However, if I start to get analytic about it (there I go again...), I have to admit that the bass was somewhat on the mushy side, and there…
search
As it happened, most of my listening was with Cary 2A3SE monoblocks (much beloved by Sam Tellig), which are prototypical SETs. They certainly have the genre's famed midrange magic, with a wonderful liquidity and a sense of space and openness. Although the rated output is only 5Wpc, they played quite loud enough for me, and the sound was so musically right that I can well understand the devotion that some audiophiles have for the horn/SET combination.
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: Three-way, floorstanding loudspeaker with midrange and treble horns and powered sealed-box subwoofer. Drive-units: 1" horn-loaded inverted-dome tweeter, 4" horn-loaded midrange driver with 2.5" dome, two 10" cone woofers. Crossover frequencies: 220Hz, 3500Hz. Frequency range: 220Hz-20kHz (midrange/treble), 22Hz-300Hz (subwoofer). Sensitivity: !w100dB. Nominal impedance: 8 ohms. Recommended power: greater than 5W. Power handling: 100W. Subwoofer amplifier power: 200W.
Dimensions: 57" H by 22.5" W by 28" D (mid/treble); 22" H by 12" W by 22.5" D (…
Sidebar 2: A Dilemma
From early on during my time with the Unos, I started thinking that here was a speaker that had what it takes to dethrone the Dunlavy SC-IV/A as my reference. Continued experience reinforced this notion, but, as I thought about its implications, it became clear that the selection of a reviewer's reference speaker has to involve more than personal preference.
In addition to delivering sound quality, a reference component also has to be suitable for reviewing purposes. Alas, the Uno's design—high sensitivity, integral powered subwoofer—makes the speaker too…
Sidebar 3: Associated Equipment
Analog source: Linn LP12 turntable (fully updated), Linn Ittok tonearm, AudioQuest AQ-7000nsx cartridge.
Digital sources: PS Audio Lambda II CD transport, Muse Two Ninety-Six and Bel Canto DAC 1 digital processors, Rotel RCD-991 CD player.
Preamplifier: Convergent Audio Technology SL-1 Ultimate, Cary SLP-50B (with shunt volume control).
Power Amplifiers: Cary 2A3SE monoblocks, Balanced Audio Technology VK-60, Bryston 9B-ST, YBA Intégré DT.
Cables: Digital: Illuminati Orchid, Kimber Illuminations D-60. Interconnects: Nordost Quattro Fil, TARA…
Sidebar 3: Measurements
Like Bob Deutsch, I also had problems with AC noise when I measured the Uno. (For logistical reasons, I measured a different sample, delivered to Santa Fe by Casey McKee.) The DRA Labs MLSSA system I use inhabits an ancient 486 computer, and it turned out that the monitor and computer were plugged into a surge suppressor with sufficient series resistance to introduce a ground loop. And at an estimated 102.5dB(B)/2.83V/m voltage sensitivity, the Uno faithfully revealed the problem.
As well as its astonishingly high sensitivity, the Avantgarde speaker will…
Higher in frequency, though there are a series of small peaks and dips evident, the overall balanced trend is very flat—certainly the flattest I have personally measured with a horn speaker. The very top octave is slightly hotter than the region below, which I could hear in the nearfield as just a slight emphasis to the hissy MLSSA noise when I was measuring the speaker. However, I note that RD was not bothered by this excess high-treble energy, which means that in-room, it might well be compensating for the speaker's off-axis behavior.
I have shown the Avantgarde's lateral off-axis…
In the time domain, the Uno's step response (fig.7) appears to indicate that the tweeter is connected in inverted electrical polarity, the midrange and woofer in positive polarity. And not surprisingly, given the physical displacement of the drive-units, the speaker is not time-coherent. The cumulative spectral-decay plot (fig.8) is quite hashy, but this is not, I suspect, due to resonances but to the presence of early reflections. The lip of the midrange horn, for example, is clearly in the tweeter's acoustic environment (footnote 1).
Fig.7 Avantgarde Uno, design-axis step…
Robert Deutsch wrote about the Series 3.0 Uno in August 2002 (Vol.25 No.8):
Time sure flies when you're having fun. Seems like yesterday, but it was about two years ago that I received the Avantgarde Uno Series 2.0 loudspeakers for review. Readers familiar with that review (September 2000, Vol.23 No.8)) may recall that I liked the speakers so much that I decided to buy them, my stated intention being to keep my long-term reference Dunlavy SC-IV/As in my dedicated listening-room system, and to set up the Avantgardes in a separate system in the living room.
However, as I thought…
Hard to believe it's been more than six years since NHT launched its flagship 3.3 loudspeaker (footnote 1). At the time, the floorstanding 3.3 was a revolutionary product for the company, whose product line until then had been aimed squarely at the customer who wanted good sound, but wanted it in a small, affordable package. While the 3.3 didn't change NHT's dedication to its roots, it did signal to audiophiles that the manufacturer could play ball with the big boys.
But despite its narrow footprint, the 3.3 was—is—a large speaker, and not everyone's rooms can accommodate it. The speaker…
It wasn't long before I moved the 2.9s to more promising parts of the room. They were finally positioned several inches out from a chest-high set of bookcases tightly packed with books and LPs. Like all bookcases, these are slightly porous despite being full; you could say the backs of the 2.9s were perhaps a bit more than a foot from a solid wall. Nevertheless, this was close to the recommended setup. The left and right speakers were now just over 7' apart, parallel to each other, and about 10' from the listening seat. They were positioned on the 26' long wall of the room, firing across its…