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How about the Avantgarde Trio system with the big bass horns? I've heard them twice now. Bucket list system for me and I'm glad I got to experience them. They were better the first time I heard them. The second time Digital Signal Processing was being used to 'fix' certain things in the system. The sound quality from the electronics of the system was a mess. If you ask me, Avantgarde has gone way off course in recent years.
Back to the first time I heard this big system. Dynamics were there. They had a huge, and I mean HUGE soundstage that was surprisingly well proportioned, even in the relatively small room we were in. But here's the problem I had with it. Tonal balance was way off. Mids were too forward in the mix. High frequencies didn't extend high enough, and the low frequencies didn't extend low enough. It just wasn't balanced, and the system called attention to itself in a negative way because of this.
Proper Tonal Balance
When you listen to Vittoras, there is the perfect balance of deep bass to mid bass to upper bass (lower midrange). I can't emphasize the importance of this balance enough. This is where you either get the bass right or get it wrong. Too much deep bass and it's not realistic sounding because it's 'noisy', boomy, bloated. Too much mid bass and the bass is not realistic because there's an apparent lack of low bass. Too much upper bass and it overpowers the mid and low bass, giving a 'boxy' or 'woody' sound to vocals and instruments reaching down into that range. Proper tonal balance between 25hz and 400Hz is critical to the sound of any speaker, and it is a rare occurrence where I walk into a room at a show and hear what I think is proper.
This Is What I Want
I want what I get from the Vittora system. I want room-shaking bass that is in proportion to the rest. I want impact, because music is supposed to have impact. I want authority. When a drummer hits the low tom and kick drum at the same time I want to feel it down low. I want all this without it being bloated or noisy or boomy. I don't want the low bass to overpower everything to the point where I lose the accuracy and definition of the bass guitar.
I want the music. All of the music - all the way down into the low bass. I want it delivered to me in the most believable way. I want it in a way that doesn't make me think about the system at all. I just want the music in front of me.
I don't want to be impressed by the system. I want to be impressed by the music.
This, to me is the most important aspect of sitting and listening to music on a stereo system. A speaker that does not have proper tonal balance calls attention to itself and takes me away from the music. Is anyone out there with me on this? Please write to me.
"The Midrange Is Where We Live"
Mr. Paul W. Klipsch
Three-way speakers with a woofer, midrange and tweeter are giving you at least half of the midrange from the woofer. Have you ever thought about that? It's true. A vocalist can reach down to 150Hz or lower very easily. Nearly every instrument in an orchestra relies on frequencies down to 150hz for accurate reproduction. You could even make the argument that the most fundamental sound from nearly every instrument in an orchestra takes place in the two octaves 150Hz - 600Hz. Woofers in three-way speaker are often crossed over to the midrange at 400 - 800Hz. There's a lot of very important musical information that we call midrange coming from the same driver that is being asked to accurately reproduce low bass frequencies with authority. Think about that for a minute and let it sink in.
The same driver that's responsible for kicking you in the chest with a kick drum beat also has to simultaneously reproduce the viola or Frank Sinatra's voice in the most believable way. That quote from Mr. Klipsch "the midrange is where we live", is so true. This is what makes bass horns so good. They have the ability to provide low-bass impact and low-midrange musicality simultaneously at a very high quality level. The bass horn in the Vittora is precisely why the midrange of the Vittora is so good.
That's worth repeating. The bass horn in the Vittora is precisely why the midrange of the Vittora is so good. The bass horn design of the Vittora is as much like a very large midrange horn as it is a bass horn. It is an extension of the midrange horn sitting above it. The two work together seamlessly. You won't find this kind of dedication to reproducing accurate midrange from another horn speaker on the market.
Vittora midrange is big and dynamic without being overpowering. Integration with the rest of the system is excellent. The midrange never calls attention to itself. It is full and rich sounding with all the leading-edge detail and clarity we want from a horn system, yet with an ease and effortlessness that other horn speakers do not have.
So there you go. Two examples of high-end horn speakers that I've heard at the shows that simply are not on the same level as the Vittora, and yet they are priced considerably higher.
Vittoras also have superior build quality that will last for generations.
They are also beautiful objects to look at and appreciate in your listening room.
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