(Advent Speakers) What Is All The Fuss?

Gtyler

Active Member
Ok so I have been hearing all these good things about Advent speakers and I'm a sceptic. How can an ancient, two-way, basic speaker compete with new speakers on the market? I would think that even basic new speakers with newer materials and technology could out perform and oldie like most of the old Advents that I see being talked about. Please, can someone enlighten me? If they are really that good why? In all honesty I hope that the hype is true because I'm sure I will run across a pair for a reasonable price at some time, but at the moment I'm not convinced.
 
This thread should get interesting.

They probably couldn't. I'm saying this as someone who's using them now. I got them out of a combination of being curious & poor. As a "my first speaker" I'm pretty happy with them. Dynaco A-25s are another cheap for-the-masses speaker that don't perform up to modern standards but that have a certain something that people seem to like (I haven't heard these yet; holding out for an inexpensive pair). Hey, my best friend in high school collected cylinder phonographs.

Another reason I'm OK with vintage speakers for the time being is that a good portion of my favorite music sounds like it was recorded in someone's bedroom.
 
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Even the Smaller Advent has a very good bass response, down to 30 hurtz of usable extension. And a very sweet midrange...IME...ive never heard the Large Advents. But their sound must be close to what ive heard in my Smaller Advents. The highs are very good as well, but dont extend as high as some tweeters, like on my 70s era infinitys, but those have emits.
 
Ok so I have been hearing all these good things about Advent speakers and I'm a sceptic. How can an ancient, two-way, basic speaker compete with new speakers on the market? I would think that even basic new speakers with newer materials and technology could out perform and oldie like most of the old Advents that I see being talked about. Please, can someone enlighten me? If they are really that good why? In all honesty I hope that the hype is true because I'm sure I will run across a pair for a reasonable price at some time, but at the moment I'm not convinced.

All the words here from all the responders won't mean much and probably won't sway you much. The best way to judge what all the 'fuss' is about is to simply hear a pair of well-performing Advents and then decide.

OTOH, spending a few bucks at a thrift store and a few more to restore a pair will also be a means towards an end. Then, if you don't like them, I can assure you you won't have much trouble finding someone who will shell out a few bucks to take them off your hands.
 
I don't think they do compete with today's equivalent. For one reason or another many posters here have an attachment to anything old.

With that said, I'm looking for some Advent Mini's for system I'm assembling for my girlfriend. I won't pay more than $60 for them. After all the Kenwood KC-105 pre, KT-75 tuner and KM-106 amp they'll be connected to cost me $80. The Magnavox DVD/CD player for CD's was $49 new at Walmart and the Velodyne 10" AV sub was free.

BTW: IMO Dynaco A-25's sound pretty good.
 
I agree you should try them out for yourself.
As for the Large Advents, their bass response is their strength-IMHO the fried egg tweeters leave alot to be desired when compared to modern tweeters/ designs. Econwaving them is a good option.
Some people are very satisfied with them, and have been for years, which I find remarkable. Others not, hence the Econowaving.
 
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Also, I put a single OLA in the trunk of my car for an experament....The punch to the music was pretty good.
 
I agree you should try them out for yourself.
As for the Large Advents, their bass response is their strength-IMHO the fried egg tweeters leave alot to be desired when compared to modern tweeters/ designs. Econwaving them is a good option.
Some people are very satisfied with them, and have been for years, which I find remarkable. Others not, hence the Econowaving.

E-Waves take the strengths of the original Large Advents; Well built walnut cabinets and a great woofer, and combine them with selenium drivers coupled with waveguides, and a completely new and modern crossover. The results are nothing short of amazing. You would have to spend a couple K to compete with a Large Advent E-Wave.
 
Ok, so the main thing I keep hearing is bass response. They do have a huge driver so I can believe that. Is that really the only reason that these speakers are so popular? There's got to be more to it than that. However, as spkrdtr and automojo suggested I plan on testing them out at some point. The first set I come across for a reasonable price will be rebuilt and given a listen.
 
I don't think they do compete with today's equivalent. For one reason or another many posters here have an attachment to anything old.

With that said, I'm looking for some Advent Mini's for system I'm assembling for my girlfriend. I won't pay more than $60 for them. After all the Kenwood KC-105 pre, KT-75 tuner and KM-106 amp they'll be connected to cost me $80. The Magnavox DVD/CD player for CD's was $49 new at Walmart and the Velodyne 10" AV sub was free.

BTW: IMO Dynaco A-25's sound pretty good.

Is there an equivalent in existance today? 10 inch acoustic suspension 2-way?
$ for $ nothing today can compete with a thrift store purchased and restored pair of Advents.
 
When the large Advent speaker was introduced it was a real bargain in high quality sound, not much could touch it FOR THE PRICE. I bought a set, and used them a while, then bought a set of Klipsch Heresys (about 1978 or so) and then I decided to get rid of the Advents. They were nice, but I really preferred the sound of the Heresy speakers more, even though the bass probably wasn't as deep. But I like horn-loaded speakers best.

Now, thru the prism of time, there are probably many many better and more expensive when new speakers of the 1970's and 1980's that can be found used for similar money, and they key to almost all older speakers is being able to purchase a very expensive (NEW) speaker for very little money.
 
When the large Advent speaker was introduced it was a real bargain in high quality sound, not much could touch it FOR THE PRICE. I bought a set, and used them a while, then bought a set of Klipsch Heresys (about 1978 or so) and then I decided to get rid of the Advents. They were nice, but I really preferred the sound of the Heresy speakers more, even though the bass probably wasn't as deep. But I like horn-loaded speakers best.

Now, thru the prism of time, there are probably many many better and more expensive when new speakers of the 1970's and 1980's that can be found used for similar money, and they key to almost all older speakers is being able to purchase a very expensive (NEW) speaker for very little money.

I too prefer the sound of a properly exectued horn speakers (along with Heils), and this is where the E-Wave large Advent will get you for a very reasonable price.
The Large Advent speakers goes deep and clean, not the fastest bass response mind you, but very good never the less.
Still have to get mine together, my ESS AMT 3's took precidence, and now I lack the time again.
I would look for a nice pair of walnut cabs-you will have to shave a bit of the JBL horn mounting face to fit in there do to the narrow "bull nose", but the cabinets look way better than the Utility vinyl ones, and new grill cloth and a little wood treatment they will look very nice.
The easiest way to cut the hole is to buy one of those osillating cutting tools, such as the Dremel MultiMAx. A very handy tool around the house to boot.
There is plenty of information on Zilche's threads, a very amazing and fascinating project- it will suck you right in no doubt.
 
I auditioned large and small Advents against other speakers "back in the day" when all were new and ended up choosing the other speakers, so from my POV, they didn't come out on top in a competition with other speakers then. Of course, none of the speakers that were on my short list at the time, including the ones I ended up choosing and still listen to today, had sound that would be considered "market competitive" with what's available new today. "Market" preferences have changed significantly in the past 40 years or so; mine haven't.
 
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At the $100 to $300 that large Advents are commanding on Ebay, you can also get into a pair of Thiel CS 1.2s, which will kick the snot out of the Advents. Or go Canadian, and pick up a pair of Energy Pro 22s. Or do a little research, and find out there are a number of speakers that are better.

The Advent's claim to fame was a low entry price, and they were reliably good. These days, almost all the higher new prices have melted away, and speakers that were at the $1000 price point new can be found for the same price Advents now sell at. Snell, Dahlquist, Thiel, Ohm, JBL, Klipsch, Altec, and a multitude of others are swimming at similar price points, so have fun finding something you catch. :yes:
 
I purchased a pair of deluxe Advents (new) they had a good sound with the ability for deep clean bass, but there was something about the high end I just could not fall in love with. Someone mentioned "grainy" as being a characteristic, perhaps that was it. My Dynaco A-25's gave better upper end performance to my ears.

Right now I'm listening to the Insignia NS-B2111 speakers in my study driven by the Sherwood RX-4109 receiver, they really sound good. The best sound is from my Polk Monitor 30's combined with the PSW10 subwoofer, to my taste. I can't do an a/b with the new gear vs the Dynacos, because they are gone, but I think they would be right up there.
 
It's certainly cheap enough to buy a pair and try to figure it out for yourself. I tried that and I still don't get it, though. I even tried both New Large and Original Large varieties. I thought the bass was nice, the midrange seemed to have an odd hole or something going on, and the top end (of the Original) was not really that smooth to my ears. They just weren't my thing I guess. I liked Henry Kloss' earlier KLH Six much better, as well as the equally popular Dynaco A-25. I'm not of the generation that grew up with them, though, so maybe that plays into the love.

The design eventually led to the Boston Acoustics A-150 (the designer of the New Large Advent went on to BA). Now that's a simple, no frills speaker that I think gets a whole lot of things right that the Advent didn't (to my ears).
 
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