The Background When I was using my Quad/MF/Spendor system I had two requirements to satisfy before I could leave it all alone: 1) Change the amplifier to improve bass control, helping more dynamic music at louder volumes. 2) Buy a DAC to improve the sound of TV and to support an Apple Airport Express for a move into computer audio. I'm getting married soon and the idea of children isn't ridiculous. So, the system also needs to be simple to use with less objects to protect/hide/camouflage! Hmmm, not an easy mix of needs to satisfy without spending a lot of money. First thoughts were whether I could get away with mono-blocking the Quad with a second 405 whilst adding a DAC. OK, that was a bachelor thought. Six power cables/sockets, not including the sub nor AEX, doesn't make for a simple solution let alone the power up and down process. I would have enjoyed every second of such a system though, with two amazing chunks of retro metal stacked up on show. I really like the 405, probably because my dad had one driving massive transmission line speakers with a Revox turntable; that's another story, one with rattling windows! Thoughts quickly moved onto a Naim Supernait with its alleged high quality amplifier and DAC, all in one chic box that apparently should be left switched on for days before it comes "onto song". Hmmmm, true or not such an approach isn't my style and would never happen. £2,600 for a new one auditioned at my local dealer. That's a lot of money in one swipe for an amp that gets mixed reviews. Well, it's just a lot of money. OK, what else? A Naim Nait XS and Rega DAC? A better configuration than pre/power but still one box more than I really wanted, one more remote control and one more set of leads. Quite appealing but at £1,800 or so is still a lot of cash to find and a little outside of the annual toys budget. I'm impatient. What about those AVI ADMs that a friend bought a year or two ago. They seem like a nice idea and if I'm quick I can beat any price rises and VAT hikes. That was my excuse anyway, shhhh. A larger cabinet, a little more bass extension than the Spendors, a "zero box" solution, a design ethos that I like. I don't go for heavy bass or bright treble but instead value speed, imaging and detail. As long as it's not hard-sounding. The AVIs seem to deliver all of this for £1,125. Is there a catch? Why didn't I buy these before? The AVI S2000MP preamp I paired with the Quad was a real revelation for the money I paid for it. It was so clean compared to the Rotel RA03 (pre section) I was using before and was a really, really good upgrade. It cost me £25 more than the price of one of my Chord cables. Coupled with an impressive demo of a complete AVI S2000 mono-block system, AVI's credentials were proven to me. Next up was a spontaneous trip to Nick21's for a demo of the ADMs. I've written this up before but I wasn't convinced. I was sitting far too close to the ADMs and the sound was a bit hollow. Something didn't add up. Davemartin then offered another demo in a larger room with the sub. I've talked about this before too but I was blown away this time. The ADMs sounded sublime and the sub was mind-blowing. So tight and fast! It took me about an hour of being at Dave's to decide that I was ordering some. The next thing I knew I was loading some 9.1Ts into my car boot. No, not Dave's, my delivery. AVI ADM Vs. Spendor et al With the SA1s, Spendor have managed to keep hold of their legendary smoothness whilst making it all seem a bit more alive than previous LS3/5 incarnations. The balance is very slightly rolled off at the top with less air than, say the Proac 1SC, with a fast bass. Very fast. The paradoxical thing is that they still seem to have some warmth in the bass despite their speed and tautness. Perhaps this is attributable to an upper bass lift, making them sound larger and less anaemic than their size suggests, with the lowest registers being kept reined-in by the infinite baffle cabinets. I'm not an expert and any listening has been done with both the Quad or Rotel RA03 amp and MF X-ray CDP. I have no idea whether I happened upon two amps that give the same signature with the SA1s but I doubt it. The SA1s sound very together, no doubt due to the range covered by the main driver, crossing over to the tweeter at 4.8kHz. I'm not convinced that they like to go very loud as they ran out of puff with some bass heavy material (Erykah Badu, Baduizm) despite a fairly powerful amp. This is where I was hoping an amp upgrade would help things along a bit and I'm confident it would. Compared to this combination, the AVIs sound leaner, more neutral, more transparent, faster(!), more detailed (a lot) and more open. What else is there to say? They just get it all right and I don't have much to write about in terms of colour or character. With less colour, more detail and greater control the sound is quite a contrast to begin with. It doesn't take long to acclimatise to the presentation but they demand your attention. The Spendors seem to place singers further back and the sound is generally more laid-back. I find that the best test for this is Pavarotti's Nessun Dorma, where it sounds like you take a seat at the rear of a large and empty auditorium. Their bass isn't going to satisfy all-out rockers but there's a sub to solve that. And it really does. I suggest that if you want to hear some rocky grittiness then choose music with it in, don't rely on the AVIs to add it. The imaging is incisive, creating a crystal clear and transparent window on the music. Studio air has never sounded so good! They play loud too. Very loud indeed before showing any sign of losing control. It's almost disturbing. The Spendors are an easier listen. The system was giving me less detail, greater warmth and made sure not to upset, painting an oil of the music with some artistic license. The AVIs demand your attention more, they produce a photograph of the music to make sure that you hear what there is to hear, no more and no less. I've heard people describe the Spendor house sound as being romantic and in the SA1s you can hear a painstakingly designed tonal balance. They've really thought it through. With the AVIs you can hear the house sound of accuracy and of very high quality indeed. Don't get me wrong, I don't mean to make the Spendors appear to be mushy and boring, they're not, but I'm trying to find the best way to describe some differences. Which you prefer is likely to come down to taste. Some people look for a coloured presentation of the source material, perhaps bass heavy, perhaps very forward. I've tried this and become quite frustrated with how some music sounds. Some will look for a system that suits a certain style of listening, perhaps requiring overt smoothness to not distract from work. It doesn't matter how you justify it as long as the music is how you want to hear it. I've grown very fond of the Spendors and I've had many hours of pleasure from them. The AVIs have taken the experience to a new level, one where I can get closer to the music, literally. Maybe not everyone wants to do that. Two things have become clear to me in this venture into ADM ownership (aside from the music, of course): #1 Choosing true hi-fi accuracy doesn't result in less musical emotion. It's a non-sequiter. Reading that statement back, it looks ridiculous. Unfortunately it's a theme I've witnessed in the world of hifi. #2 The AVI ADMs represent ridiculous value for money in the current hifi market place. John Lewis should stock them, I'm convinced they'd sell. I'm thanking God everyday that I didn't spend a fortune on some more passive kit. ...oh, and the Spendors in zebrano on the matching stands look better... [
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