SpiritOfMusic - First, welcome to Audioshark, I look forward to your contributions. Second, what a well written first post. Third, what is your first name?
Let me start by saying that I have heard Zu speakers many times at shows. Let me tell you that the Zu Company is THE MOST FUN/COOL company EVER! Their after hours parties are a blast.
I have heard Zu audio speakers sound quite good at shows, and some of the lower models, not so much.
Regarding the Cessaro Liszts. I heard them and they sounded ok, but I found that they didn't play as big as the AV's and had some horn colorations. But they were nice none the less.
I know exactly what you speak of regarding the "discontinuity" of the drivers. I spoke with Armin Krauss of Avantgarde at length about this. He said that this hasn't been a problem since they went to the more powerful amps. He said it was under powering the bass drivers that caused the discontinuity. I heard an early pair of Duo's and I heard exactly what you speak ok.
However, this is 1000% not the case with the newer XD series. Everything is in perfect sync. I've been listening very carefully for over two months and heard not one time any discontinuity. I would say without a hair of doubt, that old problem has been eliminated - especially in this new XD series.
Regarding the Zu Experiences vs Duo Mezzo XD, I can't really comment as I haven't heard the Experiences. What I can tell you is that the Duo Mezzo XD's are the most sophisticated speaker I have ever worked with. The ability to dial the speaker perfectly into the room is second to none and should not be underestimated. In January, when Avantgarde launches the remainder of the XD room eq kit, there will be absolutely nothing left to chance. Perfection will be achieved - or damn close!
If you have any doubts that your new room in Norfolk could present some challenges, then the decision is easy - Duo Mezzo XD. There is nothing you can't do from the bottom of the horn frequency down. Adjust the crossover, apply unlimited parametric EQ to specific frequencies and adjust the EQ within each frequency (i.e. 2db decrease at 51hz, applying a bell curve with a Q of 0.5 as example). The software will automate this process, but until this comes out, we were able to measure the room, find the peeks and valleys and adjust each frequency accordingly. The benefit of being able to adjust the crossover is also beneficial depending on the amp. With a solid state amp, we found we wanted to adjust the crossover up a little to 170hz. With tube amps, we found the crossover best at 150hz. The difference being in the meatiness of the lower-midrange, listening for cues with male vocals for example.
Let me address your question about soundstage depth. Because horns are a directional speaker, you're going to get what I call a "realistic" soundstage depth. They cannot use reflection to add a greater sense of depth like some speakers can. If my speakers are 4 feet out, I hear about 4 feet of depth. I don't hear 10 or 20. So, yes, if horns have a "weakness" it's that they give you what you deserve in relation to setup. So, you will find that ultimately most people prefer to have them further out into the room than normal. I think mine are about 5 feet out. That being said, I am playing with front wall diffusors to see what kind of affect that has on the depth of the soundstage. That being said, when I'm listening, I never think "man, I wish there was more depth". There is plenty and the horns create a realistic, intimate environment. But let me tell you this, what horns may give up in a little soundstage depth, they more than make up for in soundstage width. Listening to Miles Davis Kind of Blue, you hear instruments WAY outside the speakers - both left and right.
Here is what I have found after two months of playing with the AV's: tubes sound better than solid state. 845/211 tubes and 300b tubes sound best. Single Ended amps sound wonderful, but so did the PP amps I tried (Cary 211 FE's).
People always talk about the importance of a quiet noise floor with any type of high efficiency speaker and I agree. I have 8 dedicated 20 amp circuits running off a separate panel/ground. On each of those outlets, I have MIT Z-Duplex 20 outlets. Those outlets alone cut the line noise by an additional 80% when measured with the Entech. I further run 4 APC S20's. I need battery UPS because of the frequent brown outs here in Florida and lightning storms. If I lived somewhere where the power was more stable and consistent, I would probably not need the UPS. Line noise coming out of the APC S20's is measured at 0.01% on the Entech.
I have found that differences in sources, amplification, tubes and most importantly cables is magnified 10 times with a high efficiency speaker. I have found, as a minimum, that Siltech speaker cables work best. If you want to add Siltech IC's, that will be even better, but I found just the Siltech speaker cables to be enough to add that extra body and sweetness. I don't care if you're talking 550/770 classic series or Royal Signature Prince, Siltech speaker cables on horns is magic and should almost be a prerequisite. The Siltech cable adds body and smoothness which takes the system to a whole new level.
I have had many people over to listen to my Duo Mezzo XD's. The reactions have been interesting. I've had a couple of people literally stand at the back of the room because they thought the horns would be "aggressive". After a few seconds of listening, they sit down and say, "wow, these don't sound like horns". I've had a very knowledgable manufacturer/engineer listen and comment, "Avantgarde has perfected the horn".
The Avantgarde's, once dialed in, are true full range speakers. You will hear bass at 20hz and it won't be rolled off (-6db) like a lot of speakers that claim to go down to 20hz. You will hear pinpoint imaging with great separation. You will hear horns (sax, trumpet, etc.) that sound so realistic you will swear Miles is in the room with you. You will hear dynamics like you've never heard (except at a live concert). You will hear vocals that have a real sweetness to them. But with any high efficiency speaker, you need to be prepared to work a little on noise floor, proper electronics matching and most importantly, cables.
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