Avantgarde and Naim

Recently had a chance to hear the Avantgarde Duos at my dealers off a CDS2/52/500 setup. They were quite interesting. For those who aren't familiar with the Avantgardes, they are large horns with more conventional bass boxes. When I say large I mean it--the larger horn was like 4' in diameter (and in a brilliant green !). They are exceptionally sensitive--something like 98 db if I remember the manual.

Musically they are actually pretty good--they were able to play the tune pretty well--not as well as others, but surprisingly well. They have terrific dynamics (no surprise with horns) and amazing scale--way better than SBLs, thats for sure ! They also had a great sense of ease that was seductive. Finally, they had a mellow, likable character. Downsides ? Well, they have an obvious horn "megaphone" effect that colors voices substantially. They also can get tripped up on really fast or complicated material.

I have to admit to being surprised at how good they sounded, though. Not something to sway me from wanting DBLs someday but enjoyable on their own terms. If you ever get a chance to hear them try them--it will be instructive if nothing else !

Cheers,

Bob

Ride the Light !