Avantgarde Acoustic horn speakers at Centre Circle Audio

DOZENS of manufacturers over the decades have aspired to build the best loudspeakers in the world. Their paths to perfection have been varied, and a handful of them even opted to embark on the road less travelled to achieve this vision... like Germany's Avantgarde Acoustic.

Back in the 1980s, Avantgarde founders Holger Fromme and Mathias Ruff joined forces to make the world's best speaker. Fromme, who describes himself as more a music lover than audiophile, was not satisfied with all the dynamic speaker designs he had listened to at the time. A horn speaker, he felt, was the most transparent design acoustically but it wasn't the only factor to be taken into account. A horn has its shortcomings and resolving them required much design thought and investment. Which is why horn speakers can be very expensive, although the final result is a highly efficient speaker that requires very little amplifying power. Tube amps, of course, are the preferred choice for horn speakers.

Over the past three decades, Avantgarde has become a reference point in performance for horn designs, turning out the acclaimed and popular Uno and Duo models, and leaving no stone unturned for its flagship Trio, which is as state of the art as horn loudspeakers go.



Last week, Avantgarde's Jerome Andre, who heads the company's international sales, was at local distributor Centre Circle Audio to give a briefing on the Trio G3, the third generation of the model which was launched in Europe a year ago but has only just made its debut in Malaysia.

Andre provided insights to the company's design philosophy and approach, explaining the various elements behind the Trio G3 and the updates to its parts and circuitry. Those attending were also treated to a session with the speakers, which proved to be breathtaking.
 
The Trio's latest iteration has all upgraded work from the previous version, although the three horn units remain as previously. This model has its bass reinforcement system in an external unit – a proper 12-inch active subwoofer, available in single or twin-drive version. Onboard the sub system is digital equalisation circuitry that allows users to tweak the response according to the acoustic environment.


There are passive and active versions of the Trio G3 (as with the smaller models), and the full option takes the price up to RM1.2 million a pair. After a viewing and listening session, one has to admit that the Trio G3s make for both a sonically and visually stunning experience.

Of course, Avantgarde's speakers are anything but cheap, starting out at RM118,000 here for the Uno SD, RM172,000 for the Duo SD and RM227,000 for the Duo GT, all of which have integrated subwoofers. The horn segment of these designs don't go very much below 100Hz, so the onboard sub is required for the lows, and this needs to be perfectly matched to the horn drivers on the Uno and Duos. Once in your listening space, these speakers are touted to last a lifetime, and serviceable/upgradeable at any point of ownership.

Options for Avantgarde models include the iTron current drive amplifier (which turns them into active speakers, negating the need for a power amp), Passive Nature Cap frequency crossover, automated amp switch and a number of trim/finish choices, adding considerably to the final price.



All the speakers are precision-crafted in Germany – parts not manufactured in-house are sourced from domestic contractors, and the whole unit is put together in Avantgarde's premises.

Andre also revealed that a more compact model, the Colibri C2, is coming out in while, a versatile, multifunctional unit that's been designed for a variety of environments.

For enquiries on Avantgarde Acoustic speakers and a unique experience, call Centre Circle Audio (03-7728 2686).