July 15, 2001 Program of the Atlanta Audio
Society
The Sunday, July 15, 2001 Program of the Atlanta
Audio Society was held at the Dunwoody North Driving
Club and Tennis Clubhouse. It was co-hosted by the
Audio Society and SoundsRight Audio (Mike Masztal,
Roswell, GA) and featured the Avantgarde horn loudspeakers
(Germany) and electronics from Art Audio and Gill Audio
Design (US).
Jim Smith (US-Avantgarde Importer/Distributor)
and Casey McKee, Natl. Sales Manager, were present
representing the loudspeakers, and from Art Audio
and Gill Audio Design were Joe Fratus and David Gill.
The equipment we listened to were the Avantgarde
Trio speakers, their top-line model, Art Audio’s
Jota mono block amplifiers and PX-25 stereo amplifier. The
Gill Audio Design "Alana" line remote control preamplifier
and "Elise" 24 bit/96K DVD compatible D to A converter
were also auditioned. All of these pieces are completely
tube, except for the Burr Brown 'J' D to A chip sets
in the converter. The amplifiers are all single ended.
The Trio’s include three horn drivers and two
SUB225 CTRL PRO sub-woofers per channel. These are
powered by dedicated, internal 225 w solid-state
amplifiers with gain and xover freq. controls. Each
woofer has a pair of matched 10" drivers w/19lb.
magnets.
The members were first given the opportunity
to listen to the Trio’s driven by the new Jota
mono-blocks featuring the new < face="Courier New" size=3>Czech
'KR' 300B XLS (a bit more on the tube later) rated
at a minimum of 17 w depending on the loudspeaker
impedance characteristics. The Trio's are so efficient(> 107
dB)they appear to run on air. One watt is usually
sufficient in a reasonable size home listening room.
At $37K per pair, the Trio's are quite a statement,
and in this case beautifully finished in Audi automotive
finish, light metallic green. Most automobile finishes
are available, and according to Jim Smith, Red is
the best seller.
The first CD recording was an acappella choral
group singing gospel music, whose lead singer had
a great bass voice (The Fairfield Four). They were
there with us, in the room, so it seemed. When the
first bass note was hit by that bass, it was incredible,
and very real. I have sung in church choirs for years,
and it was impressive! This piece was followed by
other acoustical and choral music, and it sounded
great. My thoughts were very detailed, realistic,
dynamics like real music, effortless sound presentation
and immense soundstage.
Our first speaker was Joe Fratus of
Art Audio (RI). He described his design philosophies
and the history of Art Audio. He mentioned that all
the mono block amplifiers are built "to spec" for each individual
customer, after the customer tells them what will
be driving the amps (preamp, etc.) and what the amps
will be driving (what type and brand of speakers).
In this case were the first public group to hear
the new Czech sourced 'KR' 300B XLS high-current
power tube that can effortlessly output 17-to-20
watts of pure class 'A' RMS power all day long without
breaking a sweat. This new, 6" H "Coke Bottle" envelope
tube is a wonder to hear and behold. It sports a
massive '+' shaped plate that's able to handle this
extended power not normally expected from a 300B.
And this bad-boy indeed does it, while preserving
musical textures across the audio spectrum.
We were then introduced to David Gill
of (you guessed it) Gill Audio Design of Raleigh, NC.
This company is a "sister" company of Art Audio, which
will concentrate on "digital" electronics, using
tube analog sections. Gill also described the details
of the "Alana" preamp and the Elise D to A converter.
After a break and listening to more
music, Jim Smith spoke about the Avantgarde speakers.
He gave us a brief history of his 30+ yr. audio career
- since the 1980's and 90's he has been in the "real
high end". He and Casey McKee, of Austin, TX are
long time compatriots in the pursuit of the world's
best audio and it seems they're indeed remaining
on-track. Jim (formally operating out of Birmingham,
Ala), is now based in Cumming, Georgia (how convenient
not far north of Atlanta – that is where yours
truly resides). He told us that the speakers really
shine when set up properly and would welcome anyone
to come on over and audition them in his setup. They
sounded pretty darn good in the room we were in!
And indeed this is a pretty difficult and large room
to cope with, especially with only a few hours to
acclimate the system. None of the presenters had
ever seen or set-up a large complex system in this
room. Indeed, hats off to this whole team.
Last but not least, we listened to
the speakers driven by the PX-25 stereo amplifier.
This 6 watt per channel single ended amplifier had
no problem driving the speakers to "realistic" levels as we
listened to the latest release of the Atlanta Symphony
Orchestra. Even though the tubes were not fully broken-in,
again, the music was with us in spades. It sounded
as good as I have heard them play in Symphony Hall.
Of the two amplifiers auditioned, the new Jota mono-blocks
appeared to be the favorite by it's rich and
robust presentation. It also seems that the
PX-25 was not fully broken-in. In any case,
it was all a lot of fun and long remembered.
Another great program, and our thanks to all
who worked so hard and traveled so far to put it
on!
Respectfully Submitted, combining notes from;
Thomas Horner, Secretary.
and co-editied by Chuck Bruce, Exec VP.
Atlanta Audio Society, Inc.
Links
Avantgarde: http://www.avantgarde-usa.com/main.htm
Art Audio: http://www.artaudio.com/
SoundsRight Audio: http://www.soundsrightaudio.com/
|
