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Avantgarde Duos - right for me?

I just wanted some opinions on the Avantgarde Duos as an upgrade path for my system.

My system currently consists of Manley 300b monoblocks, Manley Shrimp preamp, Acoustic Zen speaker and interconnect cabling and Omega Superhemp single driver speakers.

Overall I have been pleased with this system and just love the strengths of an SET/single driver system. Very intimate, great speed and tone, fabulous midrange, etc.

What the system is unfortunately lacking still is big dynamics and deep bass. I have read good things about the Avantgarge Duos but I cant find a local place to audition these speakers first hand. At any rate, I would certainly be looking to buy these pricey speakers used on Agon.

Any opinions on how the Duos would sound with the Manley 300b monoblocks? How small is the "sweet spot" on the Duos? I ask this because I do a lot of entertaining and would ideally like a speaker that has a decent sized listening area. What sized room do the Duos need to sound right? My living room is 18x24. Are there any other high sensitivity speakers that would be better than the Duos?
latinsamba1
paulfolbrecht
586 posts
 
Front-horns like the Duos are a way to get the dynamics you're missing but so are back horns - Cain & Cain, Carder, Lamhorn, Beauhorn, etc.

These designs retain the coherence of the single-driver but add the dynamics of a horn - though they're not really as dynamic as a front-horn system.

The weakness of front horns is that they do require multiple drivers and some room to gel. And the big Achilles heel is bass integration since bass is usually dynamic - this is a real problem with the Duos. (Now, it can be done, and sound great, but it appears it's hard.)
latinsamba1 OP
74 posts
 
I have heard good things about the Cain and Cains but those dont go low enough to satisfy my tastes. A VERY knowledgeable AG Duo Omega owner wrote me about his experiences with that speaker and I have to say they sound like the hot ticket. I plan to audition them in NYC soon. The other speaker I want to hear is the Coincident Pure Ref or Total Victory IV. Those are supposedly excellent as well with SET in terms of dynamic full range performance.
mapman's avatar
Ag insider logo xs@2x
mapman
15,679 posts
 
I've never heard the Cain and Cains but I think they are just gorgeous regardless. If I had the time, space and funds to spend on another pair of speakers, I would want to own them just for that. Plus I suspect they sound quite distinctive and pretty good as well and thereis always the option of a sub if needed.
missioncoonery
732 posts
 

My audio friend has a pair of Duos in a large room approx 30'-20' fully treated.He added another pair of duo subs in the system..Running highend SET amps w/ complimentary components upstream..AMAZING!!..Truely amazing.Ive owned older horn loaded Altecs/JBLs for years and never had the success he has obtained..Ive heard the Cains and they are not in the same league.....or even in the same sentance IMO..just my 2C
esotheric's avatar
esotheric
5 posts
 
i am buying a duo next week , for me nothing else would do,
its a big improvement over the uno
ok you will have to position the speaker well , but hey dont believe the hype , some people make it out to be like a piece of civil engineering by using words like "tuning " , but its a piece of cake if you have a friend around
i personally dont believe that the avantgarde need a valve amp , its more like some valve amps need a speaker like the avantgarde to perform well
i discussed the speakers from avantgarde at lenght with mathias the designer over several drinks !!!
if AG thought they could do better with a valve amp they would have made one , ever wondered why they only make solid states
altec a7, a5, 419 and 406 ..... give us a break , i had all of them , nowhere near
they are not perfect though , all you need is to upgrade the crossover .(i went mundorf gold on the uno) awesome
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