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Large ADVENT rated as $1000pr by Stereophile

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Super Member
I was quickly rifling through a newstand May edition Stereophile and there was an article on the Large Advent loudspeaker which highlighted the authors (Art Dudley) yard sale acquisition / repair of same by same. He stated the Advent would present tough competition to any loudspeaker up to $1000 available today. Who knows if this is a revelation or not. But, for those who own a pair it may make them feel justified.
 
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Refoaming is all he did. He didn't mention fresh crossover caps, which would validate his description of the tweeter's sound. I'm surprised, with all of the info around the internet about refurbishing Advents, that he didn't do any additional work on them.
 
Urizen said:
Refoaming is all he did. He didn't mention fresh crossover caps, which would validate his description of the tweeter's sound. I'm surprised, with all of the info around the internet about refurbishing Advents, that he didn't do any additional work on them.
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That whole article was a bit fishy to me. He runs a restored TD-124 as his main turntable, you can't tell me in all the time he researched what to do with that thing he didn't accidentally come across info on refoaming speakers..yet it was presented as kind of new news to him, if I'm remembering correctly. I read it last week while drinking coffee at Borders and don't have it here. Perhaps a little artistic license for the readers of Stereophile who might not know, but it just seemed really strange. I like his column a lot, and look forward to each one, but my eyebrow was arched the whole time I was reading this one. Not to mention the fact that he criticized how it sounded for much of the article, then turns around and says it's as good as a $500-$1000 speaker. Make up your mind! Or maybe his opinion of $500-$1000 new speakers is pretty low, considering the papery sound? I did like how he eventually got around to rating them overall instead of nitpicking them. I actually don't care for the Advent much, just a personal preference thing, but I'm glad that he saw it as a bargain in the end, when taken as a whole. I wish he'd found a New Large Advent instead. Or a Boston A-150...
 
it's kind of overated? well Large advents are decent sounding speakers.. however it can't compare with new speakers at 1000$. I also read the article that he wrote on recent issue of stereophile as well.
 
Yikes, I am a particular fan of Kloss speakers. I think that have have something from every stage of his career (including two different versions of the Advents). His older stuff is generally cheap and fun. I can't imagine that anything that I have could stack up to a $1,000 investment, today, for a single pair of speakers. He must have been drinking to write that column. In fact I could not imagine what I would spend $1,000 on. Probably would have a heart attack first. I think that the whole vintage speaker discipline is about not wasting money on modern consumer products. So it is a total disconnect to me to compare in vintage speakers something new. To buy something new would mean that I would need to go to a store. That would kill me.
 
I think Stereophile is starting to get it. I was surprised to see an article written up about refoaming old speakers, but they get a lot of complaints about audio not being affordable for good reason.

However - does a set of refoamed Advents sound as good as another set of speakers for new $1K new? No way. $500 new? Very doubtful, but depends on what you happen to buy, there are some out there which vintage Advents might do better. However, I think for $500 new and a little patience I could easily find better speakers.
 
Based generally on what I've read in that and similar magazines, I wouldn't be surprised if he had a very low opinion of speakers in the $500 to $1000 price range.

I once read a column in a car stereo magazine that addressed a related issue. Basically the guy said that it was hard for him to relate to actual consumers that spend their own money on the stuff he constantly enjoyed for free, and that as a result, his perception of value was skewed. He acknowledged this as a failure on his part and vowed to do better. I liked that writer.
 
Gee it looks like I will be able to fund alot of my rebuild projects by selling my OLA's. I am guessing my CL add should include a few pics and a link to the Stereophile article. Now if I could get Mr.Dudley to write some articles on DCM Timeframes, Time Windows and vintage KLH I might be able to take care of my daughters tuition for next semester........ :D
 
Maybe he doesn't hear the congestion in the midrange. Don't get me wrong. I liked the Advent. I sold it but liked Infinity's 1001 better. The 1001 was far from perfect, but the mids were much better than the Advent.

This opinion has nothing to do with my interviewing with Advent and not getting a job offer. It was a great trip and I met Hank.
 
IMO Art has something...I DO like Advents....but for $500 new, or especially $500 USED, they can be bettered, no questions asked. They do play music very well, and I don't mind listening to them.
 
I have 4 pair of Advents in my house and use them daily. If they start hitting $500-$1000 a pair, they will all be gone from my place!
 
Grainger49 said:
I don't think they were going for $1000, but said they beat speakers for $1000.
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Exactly. The author was not saying that they will ever go for that much used. He was also saying that he thinks they can compete with NEW speakers in the $1000-and -under range. He wasn't talking about anything you can buy used. In this case, I think he has a point. What $1000-a-pair speakers can you buy today (retail) that have that same level of warmth and smoothness (and musicality)? Most speakers today might have better clarity or extension, but I don't think they have that "enjoyability factor" that the old speaker do, and they tend to sound lifeless and sterile in comparison to the old Advents and similar models (I feel the same way about most amps/receivers I hear today). That's what I love about my early '70's Wharfedales. I "enjoy" the music more than I do with most of the speakers I hear in hi-end stereo shops. I think a lot of people get caught up in specs and that sort of thing, and I think they forget about the musicality and enjoyment. I want the music to MOVE me. Take a song like Tower Of Power's "Squib Cakes" or "Knock Yourself Out". If I'm not bobbin' my head up and down to the music, then I'm not buyin'. You can't spell "funk" without "fun".
 
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Well for what it's worth there are issues with the photos too in that article.
First he refoams the woofer with the roll the wrong way; it should be out on a metal framed woofer, not in like he did and as on the Masonite framed ones.
And they also show glue being applied to the back of the cone, but the surround is glued to the outside....

I've done dozens of these guys, so I know the score here. Just surprised they didn't pay more attention to details, especially when their audience consists of a lot of guys who split hairs daily....:D

But I'm pretty sure that there's $1000 speakers out there that a set of redone Advents would keep pace with. They are very nice sounding and easy to live with.
And yeah, I'll sell you all 6 sets I have in the garage for a bargain $3000 :lmao:
 
Gang-Twanger said:
Exactly. The author was not saying that they will ever go for that much used. He was also saying that he thinks they can compete with NEW speakers in the $1000-and -under range. He wasn't talking about anything you can buy used. In this case, I think he has a point. What $1000-a-pair speakers can you buy today (retail) that have that same level of warmth and smoothness (and musicality)? Most speakers today might have better clarity or extension, but I don't think they have that "enjoyability factor" that the old speaker do, and they tend to sound lifeless and sterile in comparison to the old Advents and similar models (I feel the same way about most amps/receivers I hear today). That's what I love about my early '70's Wharfedales. I "enjoy" the music more than I do with most of the speakers I hear in hi-end stereo shops. I think a lot of people get caught up in specs and that sort of thing, and I think they forget about the musicality and enjoyment. I want the music to MOVE me. Take a song like Tower Of Power's "Squib Cakes" or "Knock Yourself Out". If I'm not bobbin' my head up and down to the music, then I'm not buyin'. You can't spell "funk" without "fun".
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I agree. The LA's are not the be all and end all...but they are fun. They were the first pair of 'vintage' speakers I bought when I got into that end of the hobby after years of "audiophilia nervosa". I put on Santana's "Supernatural" and within minutes my head was bobbin'. I didn't get that reaction in my "big rig"...I spent too much time analyzing the quality of the recording.
Hibuck...
 
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