Avantgarde Horn Speakers

Vermin

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Nov 4, 2014
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For subs I currently have 10000 watts of power running via a Lab Gruppen 10000Q PLM amplifier to my custom made 15"x8 drivers (4 sub cabinets). These produce a staggering amount of bass with about as decent of an in-room response as you are ever likely to achieve. They will be mated to my new Trio's coming in.

There is a ship carrying my Trio's across the Atlantic Ocean right now coming in before thanksgiving.... will post more with pics once it is all setup next month.


Sounds good to me! Congrats
What type of drivers will you be using for the bass cabinets? Pictures?
Remember to let the bass speakers blend in from around 140-150hz, the Trios will not have much output under 140hz in almost any room.
 

Diapason

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Mar 26, 2014
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One of my Grieg favorites (and I often use it as a test for natural sounding ) is the Grieg: Songs recording with Anne Sofie von Otter and Bengt Forsberg.

I absolutely love that disc, and I find it a very useful tester. I'd certainly love to hear it on this system, which looks utterly amazing. I've heard the Duo Omegas and like them given the right room, but I'd love to hear the Trios.
 

Vermin

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Nov 4, 2014
20
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Norway
I absolutely love that disc, and I find it a very useful tester. I'd certainly love to hear it on this system, which looks utterly amazing. I've heard the Duo Omegas and like them given the right room, but I'd love to hear the Trios.

If ever in Norway, you are surely welcome for a visit. The listening room has its own bar, office and three bedrooms so you could make a weekend of it!
 

Maril555

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Jun 26, 2014
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Maril555

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Jun 26, 2014
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If ever in Norway, you are surely welcome for a visit. The listening room has its own bar, office and three bedrooms so you could make a weekend of it!
BTW, could you post some details on the subs? They look like custom design?
 

Vermin

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Nov 4, 2014
20
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Norway
BTW, could you post some details on the subs? They look like custom design?

Custom design by Bert Doppenberg, cutoff at 140hz, rod elliott style.
 
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mallen123

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Feb 27, 2018
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Avantgarde Duo Mezzos

20171213_122839_resized.jpg

Check out Duo Mezzo's - fixes the bass integration issue, at a reasonable footprint and much lower cost compared to Trio's with separate Basshorns.

The Basshorn adds a lot to the Duo cost but at $65K retail, I like these better than any 6 figure speakers I've heard at dealers. Evolution, YG, Magico, Wilson - none sound better to me.

The Nagra VPAs give them stunning, subterranean and very fast bass, but keep the 845 mid and tweeter tube magic. i also had very good performance with AudioPax 88s, their M50s, and the new ARC GS150 was surprisingly good (and dead quiet).

I have them in a 15 by 23 foot room and sit about 10 feet back. I am now just upgrading everything else, as every upgrade improves what comes out of the Duo Mezzos.

I play them loud or soft - all levels sound good. I've had them at 100 to 105 db for short periods on Rock and the only distortion is from my room. I found a great improvement in bass when I added 16 by 8 foot ASC tube traps in the rear and 16 by 4 " traps in the front corners. Got rid of most of the one note bass and greatly improved treble response.
 

marslo

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@mallen123,

I could not agree more with you :)

The XD version with 10 band DSP makes the control of room acoustic issues much easier.
 

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bonzo75

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Nice room, mariusz
 

marslo

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bonzo75

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Lol. I wish you were closer to the airport.
 

marslo

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Lol. I wish you were closer to the airport.

One hour drive is to much for you ?:)
I hardly make it from Heathrow to central London:)
 

bonzo75

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One hour drive is to much for you ?:)
I hardly make it from Heathrow to central London:)

Thought it was 3.5 from Warsaw
 

marslo

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spiritofmusic

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Marslo, Ked is long overdue to give a positive Duos report.
Get him over toute suite, and leave him no room for a poor review LOL.
Can I ask did you demo the XD Mezzo v standard XD?
Is the Mezzo absolutely superior thru the bass?
 

jackelsson

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Dec 1, 2013
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marslo, great setup in a very nice looking room! Had the chance to listen to the Duo Mezzo XD on the Norddeutsche Hifitage show three weeks ago and was mightily impressed. Best sound of show for me.
 

marslo

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Marslo, Ked is long overdue to give a positive Duos report.
Get him over toute suite, and leave him no room for a poor review LOL.
Can I ask did you demo the XD Mezzo v standard XD?
Is the Mezzo absolutely superior thru the bass?
No, the comparison we ' ve made at AG HQ was focused on Duo Mezzo and Trios with small subs, as the final setup we listened to Trios with 6 basshorns.
It was G2 generation , before XD series were introduced to the market.
For my wife and myself Duo Mezzo won hands down, Holger Fromme explained that the tuning of Trios was not optimal but bettter coherence of Duo Mezzo was obvious.
I have been a bit anxious ordering Mezzo XD but finally I think they are a big leap forward.
I heard Duo XD at AVS in Warsaw but with Accuphase amplification and source so hard to compare.
As you know I had Duo Omega G2 for 6 years and always preferred AG with tube amplification.
And yes - I think that the biggest improvement between G2 and XD series concerns bass articulation and control.
 
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marslo

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marslo, great setup in a very nice looking room! Had the chance to listen to the Duo Mezzo XD on the Norddeutsche Hifitage show three weeks ago and was mightily impressed. Best sound of show for me.

Thank you jackelsson for your kind words.
 

mallen123

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Feb 27, 2018
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Mariusz
I've heard same thing from the US AV dealer who has Duo Mezzo XD's as his personal speakers.

I bought mine in late 2013 about 9 mths before the XD version was introduced.

I'm really happy with my sound. I'm using them in a non Audio room (my living room actually ) with the normal curtains, chairs, rugs etc, so it's pretty well damped. The Tube Traps were really the only thing I needed and once they were in, the sound was considerably better.

For folks considering used Avantgardes -

Duo's are the sweet spot in the line as the large midrange goes lower making sub integration easier.

There is a huge difference in sound between the old non omega driver Duo's (pre 2004) and the G1 or G2 Duo Omega driver versions. The Duo Omega upgrade kit retailed for $9k and is no longer available. This was referred to earlier in the thread when someone mentioned make sure Duo's had the CPC which was the crossover included with the new Omega drivers.

So if you are looking at G1 Duo's - try to get the Omega version. It's easily worth $6 to $7k more than a non Omega version

I bought the last Duo Omega Upgrade kit available at the same time i bought my Mezzos . I upgraded my 2002 Duo 2.2 and was really impressed. I paired my Duo Omega's with two Def Tech 14" subs for 40hz below, and it was really good. I sold these for $13k later that year (without the Def Tech subs ) which was a bargain for the new owner considering he got basically all new compression drivers in the horns and new crossover.

For those who like the look of the Duo's, not many subs can compete with the Basshorn for speed and accuracy and how easy it is to blend in with the mid and tweeter horns.

There is an equally huge difference between the Duo Mezzo with Basshorn (or Primo with 2 Basshorns ) and every other version of G2 Duo with normal subs, so if prospective buyer can stretch for a Mezzo (even a non XD version ) you won't be disappointed.

The Basshorn is so fast, the speaker is really transformed. It's not just the bass, but the entire soundstage is improved.
 

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