Mods for Avantgarde speakers


I have had Avantgarde Trios for about eight years. They play music with the types of amplifiers that I enjoy, in a way that I like more than other speakers that I have heard. I would like to hear from others that have modified their Avantgarde speakers, what they have done, and with what improvements. Damping, x-overs, cabling, etc. are things that I am interested in.
sdrsdrsdr

Showing 4 responses by morrowaudio

I have the Duo Omega G2. What if I simply remove the bass cabinet from the stand frame and put it on the floor, adjusting it back to time align the tweeter in the bass cabinet with the midrange horn? Has anyone tried that? The tweeter horn will then be totally free from diffracting off the midrange horn. One could also angle with ease. 
Update... As mentioned, I have the Duo Omega G2. The midrange horn is up top with the bass cabinet and tweeter under that, all mounted to the frame.

I settled on removing the holding screws of the bass cabinet, letting it rest on the frame below, and sliding it back about 20 cm to time align the tweeter with the midrange horn voice coils (as far as I could tell). I put some temporary books under the back of the bass cabinet with the front of the bass cabinet resting on the rear frame support.

If you look at the side, the front bottom of the cabinet is about 1 inch in front of the inside vertical side support. I angled the cabinet back with removing a book from the rear of the cabinet. I can just see the top of the bass cabinet when in the sweet spot.

What did I hear? Much better continuity. More smoothness and a natural sound. Before, there was a little bite and hardness, which is now gone. Doing the above also betters the bass timing with the midrange horn. I likewise did not hear any problem with the tweeter diffracting off the midrange horn. In fact, from my listening position, I can see the whole tweeter with space between it and the midrange horn. This mod is also pleasing in appearance.

This is a very easy mod to do. Later, I will experiment with spiking the bass cabinet.
Yes, there are big knobs on the sides that you will see that have a screw going through to the frame and into the bass cabinet. Very easy to remove, just turn the big knobs counter clockwise. I put magazines under the speaker cabinet so that the screws would not bind from the weight of the cabinet as I unscrewed them. I am sitting here listening right now and can say that I have never heard better.

My next step is to find a way to spike the bass cabinets to the floor. The height needs to be 4" to clear the frame.
I looked at Mapleshade, but theirs are 3" for their large footers. I might need to add wood across the bottom underside of the bass cabinets, then the footers to that to get the 4 inches needed. I am thinking two brass footers in the rear and one in the middle front.

Another consideration is to have the front a little higher than the rear for better tweeter alignment.
Another benefit of this mod is that the bass vibrations from the cabinet cannot reach the midrange horn since the bass cabinet is no longer attached to the frame.
CORRECTION...If you look at the side, the front bottom of the cabinet is JUST EVEN TO THE BACK vertical side support.