Hello from an Avantgarde Owner in UK

Hear Here

Hear Here

Member
Joined
May 8, 2020
Messages
568
Location
UK
I live on the South Coast of England with great views over the Solent and local harbours.

My listening room is roughly semi-circular and has over 50 ft width of floor-to ceiling glazing. It is 975 sq ft with low 7'7" ceiling. Not ideal for audio, but at 200 ft above the surroundings, it offers fabulous views.

Speakers are placed in the centre of the room either side of a central column, so they have to look more interesting than a veneered box! Speaker choice is crucial and I've found that horns beat other types here.

I had 2003 vintage Avantgarde Unos horns from new but changed these for slightly newer Duos last year, after an unsatisfactory experiment with Martin Logan 13As. Likely to take a leap to the latest Duo XD or Mezzo soon. After experimenting with a dozen or so amplifiers, I've settled on NAD Master Series M32, but likely to move to something else soon.

Digital sources only, mainly from Qobuz and my collection of 1500 CDs - ripped by and stored on NAD M50.2. This ripper / streamer is almost unique in offering direct CD play as well as rip - useful for visitors who bring CDs to play here. No interest in vinyl or home theatre.

Looking forward to intelligent audio discussions here, hopefully without the inane and unhelpful postings from idiots who've no experience of the item under discussion on another well-know forum beginning with A !

Peter

IMG_0091.JPG

View attachment Plan - 112 Living Room PDF.pdf
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Thank you for joining Peter. It’s great to see fellow Avantgarde lovers. I’m unfamiliar with NAD’s offerings and am certainly curious about your choice in amplification. I know you mentioned an amp update coming, the M33.

How would you describe the treble and midrange of your current integrated?
 
Welcome! Do you have a photo of the entire room? It would help considering the rather unusual dimensions.
 
Howiebrou said:
Welcome! Do you have a photo of the entire room? It would help considering the rather unusual dimensions.
Click to expand...

Thanks - I'd love to add an image but new members need a 10-post record before they can upload images. By this time, are they still new members? I'll add photos to my original post when I've gained acceptance.

I'd like to add a Word doc of the room plan, but .doc files don't seem to be acceptable! Peter
 
audio.bill said:
Hi Peter - MS Word has the "Save As" option which easily allows you to save the file in PDF format which can then be posted. Hope that helps!
Click to expand...

Thanks for reminding me, Bill. However I'm not even sure PDF files are acceptable - only types associate with photos such as JPG. Unfortunately it's got worse - I can't edit my post at all - I think because there's a time limit. This forum certainly works in mysterious ways!
 
PDF files are fine. There’s a time limit on edits because of abuse. Others before you unfortunately abused our trust. One or two more posts and you are good to go.
 
Thanks for your help Joe. I seem to have got the room plan and photo uploaded although both in thumbnails. It would have been nice to have been able to add them to the original opening message.

Peter
 
Hello Peter,

Welcome to AS!

I had seen your post on Facebook a few days ago.
I am sure you will a lot more knowledgeable members on here than other places.

Fantastic listening space you have over there. Must be a spectacular view of the water!

Regards



.
 
Hi - cool looking room. Are your Duo's Omega versions? I owned 2000 Duo's that I upgraded to Omega drivers and crossovers before upgrading in 2014 to Duo Mezzo (pre XD version).
 
Peter,

Very cool room. I see you are a photography buff. I like the large format Toyo View camera on top of the glass showcase. I love all the decorations too. Well done!
 
Binoculars are 40 x 100 with optional 25 x eyepieces. They were supplied by Strathspey in Scotland, but I suspect they are Chinese made and simply labelled Strathspey.

I also have an excellent pair of 15 x 70 hand-held binos from Strathspey and I've been lucky enough to pick up 10 x 50 Pentax and 7 x 35 Nikon at charity shops locally - for £5 each! Peter
 
mallen123 said:
Hi - cool looking room. Are your Duo's Omega versions? I owned 2000 Duo's that I upgraded to Omega drivers and crossovers before upgrading in 2014 to Duo Mezzo (pre XD version).
Click to expand...

My Duos are about 2006 bought last year after selling my even earlier Unos. Not upgraded to Omega. Next upgrade will be to new Duo XD or maybe Mezzo XDs.

I note you have Mezzos. Did you have the opportunity to compare them directly with Duo XDs? In some ways, I'd prefer Duos as they are slimmer and would obstruct less of my views and appear less bulky in the middle of my room. They have identical drive units and amp, so I guess the area of improvement with the Mezzo is solely in the bass below about 150 Hz.

However as you'll have noticed with my Duos, I don't like the "scaffolding" upright poles that support the horn tubes, so I've done away with them by using a rear-mounted F frame. Likewise, if I go for the new Duos, I'd get rid of the scaffolding - probably using a bracket cradle similar to that used in the Mezzo. This would I think greatly improve their looks and offer a slimmer appearance too - and without adversely affecting the sound if done carefully to retain or improve (as done with my Duos) vibration isolation. Peter
 
Hear Here said:
My Duos are about 2006 bought last year after selling my even earlier Unos. Not upgraded to Omega. Next upgrade will be to new Duo XD or maybe Mezzo XDs.

I note you have Mezzos. Did you have the opportunity to compare them directly with Duo XDs? In some ways, I'd prefer Duos as they are slimmer and would obstruct less of my views and appear less bulky in the middle of my room. They have identical drive units and amp, so I guess the area of improvement with the Mezzo is solely in the bass below about 150 Hz.

However as you'll have noticed with my Duos, I don't like the "scaffolding" upright poles that support the horn tubes, so I've done away with them by using a rear-mounted F frame. Likewise, if I go for the new Duos, I'd get rid of the scaffolding - probably using a bracket cradle similar to that used in the Mezzo. This would I think greatly improve their looks and offer a slimmer appearance too - and without adversely affecting the sound if done carefully to retain or improve (as done with my Duos) vibration isolation. Peter
Click to expand...


Hi Peter,
The Mezzo's add a whole different level, as the basshorn integration with the mid range horn improves the entire speaker performance.

The Duo Grosso with 12 inch subs would be the closest in terms of bass extension and volume, but still probably wouldnt match the speed of the basshorns. The Duo XD with 10" subs wouldnt even be close unless you listen to mostly music with less bass.

I agree the Mezzo's are quite a larger foot print, but if you get them in Jacaranda finish, they are quite attractive.

I have the non XD versions and have used Tube traps in all four corners to clean up the bass. I've not heard the Mezzo XD versions yet and probably won't upgrade as my room treatments seemed to do the job. The sound routinely amazes my non audiophile friends, especially with high end 300B amps like my AudioNote UK Shinri's.

Cheers
Mark
 
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