From Avantgarde to a conventional speaker?

You might look at the Classic Audio Reproductions T-5, which is an extemely dynamic loudspeaker in a reasonably sized package. If you can swing it, the larger T-1 is even better. Let your wife put knick-knacks and whatnots on top of the T-1's; designer John Wolff routinely shows them with porcelain dogs on top.

www.http://www.classicaudiorepro.com/page5.html

Duke

Folks, many, many thanks for the excellent suggestions so far - please keep them coming. I will check each of them out (except the Trio's - that would be like rubbing salt into the wound :).

All the best,
Neville

Neville,
I own Avantgardes and I know what you are describing. You might look into a single driver speaker like Cain and Cain, Rethm, Beauhorn, or even the inexpensive Hornshoppe speaker. Although the Bass might be a tiny bit light, the resolution and dynamics are even better than the AG's. All these brands have speakers that are smaller than the AG's too.

There are some single driver systems that are reasonably compact that have the dynamics, life and texture of horn systems, but few have the reasonable tonal balance and relavitely mild horn colorations of the AGs. Good horn systems, like Edgarhorns, also are reasonbly free of coloration, but they are also pretty bulky. Still, you should look into Edgar Titans.

Classic Audio Reproductions makes some original speakers and reproductions of classic speakers, like the JBL Hartsfield, that sound pretty good. I heard one of their original models (D-1, D-3? I can't recall the specifics) that sounded pretty good and were not that unwieldy or strange looking.

I quite liked DeVore's Super Eight speaker that I heard at The High End Show in Vegas. This is a compact floorstanding multi-way speaker that, while not having quite the incredible presence and life of horn systems, was not the constipated, lifeless lumps of BLAH, that so many current speakers have become.

The French company Triangle makes a whole range of reasonably lively sounding speakers, but they can be bright and thin to some tastes. Still, they warrant an audition.

Another reasonably nice speaker that is quite compact, nice to look at and very versatile when it comes to placement is the Gradient Evolution.

I also like Gershman's GAP 828 speaker, but, it is a bit big and somewhat weird looking (essentially an obelisk with the top half bent forward).

When I was about to move up from my Lowthers I gave AVG's a passing thought. My room is just to small. I went with the SAP Audio Quartettes. In size they look like your typical floor-stander.-(17 deep,47 high, and 10 wide.) Seems nobody has heard of these. They gave me my "horn-fix"; never heard the big horns tho.--There is just something most decent horns do that cones don't do.---I am about to be able to compare my horns to Merln MMs.(arriving this very Thurs)--Don't have a clue how it'll go.