeably from the norm. Its tweeter radiates directly into a 10cm narrow horn that doubles as corrective woofer phase plug while the 4cm wall thickness precludes resonances, resulting in utterly fluid, distortion-free treble performance.
The tweeter horn's phase correction function also extends the woofer's useful reach upwards which enables the use of a basic first-order network to combine ingenuity with erstwhile simplicity. It helps to explain why, in typcial Avantgarde fashion, the SOLO exhibits ultra-dynamic resolution of the tiniest low-level detail. Listening to this combination of virtues could explain the strange addicition of hornfreaks.
A further comment about the chassis. With a gross weight approaching 70 lbs per system, it's clear that no corners were cut. Enclosure and horn sub assemblies are fashioned from specially developed molded -- rather than more commonly foamed -- polyurethane. Molding creates a very even molecular structure of great tensile strength with self-damping properties, while the cylindrical shape itself prevents standing waves. As a rear-firing bass reflex design, the SOLO requires a bit of breathing room, the exact amount contingent on the respective environment. My personal situation worked out to a half-meter distance from the front wall.
About the topic of color finishes - while the chassis itself remains high-quality black Nextel lacquer, all customary Avantgarde metallic lacquers are available for a surcharge. Mine sported silver horns which, in combination with the stainless-steel/aluminum stand, spelled absolutely lethal uptown chic. The latter can (and should) be obtained from Avantgarde. In toto, the SOLO's mission statement was clearly the development and creation of a compact while complete system.
And, it delivers with a vengeance, a good reminder to finally commence with the listening notes post haste.
But first, a quick system overview. You'll recall that the SOLO can be driven with a fully balanced signal. I hitched up MFE's Tube One preamplifier via a run of Sommer cable, a welcome reminder about my still active amateur musician status. These Neutrik-terminated microphone cables sell for the paltry sum of 60 Euros for a 5-meter pair (yes, that's no typo!) and are shielded, an absolute necessity in the field where 200 meter runs routinely pass various power sources and other cables.
The SOLO's optional high-level input enables connection of a power amplifier which, from a purely technical perspective, is obviously redundant. Why drive the integral power amplifier with another power amp? Still, it's possible, and Avantgarde includes an XLR-to-speaker-terminal adaptor. Should such incoming voltage overdrive the amplifier's input stage, attenuation via the rear-mounted attenuator adjusts input sensitivity.
I once again employed my customary MFE power cords on the SOLOs. No question, this was a becoming match - instantly accelerated dynamics versus the stock kit. This discussion about power cords isn't new, and the inclusion of generic cable frees the manufacturer from varying enduser preferences and length requirements. The SOLO's positive reaction to power cord upgrades is thus not surprising, and my recommendation for MFE stands.
The Sonics?
To be honest? Curious, alert, in agreement, laughing, thigh-slapping, jumping up playing air guitar - that was my reaction. Granted, that's perhaps an unusal way to describe sound but the sheer fun I had with this cable hookup and my valved preamp is hard to express otherwise. These components gelled to perfection, with a neutrality that really shocked me, partially because I know how ruthlessly this preamp reveals shortcomings in associated speakers. Which, finally, brings us to:
B.B. King & Eric Claptons Riding With The King to kick off the listening session at good-mood volumes. Track 11 "Hold On, I'm Coming" could be the SOLO's message. The speaker instantly was in its element, and so was I. Track 2 "Ten Long Years"? I could now listen to it for that lengthy a period. On "Three O'Clock Blues", I took a break and cued up Santana's Supernatural, which contains a few choice cuts to test bass welly, such as "Maria, Maria", "Migra", or, not to be missed, "Corazon Espinado". This was to be followed by Mick Jagger's "God Gave Me Everything", turning into the SOLO's working mantra. I then enjoyed a sealess transition to Anastacia's newest, "Freak of Nature", with its funky Jazz/Rock title track filled with wonderfully off-kilter guitars, and "Paid My Dues", a hit that's advanced to earworm status around here, with track 4 and 11 performing chill-out duties. What a voice, and how much heart, on "You'll never be alone". Anyone sitting still on track 5 has turned into an overly jaded listener.
Liike Eric Clapton's Unplugged, Nils Lofgren's Acoustic Life is what it says, a live recording, with the SOLO relaying every little detail, as it did further on Rabih Abou-Khalil's "Cactus of Knowledge". On my long-time favorite, Al Di Meola's complex genre-crossing Kiss My Axe, the SOLO excelled at how precisely it tracked transients. Goosebump time then arrived with Gan Garbarek's The Hilliard Ensemble: Officium, Gregorian chants with skin-tingling saxophone exploits. From here I advanced to Soloye by Kari, Ola and Lars Bremnes, admiring the wonderfully knarly doublebass strings on "Lykken" (and don't miss track 6, "Umulig Song".)
With a sudden taste for Classics, I sifted through my copies of Vivadi's Four Seasons and picked the version with the English Chamber Orchestra with Nigel Kennedy as soloist, followed by Georg Friedrich Händel's Water Music on a 1983 recording of the West-German Radio Symphony Orchestra in Bielefeld's Oetker Hall. For the concluding grande finale, I chose Berlioz' Symphonie Fantastique with the CSO under Claudio Abbado. The SOLO sailed through this entire and very demanding programme with flying colors.
Summary:
The SOLO impressed me most positively, especially its line-genetic spontaneity of reproduction that carries the listener deeply into the music, with a huge fun quotient perhaps best described as the hotrodded turbo-charged Porsche among active speaker systems. Extreme dynamics, resolute acceleration out of every gear, generating intense elation with the travelers. The comprehensive facilities leave nothing to be desired. Fit'n'finish is uncompromising. An extra bonus is the ability to successfully employ the SOLO in smaller rooms. Color finishes for the horns are optional. In short, a loudspeaker system concept for listeners who value dynamics, neutrality and the occasional speed rush of live-like volumes to raise the intensity of a full-blown Rock or Classical concert inside the home.
Ancillaries:
Turntable: Transrotor Rotary with filtered powersupply, ceramic sphere, High-Tec oil
Arm: SME 3009
Cartridge: Ortofon Kontrapunkt A
Phono cable: HMS Gran Finale, RCA-to-RCA
Phonostage: Lehman Black Cube
Interconnect: HMS Gran Finale
CDP: TEAC VRDS 25x
Preamp: MFE Tube One
Amplifiers: Vaic 300-B stereo, Audiomat Duo (NOS GE 6550, critically selected predrivers)
Loudspeaker: Avantgarde Acoustic DUO
Loudspeaker cable: HMS Gran Finale 3-meter single wire
Subwoofer connection: HMS Gran Finale TOP Match interconnect
Power cords: MFE und XLO-10ER, home brew power strip (ferrite parallel-coupled massive copper buss bar power distribution), HMS twin-Schuko wall receptacle, discrete 20-amp line
Accessories: "Solida" rack, shelves and various cones and aluminum footers by Feines HiFi & S.O., further supports by Future SoundRack
Listening Environment
Rectangular room of 10 x 4 meters
Massive Ytong walls with 36cm mud cover, one side wall with windows and doors, one with central door.
Concrete ceiling with raw fiber paint. Rear wall covered with LP shelves. Front wall behind system covered in home-made absorbers. Floor carpet-covered, windows dressed, central sofa. The overall acoustics equal most other furnished rooms by being predominantly damped.
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