I looked long and hard at both the Audio Physic and Talon line at the CES this year, and specifically at the Avanti III and Khorus.
Both are very good loudspeakers, and their virtues far outweigh their shortcomings.
The Avanti is the sweeter sounding of the two, and may be too sweet for some ears. The Avanti seemed to me to have a definite sonic signature - a pleasant one, but still... I enjoyed them a great deal, but ultimately wasn't fooled into thinking I was hearing a live performance.
The Khorus was very dynamic and full-bodied, and was to my ears voiced very nicely, except in the extreme highs. On program material I was familiar with, I found the very top end slightly subdued. This was a relatively minor shortcoming - the speaker does many things well, including conveying the feeling of a live performance. It just needed a touch of air and sparkle, at least to my ears.
In the end, I did not pick up either product line, but think well of them both.
Two other speakers in the same general ballpark impressed me a great deal - the Kharma Ceramique 1.0, and the Gradient Active Revolution. The Kharma was exceptionally smooth and coherent for a multi-driver system (I'm used to full range electrostats), and the active Gradient had a most natural-sounding presentation that kept drawing me back for more. Eventually I chose to take on the Gradient line, but the other three are very good speakers, too.
Both are very good loudspeakers, and their virtues far outweigh their shortcomings.
The Avanti is the sweeter sounding of the two, and may be too sweet for some ears. The Avanti seemed to me to have a definite sonic signature - a pleasant one, but still... I enjoyed them a great deal, but ultimately wasn't fooled into thinking I was hearing a live performance.
The Khorus was very dynamic and full-bodied, and was to my ears voiced very nicely, except in the extreme highs. On program material I was familiar with, I found the very top end slightly subdued. This was a relatively minor shortcoming - the speaker does many things well, including conveying the feeling of a live performance. It just needed a touch of air and sparkle, at least to my ears.
In the end, I did not pick up either product line, but think well of them both.
Two other speakers in the same general ballpark impressed me a great deal - the Kharma Ceramique 1.0, and the Gradient Active Revolution. The Kharma was exceptionally smooth and coherent for a multi-driver system (I'm used to full range electrostats), and the active Gradient had a most natural-sounding presentation that kept drawing me back for more. Eventually I chose to take on the Gradient line, but the other three are very good speakers, too.