Avantgarde Uno XD - wow!
- Thread starter Justin
- Start date
Justin, I know exactly what you mean and I feel the same way after almost 4 years with my Avantgarde’s. They’ve caused many a late night!
The new Pass XA25 is a great Class A amp for the AG’s. The best SS I’ve tried on them and ironically, the least expensive. To be honest, I haven’t found anything as good as tubes on the AG’s, except the XA25 shows promise. I wish it had convenience XLR inputs though.
Almost by accident I recently tried the VAC 200iQ Stereo amp with some 1960 GoldLion KT88’s, Stock Tung-Sol 6SN7’s and fell in love with that pairing, especially combined with the VAC preamp. But a large part of the sound is those special KT88 tubes. New GoldLion KT88’s don’t hold the same magic and the KT150’s were noisy.
The thing about the Avantgarde’s is that they are so incredibly revealing and I always say, if you want to know what something truly sounds like, the AG’s will let you know!
Enjoy in good health my friend.
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The new Pass XA25 is a great Class A amp for the AG’s. The best SS I’ve tried on them and ironically, the least expensive. To be honest, I haven’t found anything as good as tubes on the AG’s, except the XA25 shows promise. I wish it had convenience XLR inputs though.
Almost by accident I recently tried the VAC 200iQ Stereo amp with some 1960 GoldLion KT88’s, Stock Tung-Sol 6SN7’s and fell in love with that pairing, especially combined with the VAC preamp. But a large part of the sound is those special KT88 tubes. New GoldLion KT88’s don’t hold the same magic and the KT150’s were noisy.
The thing about the Avantgarde’s is that they are so incredibly revealing and I always say, if you want to know what something truly sounds like, the AG’s will let you know!
Enjoy in good health my friend.
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KeithR
Active member
Mike - did you hear noise with the GS150?
Nope, it was DEAD quiet.
KeithR
Active member
Thanks - great to know. I continue to think Uno XDs through the Ref75SE is going to be my ultimate setup.
Justin,
from my multiple auditions at home I may recommend 3 SS A class designs which worked perfectly with my Duo Omega or Duo Mezzo XD, all integrated:
a/ ASR Emitter II
b/ AG XA integrated ( power + pre XA are even better but only xlr connectors)
c/ probably the best of all - Vitus SIA 025
Unfortunately I did not try any Pass amps.
Enjoy your Uno XD
from my multiple auditions at home I may recommend 3 SS A class designs which worked perfectly with my Duo Omega or Duo Mezzo XD, all integrated:
a/ ASR Emitter II
b/ AG XA integrated ( power + pre XA are even better but only xlr connectors)
c/ probably the best of all - Vitus SIA 025
Unfortunately I did not try any Pass amps.
Enjoy your Uno XD
still-one
Active member
Very sorry to hear. Dang.
the professor
Well-known member
Oh man 
Sorry
Sorry
La Dolce Vita
New member
So very sorry to hear! I admittedly cringed when you mentioned you were going with the Elrog 300B. I had 8 of these... I think 6 failed... conversely no issue whatsoever with the Elrog 845’s - totally awesome... take a lickin and keep on tickin
Well...on the bright side of things... still have some of that Oban left to enjoy?! ;-)
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That was our hunch. Glad it worked out. But if not, I had the boys at Triode on alert!
Stick to the tubes that don’t blow up. [emoji41]
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Audio 1
Active member
That is really good news! So happy you are up and running again.
- Thread Author
- #97
I have effectively been out of business for the past month+. Had a perfectly working system until those Elrog 300B's entered the mix. They did something to my amp. I thought it was as simple as a blown fuse. Nope. Keeps blowing a fuse. I had a wonderful system and I guess I got greedy. Stinks. Amp being shipped off for service today.
I will simply warn others so they don't go through what I have: be very careful with these Elrog 300Bs. I asked the distributor in no uncertain terms if there was any risk to damage from amps from them. Was repeatedly told no.
Well, all it took was a handful of hours of use and they did something to my wonderful amps. New amps (less than 9 months old that had worked perfectly). So yeah, I am frustrated.
It will get fixed. I hope. But I've learned my lesson. Never touching a tube company again with any history of issues like this. I blame myself. I got greedy.
Was in FL this week and saw Mike. Wanted to love the little Pass XA25 amp as a SS alternative for when I'm down. But after enjoying tube amps with these AG I got so much less joy listening to the Pass. for me it was night and day. all the emotion gone. flat.
I will say, the ARC REF 160s (I believe that's what they were) sounded absolutely stunning on the Uno XDs. Amazing sound. Completely captivating. Massive soundstage, amazing control and grip, but such harmonic richness and texture. Yeah, I liked those. A lot.
I will simply warn others so they don't go through what I have: be very careful with these Elrog 300Bs. I asked the distributor in no uncertain terms if there was any risk to damage from amps from them. Was repeatedly told no.
Well, all it took was a handful of hours of use and they did something to my wonderful amps. New amps (less than 9 months old that had worked perfectly). So yeah, I am frustrated.
It will get fixed. I hope. But I've learned my lesson. Never touching a tube company again with any history of issues like this. I blame myself. I got greedy.
Was in FL this week and saw Mike. Wanted to love the little Pass XA25 amp as a SS alternative for when I'm down. But after enjoying tube amps with these AG I got so much less joy listening to the Pass. for me it was night and day. all the emotion gone. flat.
I will say, the ARC REF 160s (I believe that's what they were) sounded absolutely stunning on the Uno XDs. Amazing sound. Completely captivating. Massive soundstage, amazing control and grip, but such harmonic richness and texture. Yeah, I liked those. A lot.
Audio 1
Active member
Very sorry to hear about your amp problem Justin. Hopefully you can get it repaired soon and back in action.
I too listened to the Pass XA-25 on the AG Uno's and I agree that it does sound very good, but lacks the magic that tubes bring out of the speakers!
The VAC Signature 200IQ sounded great, but the ARC 160's are so beautiful, so I am very happy to hear that you loved the sound.
- Thread Author
- #99
Thought I’d post an update. While I listen to C’est La Vie, new album by Phosphorescent. Lush, layered 3D sound pours out.
These speakers changed my enjoyment of music at home. I freakin’ love them. I stopped following and reading about every little bit of audio gear in the last year. To me, AG sound is supreme.
I have had so many late nights of music in the last year. Every session is engaging.
I think about AG Duos but... my concern is they would keep my wife awake. My biggest challenge in my audio room in basement is occasionally stretching volume a bit and not waking her up! Afraid Duos would just be a bigger sound that would hurt in that area. But that is the one change that tempts me.
i spent the last year dialing in these speakers to my liking. And I had some tube related technical difficulties... but I am in a glorious place now.
i love my Triode 300b amps. I think they are perfect with these speakers. I also lovvved the ARC Ref 75 (is the right model Mike?) on these. A very powerful sound that is memorable. But I am so happy with the Triodes. Fantastic match. Quite magical.
i love the new Takatsuki 300B tubes I have in them. My favorite 300b so far. Better for me than the WE 1997 reissue that I tried. Balanced, sweet, dynamic... just right. I think about replacing my stock 274 rectifier tubes with Tak.
My preference for cabling and power cords ended up being Kubala Sosna. I dramatically preferred the Realization power cords to anything else I heard. And I heard many of the big boys. To my ears, so much more REAL than some of the others. Captured the real sound of this live music I know and love. Transparent but not harsh. A clearer glimpse into the music.
i am in audio heaven. All the speed and dynamics of horns, all the magic of tubes. I couldn’t find another outcome that allowed me to have both.
I cant stop listening. My limitations these days are based on my space, my room... I just love the sound. And AG’s are at the heart of it.
i can’t put a number on how much more I love AG’s and this system than my past stuff. I turn the lights down and I get lost. And I think they are great with all types of music.
to each their own. But if you’ve heard AG’s and been captured by something in the sound... just do it.
These speakers changed my enjoyment of music at home. I freakin’ love them. I stopped following and reading about every little bit of audio gear in the last year. To me, AG sound is supreme.
I have had so many late nights of music in the last year. Every session is engaging.
I think about AG Duos but... my concern is they would keep my wife awake. My biggest challenge in my audio room in basement is occasionally stretching volume a bit and not waking her up! Afraid Duos would just be a bigger sound that would hurt in that area. But that is the one change that tempts me.
i spent the last year dialing in these speakers to my liking. And I had some tube related technical difficulties... but I am in a glorious place now.
i love my Triode 300b amps. I think they are perfect with these speakers. I also lovvved the ARC Ref 75 (is the right model Mike?) on these. A very powerful sound that is memorable. But I am so happy with the Triodes. Fantastic match. Quite magical.
i love the new Takatsuki 300B tubes I have in them. My favorite 300b so far. Better for me than the WE 1997 reissue that I tried. Balanced, sweet, dynamic... just right. I think about replacing my stock 274 rectifier tubes with Tak.
My preference for cabling and power cords ended up being Kubala Sosna. I dramatically preferred the Realization power cords to anything else I heard. And I heard many of the big boys. To my ears, so much more REAL than some of the others. Captured the real sound of this live music I know and love. Transparent but not harsh. A clearer glimpse into the music.
i am in audio heaven. All the speed and dynamics of horns, all the magic of tubes. I couldn’t find another outcome that allowed me to have both.
I cant stop listening. My limitations these days are based on my space, my room... I just love the sound. And AG’s are at the heart of it.
i can’t put a number on how much more I love AG’s and this system than my past stuff. I turn the lights down and I get lost. And I think they are great with all types of music.
to each their own. But if you’ve heard AG’s and been captured by something in the sound... just do it.