Andrew S. Posted November 25, 2015 Posted November 25, 2015 Congratulations Tony, Thanks for sharing this. 1
Zammo Posted November 25, 2015 Posted November 25, 2015 Lovely set up Tony. That seating looks familiar. IMG Divani? If so, same colour as mine. 1
blybo Posted November 25, 2015 Posted November 25, 2015 Congrats Tony. They really look like they belong in that room. 1
christosd Posted November 25, 2015 Posted November 25, 2015 I can vouch that these are the real deal - my first exposure to a serious horn set up and I'm sold - can't imagine what extra tweaking will achieve but looking forward to finding out - congratulations Tony on a great investment in audio enjoyment - not just for you but all your SNA SA friends :-) Can I be your friend? 1
PorkBun69s Posted November 26, 2015 Posted November 26, 2015 Thanks for putting me out of my misery and my constant lusting over the AG's for the last few weeks and congrats with the new aquisition. 2
Mr 57 Posted November 26, 2015 Posted November 26, 2015 (edited) "in the shed" put me off reading the thread initially....but that's no damn shed ! It would have helped if I was educated enough to realise what Avantgarde Duo Omegas are What an AWESOME room, have never heard horns, but wow they look truly stunning...well done, many many years of enjoyment there ! Thanks for sharing ! Edited November 26, 2015 by Mr. 57 1
Sir Rab of Everest Posted November 26, 2015 Posted November 26, 2015 Absolutely awesome. I confess I really wanted to buy those myself, but I simply didn't have the cash. 2
Volunteer sir sanders zingmore Posted November 26, 2015 Volunteer Posted November 26, 2015 Absolutely awesome. I confess I really wanted to buy those myself, but I simply didn't have the cash. I was tempted too ! 1
brumby Posted November 26, 2015 Posted November 26, 2015 (edited) If I were to make a list of speakers I would like to hear - or possibly even buy - before I get too old to enjoy them, it would be confined to panels, elecrtostatics - and horns! And the AvantGardes would be very high on the list. In fact they would probably top the list, followed by Sir Sanders' Sanders. I've heard Klipsch and Tannoy, but that was decades ago. And very nice they were too, especially the lone pair of Tannoy Westministers I've heard!! What a joy to have a pair of Duos in their own house (room seems inadequate after drooling over the pictures) in the middle of acreage with no constraints on playing them at any time and at any volume. Onya, Tony, may you enjoy them for MANY years! Next time I'm in SA ..... Edited November 26, 2015 by brumby 2
SimonS Posted November 27, 2015 Posted November 27, 2015 Hey tony Glad you are pleased with your new speakers, It was was good to meet you,and yes,the local Indian restaraunt was as good as you said it was ! Simon 2
Guest Posted November 27, 2015 Posted November 27, 2015 A warning to local SNA members - having heard these speakers last weekend I've found my Duntechs a little less satisfying over the past week - horn envy I suspect 2
christosd Posted November 28, 2015 Posted November 28, 2015 A warning to local SNA members - having heard these speakers last weekend I've found my Duntechs a little less satisfying over the past week - horn envy I suspect I agree, I came home from Tony's last night and had to move my room around to get further away from my speakers as a way of dealing with this envy! I managed to make the cps disappear a bit more, but couldnt get that spatially uninterrupted transparency that these duos threw up last night. I shut my eyes and couldn't find the speakers, even with hard-panned high frequency stuff. There is a bit of room envy too. I'm about spend a motsa on home improvements and can't even hope to have enough space for speakers such as these to breathe. Congratulations Tony. Many enjoyable listening hours ahead no doubt! 2
Keith_W Posted November 28, 2015 Posted November 28, 2015 All of you guys suffering from envy ... there's only one solution. Go get horns. NOTHING sounds like horns, and nothing will make your existing speakers sound like a horn. You will also note there is a difference between vintage and modern horns (e.g. Avantgarde, Cessaro, Acapella, etc). Modern horns are far less coloured. 7
Tony M Posted November 30, 2015 Author Posted November 30, 2015 (edited) The amp arrived today - it's a demo Pass Labs XA30.5 from Class A audio. Kevin assured me it was mint and it is. After an hour or so warming up, the heatsinks are around 52 degrees C - spot on what they are supposed to be. There's little or no noise through the speakers with no signal, provided the pre is off. With the pre on there's a bit of white noise (or whitish, I think) through the tweeters and mids. I had assumed this was down to the Ming Da, but it appears to be the Modwright valve pre-amp. Anyway, it's inaudible from a few feet away, so I doubt it's significant - the speakers are 107dB efficient after all! At least there's no popping on turning the amp on or off (to standby) and that's the main thing that bothered me about the Ming Da (although it only did it on switch-off) And the sound? Well, I reckon I've read literally dozens of reviews and forum impressions of this little class A amp over the past week and it seems to be universally regarded as close to SOTA provided the speakers are sensitive enough. So, I had high expectations and it lives up to them completely. It just sounds RIGHT and I'm very happy indeed. I can't make the needle budge from the 12 o'clock position, meaning it is running comfortably in the class A envelope at any sane (and some brief slightly insane) listening levels - so that's all good. I think this one's a keeper - it just does everything I need. Looks cute, too: BTW, it's bigger and heavier (28Kg) than it looks. Edited November 30, 2015 by Tony M 10
davewantsmoore Posted November 30, 2015 Posted November 30, 2015 So, there's huge amount of tweaking in front of me Probably not. Enjoy. 1
Tony M Posted November 30, 2015 Author Posted November 30, 2015 We need more pics Tony :-) Nah - just come round instead. 1
PorkBun69s Posted December 1, 2015 Posted December 1, 2015 The amp arrived today - it's a demo Pass Labs XA30.5 from Class A audio. Kevin assured me it was mint and it is. After an hour or so warming up, the heatsinks are around 52 degrees C - spot on what they are supposed to be. There's little or no noise through the speakers with no signal, provided the pre is off. With the pre on there's a bit of white noise (or whitish, I think) through the tweeters and mids. I had assumed this was down to the Ming Da, but it appears to be the Modwright valve pre-amp. Anyway, it's inaudible from a few feet away, so I doubt it's significant - the speakers are 107dB efficient after all! At least there's no popping on turning the amp on or off (to standby) and that's the main thing that bothered me about the Ming Da (although it only did it on switch-off) And the sound? Well, I reckon I've read literally dozens of reviews and forum impressions of this little class A amp over the past week and it seems to be universally regarded as close to SOTA provided the speakers are sensitive enough. So, I had high expectations and it lives up to them completely. It just sounds RIGHT and I'm very happy indeed. I can't make the needle budge from the 12 o'clock position, meaning it is running comfortably in the class A envelope at any sane (and some brief slightly insane) listening levels - so that's all good. I think this one's a keeper - it just does everything I need. Looks cute, too: BTW, it's bigger and heavier (28Kg) than it looks. Tony, The earlier modwrights suffered from tube rush noise when the volume is at 0. This hash noise comes through the tweeters or mids and suspect it will more of an issue for your AG's due to thier highish sensitivity rating.. If it doesnt bother you much, dont worry about it, but i believe the issue is servicable. 1
Guest Posted December 1, 2015 Posted December 1, 2015 I don't mean to be rude, but I think you've overclocked the VTA on the turntable. Are you sure you installed the wall mount correctly? Serious, you have a great kit.
klackto Posted December 2, 2015 Posted December 2, 2015 Looking at my dictionary for the definition of a shed.......... Yep, I have to say ..... that is one heck of a shed! Congratulations, those horns must sound magnificent in that room. 1
Qwertyqaz Posted December 2, 2015 Posted December 2, 2015 All of you guys suffering from envy ... there's only one solution. Go get horns. NOTHING sounds like horns, and nothing will make your existing speakers sound like a horn. You will also note there is a difference between vintage and modern horns (e.g. Avantgarde, Cessaro, Acapella, etc). Modern horns are far less coloured. One question : What do horns sound like ? 1
gat474 Posted December 2, 2015 Posted December 2, 2015 One word answer for these speakers 'awesome'! 1
Stump Posted December 2, 2015 Posted December 2, 2015 One question : What do horns sound like ? My impression on the Horns I have heard is Horns sound like music and Non-horns sound like speakers.I love my speakers but may end the journey with Horns. Stump 1
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