Avantgarde Uno XD - wow!

[Mike]

It's wonderful to see how many people are loving this incredible brand of speakers and are enjoying this dynamic, "live sounds" type of speaker as well.

In North America, exposure to this speaker has been spotty at best the past 12 years or more. The XD series has, what my friend calls, "perfected the horn".

At least here in the U.S., I think I've had a bit of an impact on the growing passion for this wonderful line of speakers. The Duo Mezzo's in my home, the Uno XD's and Zero XD's in the store have all had the same kind of response.

Avantgarde XD's are also a great speaker for those with difficult rooms (like mine at home!). Horns are a control directivity speaker and therefore, the room is of much less importance. The XD tech allows us to dial the bass into any difficult situation.

There are people that will never accept the concept of a horn speaker. They heard Klipsch horns in 1970 and still harbor those biases. And that's ok. But I can assure you, Avantgarde's sound nothing like my Dad's old Klipschhorns!

That being said, I totally understand horns aren't for everyone. They are BIG! They require massive attention to detail and almost always, a change in the system (power, amp, source and almost always, cables).



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[Family progtitioner]

Congrats. I also demoed the Unos and my speakers, the zero one at Angies. I'm only a quick trip over the border away, though. You went to extremes! The xd software is great and using some measurements I was able to dial mine in in about 10 minutes. Is there a microphone based measurement system coming? I used the measurements I had from using Dirac

 

[Mike]

Congrats. I also demoed the Unos and my speakers, the zero one at Angies. I'm only a quick trip over the border away, though. You went to extremes! The xd software is great and using some measurements I was able to dial mine in in about 10 minutes. Is there a microphone based measurement system coming? I used the measurements I had from using Dirac

It's coming. I hope to have it soon.




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[asiufy]

We've shown Avantgardes for two consecutive years at the LA/OC show, always amazing.
But Mike has a point that there's a lot of bias against horns, either because people remember the midrangy horns of old, or because they might've heard an Avantgarde, but badly setup/paired.
And then there's that slight problem of size...

 

[Justin]

My listening preferences are probably different than 99% here. I listen mostly to live recordings of improvisational music.

I mention this because I had a close buddy over last night. He has heard past systems and I listen to lots of music with him.

Listening last night, we were transported right there, to the 7th row of a recent concert we saw at MSG. The ambient noise of the crowd, the life of the live experience. It was a whole different experience than listening to these live concerts on my past speakers and, for that matter, the many speakers I have played this material on while demoing. The live experience was captured, so incredibly realistically. At one point I closed my eyes and really felt like I was there, at the venue, the music washing over me. We may or may not have danced our asses off in my basement for a couple of hours.

There is some tweaking to do (I think I want a little less detail than the KS Elation ICs I am trying right now)... but my oh my. Unlimited potential.

The first comment from my friend, after 10 minutes of listening, was that these speakers disappear. Yes, it is a big sound. But you can close your eyes and really believe that there are not 2 heavy speakers in the room. The 2nd comment was that he's never heard the live experience recreated like this.

Since I hate to exaggerate, I will offer my simple opinion: of every audio product I have heard in my time enjoying this hobby, the Uno XD is the most transformative, for me. The most impressive. Why do I say that? Because I don't know another product that so completely opened up a doorway into an entirely different and LIVE experience like this. It may not be everyone, but boy, it is different. It is ALIVE.


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[Bobvin]

I heard the Avante Garde speakers for the first time at RMAF. A bit of a near field setup, but I was thoroughly impressed. I thought they exibited a lot of the same qualities as my Alexias... great PRaT, dynamics, and not to mentioning they’re pretty f’in cool looking! I’m not in market for a change, but AG would be on my short list if I were.

 

[zagfan]

Mike, How close can Duo XD be to the from wall and how far from the side walls do they need to be? I mean
inches to back of the speaker and inches to the edge of the horn from side wall.

 

[Mike]

Mike, How close can Duo XD be to the from wall and how far from the side walls do they need to be? I mean
inches to back of the speaker and inches to the edge of the horn from side wall.

You want a couple of feet front front wall to back of speaker, 3-4 feet being ideal. This helps create more 3D imaging. But they CAN play very close to the wall because they are controlled directivity and no porting. Sound goes forward, not sideways, forward and back (port) like traditional ported cone and dome speakers or open baffle, omnipolar, planar magnetic speakers, etc.


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[Justin]

 

[Justin]

Listening to Steely Dan - Aja when I should be watching home town Patriots football.


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[Justin]

Midnight on Sunday and I am lost, in a dark basement, hearing Keola Beamer pluck his slack key like I've never heard him before.


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[pdub]

Justin
Warms the old heart cockles to see how happy you are with the Uno's. If the shiny ever starts to wear off see if Mike will lend you the Siltechs.
Parker

 

[Mordante]

Congrats on your speakers.

I think these speakers are very room dependent. There are so many people who love them. But personally I have never heard them perform any good. This year at a show the Trio with bass horn sounded meh. Zero coherency and no bass.

 

[a.wayne]

Never heard such with Mikes Trio , far from Meh sounding and btw , the bass integration will be very dependent on what type of amps are driving the Horns and as important as where the pre-amp drive signal is coming from, since the bass is self powered ...


Meh is the last comment i would expect from one hearing a Trio, i would suggest a bad show setup / seating relationship ..


Regards

Congrats on your speakers.

I think these speakers are very room dependent. There are so many people who love them. But personally I have never heard them perform any good. This year at a show the Trio with bass horn sounded meh. Zero coherency and no bass.

 

[Jim Smith]

Meh is the last comment i would expect from one hearing a Trio, i would suggest a bad show setup / seating relationship ..

Regards

Agreed 100%!!!

 

[Mike]

Never heard such with Mikes Trio , far from Meh sounding and btw , the bass integration will be very dependent on what type of amps are driving the Horns and as important as where the pre-amp drive signal is coming from, since the bass is self powered ...


Meh is the last comment i would expect from one hearing a Trio, i would suggest a bad show setup / seating relationship ..


Regards

There's always one in the crowd...

Horns are not room dependent (they're controlled directivity) and Trio bass horns is the most realistic bass I've ever heard.

 

[Mordante]

There's always one in the crowd...

Horns are not room dependent (they're controlled directivity) and Trio bass horns is the most realistic bass I've ever heard.

I was not alone. Most people thought it sounded meh. The source used was a CEC TL0 and CEC DAC. The amps were XA amp by Avantgarde. There was IMHO no coherency in the sound. But like I said could have been the room. In the room next door the bass horns were booming happily.



See this thread:

http://www.audioshark.org/general-audio-discussion-15/dutch-x-fi-show-12952.html

 

[Boogieman]

My listening preferences are probably different than 99% here. I listen mostly to live recordings of improvisational music.

I mention this because I had a close buddy over last night. He has heard past systems and I listen to lots of music with him.

Listening last night, we were transported right there, to the 7th row of a recent concert we saw at MSG. The ambient noise of the crowd, the life of the live experience. It was a whole different experience than listening to these live concerts on my past speakers and, for that matter, the many speakers I have played this material on while demoing. The live experience was captured, so incredibly realistically. At one point I closed my eyes and really felt like I was there, at the venue, the music washing over me. We may or may not have danced our asses off in my basement for a couple of hours.

There is some tweaking to do (I think I want a little less detail than the KS Elation ICs I am trying right now)... but my oh my. Unlimited potential.

The first comment from my friend, after 10 minutes of listening, was that these speakers disappear. Yes, it is a big sound. But you can close your eyes and really believe that there are not 2 heavy speakers in the room. The 2nd comment was that he's never heard the live experience recreated like this.

Since I hate to exaggerate, I will offer my simple opinion: of every audio product I have heard in my time enjoying this hobby, the Uno XD is the most transformative, for me. The most impressive. Why do I say that? Because I don't know another product that so completely opened up a doorway into an entirely different and LIVE experience like this. It may not be everyone, but boy, it is different. It is ALIVE.


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Hi Sir,
Congratulations on this winning purchase!

Do you mind sharing your playlist of live recordings?
Thank you

 

[Boogieman]

I got confused reading the comments regarding setup. If the speakers are directional, what is the setup challenge? Why is setup not a piece of cake? Just a matter of putting in the right spot to get the bass to integrate?

 

[Mike]

I got confused reading the comments regarding setup. If the speakers are directional, what is the setup challenge? Why is setup not a piece of cake? Just a matter of putting in the right spot to get the bass to integrate?

Yup, pretty much. And how much 3D do you want. Want more? Pull them out from the front wall.


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