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

The journey never ends, I wish I had the room for horns.

Maybe I can rent a shed?

The journey never ends, I wish I had the room for horns.

Maybe I can rent a shed?

My horns sound great in our smallish lounge, especially with absorption panels. I do have some 3m from them and a clearance of about 1m behind me though.

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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

 

Haha - horns are nice but go listen to some Maggies, Stump.   They don't "sound like (box) speakers" either.

 

Andy

Stunnig. I'd like to echo the senitments expressed here: it's thread like this that really define what this hobby is all about - passion, unflinching pursuit of perfection, and the patience to enjoy the journey as every single piece falls into place. Congratulations mate, like others I've taken a lot of pleasure in reading through your original post.

 

35 Watts Class A @ 107 DB, and that too through Avantgarde Omega's?! Can't wait to watch it all take yet another giant leap forward when you find the right source, and perhaps another pre.

Tony,

 

The AG's look beautiful, and I really enjoyed reading your story.

 

The great thing about upgrading a piece of equipment is that it stimulates us to listen to more music.

 

Congratulations, and it's great that you are deriving so much joy from them.

 

Shane

All I have in  my shed is a lawn mower and rusty tools.

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.

 

Oh yes. These are great amplifiers.  I thought the layering and soundstage were exceptional, when I heard one. As you say as good as it (sensibly) gets. 

 

Congratulations Tony. I am very happy for you. It seems you have hit a home run with your recent acquisitions - that is marvelous.

 

I am more than a little jealous of your listening space mate! I will have to make it down to SA sometime for a road trip to catch up with you, Bear and a few of the other ratbags. 

Edited December 3, 201510 yr by Tom.Stopforth

All I have in  my shed is a lawn mower and rusty tools.

 

Is that why SNA made you a moderator??

 

Andy

A seriously nice setup you have their Tony.

A couple of years back I was fortunate enough to have a listen to alistairm setup of valves, vinyl and horns. It certainly left an impression. They do something's astoundingly well such as dynamics and detail but it was the bass impressed me most. It seemed to flow very naturally rather being pumped out at you like most box speakers.

One question : What do horns sound like ?

As an ex-Solo owner i can say that you are a lucky man. Horns, particularly active horns just energise the air in a way that other types of speakers just can't quite manage.

Oh yes. These are great amplifiers. I thought the layering and soundstage were exceptional, when I heard one. As you say as good as it (sensibly) gets.

Congratulations Tony. I am very happy for you. It seems you have hit a home run with your recent acquisitions - that is marvelous.

I am more than a little jealous of your listening space mate! I will have to make it down to SA sometime for a road trip to catch up with you, Bear and a few of the other ratbags.

Have a guest bedroom and bathroom here with your name on it mate!

Tony, better wangle myself an invite to check out all this Avantgarde fuss!

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Have a guest bedroom and bathroom here with your name on it mate!

Tony, better wangle myself an invite to check out all this Avantgarde fuss!

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Thanks Ants, very very kind. The danger is, of course, that one day I shall arrive on your doorstep ready to do just that. 

 

Oh you'll like the AG's. 

Tony, better wangle myself an invite to check out all this Avantgarde fuss!

 

 

You don't need a formal invite, mate - drop around anytime that suits.

 

Phoning to make sure we're home and the amp is warmed up could be worthwhile, though.    

There was a Doctor who wrote childrens' books and created some characters that could describe those speakers - an ideal name for them I think.

 

I'm not sure if there is any resemblance between Dr Seuss and 'the shed Doctor', but here are the aforementioned characters for the two red horned speakers.  From Dr Seuss land at Universal Studios in Orlando, Florida.  Not to be confused with "the Adelaide Hills' tip" "thing".

Edited December 28, 201510 yr by Benje

Damn there are people with nicer sheds than my house.......What a setup 

i look away (guaranteed for a few years) and look what happens.

 

Tony very very nice , nothing quite like a horn the horses will be happy.

 

I have room envy you've got it looking very warm and inviting

Time for an update, given that I've achieved a really nice upgrade that came a bit out of left field.

 

I've been really enjoying the Avantgardes, with maybe a tiny reservation about the mids and treble having a hint of hardness on some tracks.  I tried lots of options including some lovely valve amps (Cary 805AE monoblocks with uber-esoteric Elrog valves and Audion Parallel 300b's) that Hugh Barnes generously carted over to my place so I could see how they sounded vs the Passlabs XA-30.5.  Both had their strengths, but neither were a compelling upgrade from the little Pass amp.

 

At the show, I had a brief chat with Cameron of Maxmedia and he mentioned a couple of options involving Avantgarde amplification and AMR DAC.  Thinking about it later,  I read up on the AMR DP777SE and the sound signature that was consistently described seemed to be exactly what I was looking for.  I asked Cameron and he was adamant that it WAS exactly what I was looking for.  My reaction was along the lines of "Well, he would say that, wouldn't he?" especially since I had left him in no doubt that the AG amp and preamp were out of the price range I was willing to consider.

 

So, a few weeks ago, I booked a cheap flight back to Melbourne with my trusty old NAD M51 stashed in carry-on baggage as a base-line comparison.  Well, after hearing a few tracks at Cameron's place it was clear to me that the DP777SE was comfortably better sounding than the standard model trade-in that he had available and significantly nicer to listen to than my old M51.  Up to then I'd always preferred the NAD to any other DAC's I'd listened to at home and really didn't think a better DAC would offer a significant benefit.  Subtle improvements I expected, but not a global "Wow, that sounds great" experience.

 

So, Cameron dispatched me back to Adelaide with his very well packaged demo DAC under my arm.  It was nerve-racking watching that parcel teetering on conveyor belts into and out of the plane and disappearing under heavy bags, but it arrived safely back to its new home and I doubt if it will move from there anytime soon.

 

 

 

 

So, how does it sound?  Well, IMO exactly as it is consistently reported as sounding in just about all of the reviews I've read online - ie, relaxing, organic, smooth, but still detailed and dynamic.  Moreover, I'm currently using it as a pre-amp as well as a DAC.  I've seen one credible report online that suggested there was no perceptable deterioration in SQ when this was substituted for a $30K TOTL Passlabs pre.  In my case I prefer it to having the Modwright LS100 in the equation, especially as it is relatively silent and the Modwright does introduce some valve hiss and rush into the tweeters and mids respectively.

 

Overall, the sound I'm now getting just feels right.  Full, rich and solid from top to bottom and just so balanced and clean, with a lovely soundstage.  Its neatest trick is being so easy to listen to from anywhere in the room, without sacrificing detail or dynamics in the process.  SO, it can sound exciting and relaxed at the same time. Cameron explains that by suggesting it's just far more effective at avoiding "digital nasties" than the NAD could ever hope to be.

 

There are a range of features, but I won't go into detail here, except to point out it is possibly unique in having 2 separate DAC's onboard, each with multiple filters and it has a wide range of inputs including analogue.  And the SPDIF inputs emply a unique NOS valve-based technology that I don't even pretend to understand.  It has a lovely, heavy metal remote, too.   I did have a few glitches with digital clicks and droputs, but these seem to have been related to some "iffy" cables, that have now been replaced with new ones from Peter at Audio Principe.

 

So I'm a happy chappy now.  The only real downside is that I can't easily read the volume display form the listening postion - probably an age thing.

 

 

Easy fixed, though.  I just asked myself "What would Basil do?"

 

*Checking cheap Jetstar flights as I type.

No need for a pickup this time unless you have points back and speed isn't a worry...

 

I really do need to hear this.

...and with you in attendance and not racing about the farm trying to work out the streaming probs

 

Sounds like your getting there Tony.

 

WD and also well done for sticking with these tricky speakers.

Another member we both know is going through a similar process but he's tackling the amplification and peripheral gear from a blank state point of view, i.e he's going to get the horns and amplification and everything else all together in the hope that he gets it right.

 

Yup, he's an idiot but I like his craziness!

 

 

Fantastic update, can't like it enough.

Good work Tony. Just a great upgrade.  

 

To my ear the AGs now sound like the best of horns and box speakers combined. Fast,dynamic but full and rich.  His latest purchase has given his sound a solidity that I have not previously heard with horn speakers.  The increased fullness and flesh through the mids and treble have not compromised the speed and bite in the sound. Detail has increased but is far less obvious. True detail is always hidden in the instruments sound, not thrust in your face in an unnatural manner.

 

Listening tonight on my system to my favourite Anouk track I noticed just how tame the edge of the guitar and both micro and macro dynamics were in comparison to Tonys sound. NS 1000s sounding tame might appear to be a good thing but it is not!  Edge, bite, extension, less warmth sound like negatives but at the level of resolution Tony has achieved they are positives. On his system I can get far closer to the playing of the guitar, the way it is being attacked by the musician.

 

Elsewhere I have recently stated I had never heard any type of streaming sound as good as an excellent CD player, once again my views have changed. Sounding fantastic and there is no doubt still gains to be had at that end of the equation.

 

Another system that is improving whist shrinking. A combined DAC, pre-amp , is something my inbuilt prejudices would avoid like the plague but this just sounds great. 

 

Looking forward to hearing the next step forward.

Is that a magnifying glass over the volume display?

 

Something I may have to investigate.

Is that a magnifying glass over the volume display?

 

Something I may have to investigate.

 

Yeah, Joz.  It works fine, but looks a bit Heath Robinson.  It's great to see the volume level easily from the listening position and I've always liked pre's with big displays.  Some of the Audio Research models show how it should be done.  First world problem? - I guess so, but why not maximize convenience where possible?

 

So, I need to find a more aesthetically acceptable solution that achieves the same thing.  Any ideas are very welcome.  Sticking something on the front of the DAC aint gonna happen, so I need some sort of self-supporting magnifier that easily flips out of the way. 

Hmm. Duos

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Yep, this system has an ease about it now that, although it wasn't something glaringly obvious at the time, was lacking with the NAD. The music flows in that "not drawing attention to anything in particular about itself" way that I would love to attain in the Bear Cave.

Any ideas are very welcome

 

@@Tony M - is that a little Marantz 1070 integrated I spy on your rack?