I’ve already alluded to what these speakers do in musical terms that sets them apart from not just the crowd, but the vast majority of other domestic speaker systems. The speakers that can challenge the performance strengths of the Duo GT are invariably sensitive. At a claimed 107dB efficiency, the Avantgardes certainly qualify as high sensitivity – but the rise time and sudden leading edge response of the iTron amplification takes the musical presentation to a whole new level of presence and immediacy. You can talk about speakers and systems that deliver a mid-hall balance, or ones that seat you further forward. In the best instances, those speakers also create the impression of the performers and the performance being in your room – or at least, in an extension of your room. With a single voice or small ensemble that can be incredibly convincing, but move up in musical scale and you inevitably end up diminishing the dimensions and scale the band, until you have a facsimile, almost a model of the original performance, that you are looking in upon.
When I said earlier that the Duo GT “takes you there” I wasn’t kidding – and it’s an important distinction. The Duo GT (and the Trio G3) put you in the same space as the original musicians, irrespective of how big or small the band might be. This isn’t row M or row G. This is a much more direct connection than that. This is almost a Mic’s-eye view and it’s down to the absence of familiar losses – the lack of lost energy. What defines distance in a concert hall or other music venue? The spread, the loss of direct and the addition of reflected, musical energy. The very nature of the Duo GT, with its high-sensitivity and rapid response to input, preserves more of the energy in the recording, literally moving you closer to the original. That doesn’t mean that you are sat on the conductor’s podium or stood in front of the vocalist. What it means is that it mirrors the musical presence and immediacy of live performance – that sense that there’s nothing between you and the musicians; that sense that the vast majority of audio systems really struggle to convey. A bit like stereo in general, it might be a psychoacoustic trick, but just like stereo, I like it!
Just plain old gettin’ down…
Jordi Savall is recognised for his vivacious and energetic performances, generally with Le Concert des Nations, his small, original instruments orchestra. Their recording of Bach’s Brandenburg Concertos is no exception (AliaVox AVSA 9871 A+B). I played these discs on my first introduction to the Duo GT at the Avantgarde listening room. Playing them again at home, with considerable effort expended on set up and with superior source components (the Wadax Reference units) brought home not only just how responsive these speakers are to precise set up, but how musically infectious that combination of immediacy and unfettered dynamic response really is. A fellow listener once remarked about Savall (about his Beethoven Symphonies as it happens) that, “The thing about Jordi is that he gets all the jokes”: The Duo GTs delight in that musical insouciance and vitality, revealing the sheer joy in the playing, communicating it undiluted and enthusiastically to the listener.
