Quad ESL 2805 or Avantgarde uno Horn?


I am in the market for a pair of speakers. So far, I have auditioned several speakers and Quad ESL 2805 is on top of list. A pair of used Avantgarde uno is available locally (2 hours driver one way), Since I have not heard any horn speakers before I am posting here hope to get some feedbacks/opinions before I make arrangement for an audition. Many thanks.

George
spyddie
I don't think you will be happy with much else once you find that your like Quads. I have just bought 2805s after 17 years in the "wilderness" and couldn't be happier.
Avantgarde sounds very good too but their presentation is very different than QUADs. Horn speakers are very details and it will expose any weakness from your equipment so you must use very good equipments in the whole signal chain. By the way, horn speakers does not produce as much depth in terms of sound stage as other speakers, including ESL. You really should audition the Avantgarde before you spend the money. The good thing is that Avantgarde and QUAD hold their value very well so you can take some risk, just more work to pack and ship the pair if you end up not liking the sound.
Definitely take the time to listen to the Unos...if properly set up and driven, they will do things that no Quad (excellent though they may be) could ever dream of. If you listen to a lot of RnR, electric blues, etc. which benefit from immediacy & macrodynamics, you will likely prefer the Unos.

Either way, you'll have added a vital chapter to your audio journey.