Best Speakers

[oldric_naubhoff]

Go and find out for yourself, oldric. Talk to Martin. Hear them for yourself. With your prelidictions, I really think first-hand assessment by your own hand and ear is probably the only way you will be happy.

That's what I did.

JC

sorry JC. I don't trust my ears. I trust graphs. it's kind'o fishy that a company that boasts so much about the importance of low distortion design can't even present measurements.... I somewhat disbelieve your claims that they offer any lower distortion than any other typical 2-way speaker at or around their price.

 

[oldric_naubhoff]

Must admit, of the two I'd have the ADM's anyday. How many drivers do you need? Reminds me when Mission brought out the 753, four drivers each in that one plus the tweeters. Just seems like several too many...and as JC mentioned, they're not the most attractive. Rather too industrial for my tastes.

AFAIK the sides come in differnt colours. maybe this will make them more eye pleasing. the front, however, will always be matte black. in the end it doesn't really matter to me because I can't afford those speakers. and even if I could I would be more interested in different designs.

as for the number of drivers; there's a good reason to have them so many. they are 3-way speakers; 1 tweeter, 1 midrange and 3 bass drivers. more bass drivers reduce distortion, especially at low frequencies and higher volume levels, if the drivers are smallish. I think it's worth mentioning those speakers go down to 26Hz @ -3dB. there are even bigger models too that go easily full range. if ADMs were ever able to reach that deep with that single 6,5" cone it would be at a cost of at least 10% 2nd order harmonic.

 

[jcbrum]

Go and find out for yourself, oldric. Talk to Martin. Hear them for yourself. With your prelidictions, I really think first-hand assessment by your own hand and ear is probably the only way you will be happy.

That's what I did.

JC

sorry JC. I don't trust my ears. I trust graphs. it's kind'o fishy that a company that boasts so much about the importance of low distortion design can't even present measurements.... I somewhat disbelieve your claims that they offer any lower distortion than any other typical 2-way speaker at or around their price.

Firstly, I didn't restrict my comment to typical 2-way speakers, or restrict it to a price bracket. Neither did the OP. Those are simply your imaginative presumptions.

Like I said, go and investigate with the people who designed them. That's what I did.

I think it's naive of you to imagine they spent more than two years designing them, without any tests or measurements. Perhaps if you ask them nicely they'll let you supervise next time.

JC

 

[jcbrum]

p.s. on the other hand, they do have more than 25 years experience of designing, and manufacturing very high quality audio equipment, both electronics, and loudspeakers. You might learn something. JC

 

[busb]

yes it does. for there are speakers, since we're at boxes, with better drivers, better enclosure materials and engineering and no ports which in turn translate to lower distortion of the speaker (and no, crossover distortion is not the whole story. it's only a tiny bit) and better dispersion patterns. I'm pretty much sure that something like this is way better than any AVI in pure engineering terms, but also aesthetically:

Must admit, of the two I'd have the ADM's anyday. How many drivers do you need? Reminds me when Mission brought out the 753, four drivers each in that one plus the tweeters. Just seems like several too many...and as JC mentioned, they're not the most attractive. Rather too industrial for my tastes.

Yup, agree - these are monstrous looking. I don't have a problem at all with ADM's looks or simplicity. I'd be quite happy to give them a listen.

 

[jjbomber]

Ok, thanks for clarifying that JCBrum.

What are you doing on Saturday 2nd March 2013 or Sunday 3rd March 2013?

I hope you are not suggesting that they actually compare AVIs to a real hi-fi speakers are you? It will NEVER happen.

AVI will not go to shows, such as Bristol, for people to judge 'as normals don't go there'. Actually normal people know exactly why AVI don't want to be compared to other hi-fi speakers. I wonder why? :?

AVI won't supply their dealers with stock, so customers cannot compare them to real loudspeakers. I wonder why? :?

AVI cult members won't take their speakers to shows, such as pie-fi. to compare to real speakers. I wonder why? :?

 

[atticus]

JCBrum, can you also please tell me when you've had the opportunity to compare the drivers in the ADM 40's against the drivers in my speakers? There aren't many people in the UK that have the same speakers as me. It's possible that there aren't any.

What are your speakers, lindsayt?

 

[atticus]

What are these, please?

 

[John Duncan]

What are these, please?

Magico Q3.

 

[Overdose]

Ok, thanks for clarifying that JCBrum.

What are you doing on Saturday 2nd March 2013 or Sunday 3rd March 2013?

I hope you are not suggesting that they actually compare AVIs to a real hi-fi speakers are you? It will NEVER happen.

AVI will not go to shows, such as Bristol, for people to judge 'as normals don't go there'. Actually normal people know exactly why AVI don't want to be compared to other hi-fi speakers. I wonder why? :?

AVI won't supply their dealers with stock, so customers cannot compare them to real loudspeakers. I wonder why? :?

AVI cult members won't take their speakers to shows, such as pie-fi. to compare to real speakers. I wonder why? :?

Do tell? It should be quite fun to hear your own personal opinions.

What I would like to know is (genuinely) why anyone would take their speakers (or any other hifi equipment for that matter) anywhere other than their own home to listen to? What's that all about? Does this really happen?

The whole concept of moving a hifi system to some sort of convention seems rather bizarre to me. Is this what you consider normal?

 

[jcbrum]

Well, . . . perhaps they heard you're going jj ? :?

Dealers are supplied with stock of ADM9s, although the margin provided is rather less than some dealers wish for. This tends to inhibit their ordering I suppose, however my local dealer in Birmingham has had them in stock continuously since introduction. There are currently several pairs on demo, but orders are usually supplied from new stock delivered direct from the works.

AVI have their own factory shop, and demonstration facilities, and will usually entertain interested enquirers to lunch, as well. It's good fun there.

I did ask Martin if dealers could supply the ADM40s, and he said no problem. It's simply that AVI decided to keep the cost as low as possible and supply them to order only from the factory. There is no reason why any dealer shouldn't order them if he wishes, and some have.

The rider to that last bit is that a dealer should be regarded (by the customer) as someone who 'adds value' to the transaction. The ADM40s, have only one price, which is the same, whether it is an end user or a dealer who places the order. It is the ex-works price.

Consequently, if you wished to purchase them from your local dealer, you should negotiate with him a suitable amount of money to reward him for his 'added value', and simply increase your funding to him by that amount, in addition to the ex-works price of the speakers.

JC

 

[Overdose]

What are these, please?

Magico Q3.

I can understand the liking for traditional wooden boxes and gloss/matt solid colours, but they don't really do it for me.

I have to say that I'm not top keen on the look of any standard speakers. I'd rather they were invisible personally. There are some very striking lifestyle speaker designs though and I really like the B&O range, but there are many others and it would be nice for someone to combine style and substance a bit more often, without charging prohibitive prices.

 

[Frank Harvey]

Is that the best you can come back with Overdose?

 

[jcbrum]

p.s. I seem to recall that AVI have commented in the past, that if they followed a traditional distributor, and dealer, resale model, their loudspeakers would need to be two or three times the price available direct from the works. I think they do give the end user a big advantage by the facility to choose to avoid distributor and dealer costs, if they wish. Thousands (literally) of satisfied customers have availed themselves of this facility. - JC

 

[Ajani]

The sound quality is better than anything else, and the distortions are lower.

Lower than what? I don't doubt that AVI speakers sound great (they clearly have a very loyal fanbase), but distortion is easily measured. So if the claim is that they have lower distortion than X or Y, then they should simply release their measurements to prove it.

 

[Frank Harvey]

AVI will say that they need to cost two to three times more because they're trying to make dealers look bad, insinuating that they live off huge margins and drive home in their Bentleys to their country mansions. Saying that the 9's would cost over £3.5k is ludicrous. A bit of realism wouldn't go amiss.

 

[John Duncan]

AVI will say that they need to cost two to three times more because they're trying to make dealers look bad, insinuating that they live off huge margins and drive home in their Bentleys to their country mansions. Saying that the 9's would cost over £3.5k is ludicrous. A bit of realism wouldn't go amiss.

I'm sure I heard of a manufacturer who owned a Bentley but I can't remember who it was...

 

[spiny norman]

The sound quality is better than anything else, and the distortions are lower.

The main distortion is how much noise two old blokes in a shed, selling – what? – 10 or 20 pairs of speakers a month, tops, can create when they marshal their acolytes.

 

[nopiano]

http://www.sonusfaber.com/aida/en/

 

[jcbrum]

http://www.sonusfaber.com/aida/en/

£79,000 a pair !

Any at the pie-show to listen to ?

JC

 

[Ajani]

AVI will say that they need to cost two to three times more because they're trying to make dealers look bad, insinuating that they live off huge margins and drive home in their Bentleys to their country mansions. Saying that the 9's would cost over £3.5k is ludicrous. A bit of realism wouldn't go amiss.

That's actually a pretty standard claim by many brands that sell only internet direct. I don't believe I've ever seen any of those brands provide any calculations to justify the claim though.

Sure, you can cut out the dealer's margin by selling direct, but you generate additional costs to do so. You need to expand your ordering./customer care team to deal with lots of individual customer orders (rather than few, relatively large orders from dealers). If you plan to have stock available, you need to expand your storage facilities to do so, etc... So it's not as though you just cut out all the costs associatied with a dealer.

 

[jcbrum]

Saying that the 9's would cost over £3.5k is ludicrous. A bit of realism wouldn't go amiss.

There's nothing like the realism of customers parting with their hard-earned cash, David. If you check, you will find many who have sold multi-thousands of pounds systems, because the AVIs were better. Look back on the forums. They are real people, maybe even some were your customers ?

ADMs, it should be remembered are not just loudspeakers. You only need a source. Everything else is provided. Including pre-amp, DAC, and wireless remote control.

JC

 

[jcbrum]

The main distortion is how much noise two old blokes in a shed, selling – what? – 10 or 20 pairs of speakers a month, tops, can create when they marshal their acolytes.

HaHa, I think their secret of success, spiny, is the rather extensive electronics production facilities they have in the South Wales factory, and the also extensive production of cabinets, both overseas (not China, btw), and in the UK.

"The shed", a rather nice old Mill on a stream in the Cotswolds, is where they are designed. They do all their own original research and design work.

If you saw the pallet loads of stuff arriving and being despatched, you wouldn't be so sarcastic, or misinformed. But perhaps your comments are deliberately disparaging, - what have they ever done to you ?

JC

 

[BenLaw]

I wonder what the OP's question was?

 

[chebby]

I'm sure I heard of a manufacturer who owned a Bentley but I can't remember who it was...

Got a couple of old Bristols too.