I think you'll get a variety of answers, depending on what vintage the Avantgardes are, and what associated equipment is being used with them.
I can speak to my experience with a set of Duos that I bought new, circa 2006 (and as to which I never did the 'Omega upgrade'). The (dis)continuity between the mid-horn (which has no X-over and hooks up directly to the amp with jumpers from the mid to tweeter horn and powered woofs) and the dynamic woofer system seems to be due to several things: the differing nature of the drivers; the inability to place the woofer in the room in a way which optimizes bass, separately from aiming the horns, unless you tear apart the speaker or run a separate woofer system; the balancing act of trying to get the gain and woofer X-over point to be as seamless as possible but still getting decent bass. In my experience the balancing act here is tricky, and rests on a knife-edge: get the output and X-over point to match pretty evenly and the speaker seems bass shy; get the woofers to kick with a satisfying 'thwack' on kick drum and they are clearly different sounding, and discontinuous from, the mid-horn.
What's surprising (or not) is that as I have improved the associated equipment, the issue is less pronounced. It is not an easy speaker to get right. When you do, it is very satisfying on a number of levels- great 'jump,' uncanny openess mids and a 'thereness' that makes listening to a wide variety of material a 'you are there' experience, rather than being telescoped inside the studio or venue. Whether the newer incarnation of the Duo is easier or more forgiving (or just a better speaker), I have no idea.
I'm pretty sold on horns though, after years of electrostatic listening. Part of the magic is being able to use SET amps.
Oh, and if you have inter-component grounding issues, or AC anomalies, you are going to have your work cut out for you with a speaker that is ~ 104 db efficient. To me, they are well worth the trouble.
I can speak to my experience with a set of Duos that I bought new, circa 2006 (and as to which I never did the 'Omega upgrade'). The (dis)continuity between the mid-horn (which has no X-over and hooks up directly to the amp with jumpers from the mid to tweeter horn and powered woofs) and the dynamic woofer system seems to be due to several things: the differing nature of the drivers; the inability to place the woofer in the room in a way which optimizes bass, separately from aiming the horns, unless you tear apart the speaker or run a separate woofer system; the balancing act of trying to get the gain and woofer X-over point to be as seamless as possible but still getting decent bass. In my experience the balancing act here is tricky, and rests on a knife-edge: get the output and X-over point to match pretty evenly and the speaker seems bass shy; get the woofers to kick with a satisfying 'thwack' on kick drum and they are clearly different sounding, and discontinuous from, the mid-horn.
What's surprising (or not) is that as I have improved the associated equipment, the issue is less pronounced. It is not an easy speaker to get right. When you do, it is very satisfying on a number of levels- great 'jump,' uncanny openess mids and a 'thereness' that makes listening to a wide variety of material a 'you are there' experience, rather than being telescoped inside the studio or venue. Whether the newer incarnation of the Duo is easier or more forgiving (or just a better speaker), I have no idea.
I'm pretty sold on horns though, after years of electrostatic listening. Part of the magic is being able to use SET amps.
Oh, and if you have inter-component grounding issues, or AC anomalies, you are going to have your work cut out for you with a speaker that is ~ 104 db efficient. To me, they are well worth the trouble.