Anyone heard the Avantgarde-Acoustic Uno G2?
jtein -- Tue, 01/12/2010 - 02:32
Hi! Yesterday I dropped by a local dealer and listened to a pair of Avantgarde-Acoustic Uno G2 horn speakers driven by Audionote Meishu integrated tube amp. The source used was Esoteric SA-60 CD/SACD player. The result? Omigosh! It made me want to bring my whole CD collection there and listen to them one by one.
Because the Uno has built-in active woofers and has a sensitivity of 104dB, the Audionote Meishu's 9 wpc of pure Class A signal was more than enough to drive them. The only thing I found was that the soundstage seemed rather narrow although it was 3D and holographic. I could hear the timbre/resonance/character of the particular piano played by T. Monk so clearly whereas on my own system, all I could hear was just a generic piano playing.
So has anyone heard the Uno G2's? I'd like to hear your views on them. They retail for $27,800.00. Should I take this route of getting a high sensitivity horn speakers thereby eliminating the need to get a powerful amp? Or should I get a speaker with low sensitivity like the Magico V2/V3 and get a pre/power like the Parasound Halo JC2/JC1 monoblocks?
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I have gone through a few nice speakers-cones/electrostatics and finally have settled with the horns. -AG's Duo Omega. The new Uno should be as impresiive too. First of all it is a friendly speaker to place, and can image and soundstage specatularly if you have a large room. It still does so in a smaller one, but in a lesser way. As most Avantgarde's have no crossover to the mids- you get this pureness, speed and tonality that is hard to match. I drive mine with a pair of Lamm's SET's and that's it- Chapter closed. I have heard the Meishu with the Avantgarde's but I feel that other Single ended amps can do as good if not better - so you haven't heard how much more better they really can do. I haven't heard the Magico's, but having gone through Sonus Faber Guarneri's in its time- So, I say (tongue in cheek) why try and glide in a stealth bomber when a normal glider can do the same with so much less power. Go with your ears and heart, stop chasing the inevitable, and enjoy the system-jtein!
Cheers, Nev
Well, if I get shot at, the stealth bomber will provide me with the appropriate protective armor that a glider won't give me! LOL! Jesting aside, thanks Neville for the helpful reply. I went into Lamm's website but couldn't find which model that uses SETs. Do you know of any other good amps that uses SETs?
The other reservation I have about the AG horn speakers is the active woofers. What kind of amp do they use to drive the woofers? Is the quality of the built-in amps in the AG's commensurate with my source and amp?
Here is a brief comment from a listen to the Duos at CES:
http://www.avguide.com/blog/ces-3-products-everyone-should-hear
The point of this post is that the Duos approach the goal of musical realism in a very different way than, say, the Magicos. Both approaches are valid -- for someone. So, much of your choice will therefore have to depend on your assessment of your realism triggers and inhibitors. Reading your third sentence, I'd say the answer is clear.
CEO and Editorial Director, Nextscreen LLC
I'd say I'd need to listen to the Magicos as well before I come up with a conclusive answer. Thanks for the link!
Certainly!
CEO and Editorial Director, Nextscreen LLC
I've never heard of them Jtein, but to be honest the looks put me off...
Silence is Music
The looks put me off too when I first saw them. But after listening to them, it doesn't matter anymore! Do yourself a favour and listen to them, Slickensmooth.
A colleague from our audiphile club bought Avant Garde Nano two years ago. I went to listen several hours his system, playing some very well known CD's from my collection.
First of all, to hear a certain coherence os sound, the listening position has to be 5 meters at least which is not possible in every room ! The bass reproduction was really boomy, and not fast at all. The medium and treble was better, but globally the mistenong result was very desapointing for a pair of speaker of that price (12000 Euro in Europe). In the same room, I had the opportunity to try my Quad ESL.... It was really another world ! I never heard the Duo's, but hope they sound much better than the Nano's ...