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Stereophile Review of Smaller Advent

Posted by AstroSonic (A) on April 26, 2006 at 18:27:26

The May 06' issue of Stereophile arrived a few days ago. I usually get mine a few days after others post having received an issue, so my guess is that many here have received the new issue and read the review of the Smaller Advent by Robert Reina. So, after waiting a few days for any acknowledgement or reaction here I though I would post.

I found no real surprises in the review. System resonance at 46Hz, sensitivity a relatively low 85db/w/m (about 3db lower than the Advent loudspeaker), usable response to 30Hz and a much smoother measured response than a couple other speakers reviewed in the same issue (like the Vienna Acoustics 'Beethoven Concert Grand'-$4500/pr, and the Audio Note AN-E Lexus Signature-$12,200). Those speakers were characterized as sounding very good in their reviews.

The cabinets were found to be pretty lively, and the grills imparted peaks up to 6db and troughs down to 4db between 1kHz and 10kHz. The grills were not at all neutral and would substantially change the sound/response of the speakers. The grill response may partially correct for driver response, but the implied response of the tweeter would be pretty ragged.

The Advent tweeter appeared to be 'dated', with newer, inexpensive tweeters offering greater detail and extension. If there was a surprise, it was the lack of extension above 13kHz. There was also a 3-4db downward shelving above about 4kHz. The spectral decay plot in the tweeters range was pretty messy-lots of delayed energy and reflections.

Two colorations were noted: a grainy quality in the lower highs and a warmth in the midbass. They were said to be stunning on well recorded orchestral music and to exhibit good ambience, transient articulation and dynamics. A narrow suckout was noted on some female vocals.

A couple more recent speakers in the same price range (2006 dollars) were characterized as having mids and especially treble smoother, and more detailed, and having greater HF extension. The Smaller Advents were said to image quite well-something given very little thought in those days.

The review samples were refurbished, with new foam surrounds and cones replaced (because they were 'shredded'), but with original voice coils. I wondered if the connections had been cleaned and caps checked or replaced. Interesting to speculate what difference it would have made to replace the wiring with new copper, solder the connections, bypass the switch and replace the cap with a Solen or Dayton, add a little bracing, and add some foam strips around the tweeter. I suspect that the newer speakers would have lost some of their edge over the Smaller Advent in detail and perhaps smoothness.

Overall, not a bad review. Reminded me of the review of the Bozak Concert Grand in which the tweeter was the weak link in an otherwise pretty outstanding performance. The technical portion of the review provides information that would be useful as guidance for performance issues that could be addressed to improve their sound (like additional bracing, foam around the tweeters, etc.).

So did anybody else read the review and have some observations or opinions?

Bob

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