Advent Large - Modern day version?

[dadaalice]

I've had my pair of Advents for 16 years now, these are great speakers.

I really like the size and weight of them, not too big, not too small, they don't sound HUGE (overpowering) nor do they sound tiny. They are just right.
Why does it seem that my only choices for currently produced speakers (at my price point, maybe up to $1500) is small bookshelf type speakers, or skinny little tower type speakers? To me the size, look, and feel (and of course sound) of the large Advents are perfect.

My question is, does anyone currently make a Advent "knock off" or something similar to these classic speakers?

[diogenes]

You might be surprised at the sound of the lean tower type of speakers.
Have you given something along the lines of a JBL 4312 series a listen?
It seemed to me that the JBL really killed the Advent Large pairs I have, especially in highs and I dare say the smaller Axioms m22ti, while anemic in bass, sounded better than the Advents, too.

Yet, I have not really responded to your question, but a set of JBL 4312 is in you price range.

[bhazen]

I love the big 'Vents. I'm considering getting a pair for my 2nd system. Real
music lover's speakers - warm, big-sounding, unconcerned with etched
detail, imaging or other silly audiophile concerns:D. <-----(a jape)

Most speakers today that would "replace" the Big A's sound bright and lean to me; albeit with more bass "control" and better soundstaging.

Your penultimate sentence stated that the size/look/feel of the Advents are perfect...why change?

[dadaalice]

Let me say I also have a pair of Wharfedale Diamond 8.4 towers. These are good speakers as well, they have tighter, quicker bass than the Advents, and a more natural sounding mid range (IMO) yet the sound from the Advents really comes "alive" more so than the Wharfedales.

I also had for many years a pair of Infinity Quantum 2 (HUGE speakers), these were awesome, yet the soundstage lacked the 3 dimensionality the Advents have. I think I would have needed a very large room with tons of power for these speakers to preform their best.

[dadaalice]

Your penultimate sentence stated that the size/look/feel of the Advents are perfect...why change?

Because I know there is better out there. :winkgrin:

Although I love the Advents, I hear the minor colorizations they produce, (not produced by my Wharfedales), the bass lacks the tightness of the Wharfedales as well. Listening to the Advents (as great as they are), I sometimes feel like I am listening to a pair of speakers, if that makes any sense.

I've not heard a whole lot of different speakers in an ideal setting, perhaps the 2 way Epos speakers (or another well received modern smaller 2 way design) would provide all the Advents have and more, I don't know, thats why I'm asking.

MY thought is that the weight and size of the Advents adds to the more "solid" sound they produce as well, all of the light weight towers and bookshelf's I've heard (again, not a whole lot) have a bit of a more "lightweight" sound to them.

Guess I am looking for a speaker with some "meat" to it without it being the size of me and costing ten thousand dollars. :)

[bhazen]

Gotcha.

Hard to get the Advent-style heft and warmth with the current crop; maybe the Quad 22L (? I think that's the model) towers might do the trick.

For a different flavour that's wonderful, the Epos stuff (M12.2 & larger) is fabbo - perhaps the best midrange going in a small, non-planar speaker.

[dinchart]

You might want to give NHT a listen -- modern acoustic suspension designs, very good value, 'tho not comparable size-wize to your large advents. BTW, are the surrounds on yours in good shape?

[vinylrec]

Guess I am looking for a speaker with some "meat" to it without it being the size of me and costing ten thousand dollars. :)

If you ever find those speakers, send those Advents my way... ;)

[vinyl anachronist]

One of the reasons the Spendor Classic line is slowly being phased out is because few people want "big boxes" anymore. People like having thin, tall floorstanders with small footprints, like the newer Spendor line.

[Rolf Erickson]

I have a second pair of Large Advents awaiting my re-foaming... When I finish I will "Double-Stack" them. I have heard this set-up several times in the past, and it's dynamite! Especially for the dollar. It's better than simply just louder Advents... It adds another dynamic layer of sound quality. Punch, with clairity. For around $200-$300 per quad set-up, you can get sound that will crunch-into-wreckage, the sound of modern speakers for that price point. Think about it. R.E.

[bhazen]

So, what do a newer pair (with the more "modern" tweeters, say, late 80's or later?) of Large Advents go for used these days? I may start looking for a pair.

[Rolf Erickson]

So, what do a newer pair (with the more "modern" tweeters, say, late 80's or later?) of Large Advents go for used these days? I may start looking for a pair.

Depends on condition... As to whether they need re-foam jobs, or not. At this vintage, they will need new foams, unless they have been replaced already. Some are full wood-veneer, others are vinyl-clad. Fully restored with fresh foams properly done, (Not a first-time amateur job, but well done) With wood sides, everything working properly.. Good to go... $100 to $150 per pair. Subtract about $10.00 per pair for vinyl.

But, if needing both woofers re-surrounded, (typical as usually found) but otherwise good tweeters, (not blown) good crossovers still working correctly, nice condition grilles, and vinyl or decent wood... I would pay about $40-$50 per pair. Discount for poor wood or grilles another $20.00 per pair... Discount for each blown tweeter about $25.00 .. I just got my latest pair for $20.00 Good condition covers, only thing wrong: 2 bad foams.

If they need new foams and have two blown tweeters, they should be free. I have paid that before.

[coopmv]

When did Advent go out of business?

[Taurus]

When did Advent go out of business?I still see their wireless speakers out there sometimes, but for me, as a big fan of Advent they "died" when Recoton bought their parent company International Jensen in 1995 (Jensen also owned Acoustic Research) & they started slapping the Advent name on all sorts of cheap garbage. Audiovox, an American company, bought AR and Advent when Recoton declared bankruptsy @3 years ago but when I did a search just now for Advent on Audiovox's website, all I got is "Invalid Model Number No product matches your search criteria. Please try again." :sigh:

I am hoping Audiovox is thinking of bringing back the Advent attitude i.e. its big warm sound and quietly elegant furniture-like styling (which many people still say they like when I show them my Pioneer CS99As which also have such styling) but in a more modern slim tower form. The only company still sticking with The Big Look is Cerwin-Vega, and hopefully their new-ish and more refined (for them anyway: Vifa soft dome tweeters, bi-amp capability, etc) CLS Series (http://www.cerwinvega.com/products/homeaudiovideo/CLSseries/overview.html)* will hang around for us knuckledragger audio hobbyists :D that still like the sound of a traditional fullrange loudspeaker system but that doesn't cost an arm & a leg.

* designed by an engineer who previously worked for NHT & his department is overseen by a guy who previously worked for Revel

[soundboy]

I still see their wireless speakers out there sometimes, but for me, as a big fan of Advent they "died" when Recoton bought their parent company International Jensen in 1995 (Jensen also owned Acoustic Research) & they started slapping the Advent name on all sorts of cheap garbage.

You may want to re-think that once you read this recent thread (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=718950&highlight=advent) at avsforum.com, which developed from this thread (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=715151&highlight=advent).

As for modern day speakers comparable to the Large Advent, you'd check out Boston Acoustics' VRB monitors.

[motorcitydave]

I still see their wireless speakers out there sometimes, but for me, as a big fan of Advent they "died" when Recoton bought their parent company International Jensen in 1995 (Jensen also owned Acoustic Research) & they started slapping the Advent name on all sorts of cheap garbage. Audiovox, an American company, bought AR and Advent when Recoton declared bankruptsy @3 years ago but when I did a search just now for Advent on Audiovox's website, all I got is "Invalid Model Number No product matches your search criteria. Please try again." :sigh:

I am hoping Audiovox is thinking of bringing back the Advent attitude i.e. its big warm sound and quietly elegant furniture-like styling (which many people still say they like when I show them my Pioneer CS99As which also have such styling) but in a more modern slim tower form. The only company still sticking with The Big Look is Cerwin-Vega, and hopefully their new-ish and more refined (for them anyway: Vifa soft dome tweeters, bi-amp capability, etc) CLS Series (http://www.cerwinvega.com/products/homeaudiovideo/CLSseries/overview.html)* will hang around for us knuckledragger audio hobbyists :D that still like the sound of a traditional fullrange loudspeaker system but that doesn't cost an arm & a leg.

* designed by an engineer who previously worked for NHT & his department is overseen by a guy who previously worked for Revel


Those Cerwin Vega's look evil. Killer even. heh.

[bhazen]

Do speakers like the old Boston Acoustics A-100 have a Large Advent (warm, big image) vibe?

[gener8tr]

Keep the Advents! :)

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v710/gener8tr/102_0209.jpg

[-=Rudy=-]

Do speakers like the old Boston Acoustics A-100 have a Large Advent (warm, big image) vibe?

My A-150s are similar to the A-100 (it adds a midrange cone). They don't quite have the same bass sound, but they are similar.

[Dougr33]

I absolutely love my Von Schweikert VR2's. Glorious mids, clear highs, and fast bass down to 25hz. They're of the skinny but deep variety, transmission line bass, with an adjustable rear-firing ambient tweeter. They have a beautiful real wood veneer; African Hazelwood or Cherry being the nicest. They must be loaded with at least 25 lbs. of shot in the bottom cavity (I bought 3 bags to give a little more, brings them up to 100lbs each so they sit nice and firm).

They're very efficient too. Almost every week there's a pair on Audiogon for around 1200. I have not heard vintage speakers in many years, but I believe most progress in audio in the last 10 years has been with speaker design and drivers, and redbook cd players. IMHO.

[Stax Fan]

If you want Large Advents, stick to the original with the masonite ring around the woofer (like the pic gener8tr posted). They're the original Henry Kloss designed/voiced Advents.

Any of those New England speakers from that era have that wonderful warm, rich sound. AR, Advent, KLH...all very musical to this day. Still a very likeable sound. :righton:

[coopmv]

I still see their wireless speakers out there sometimes, but for me, as a big fan of Advent they "died" when Recoton bought their parent company International Jensen in 1995 (Jensen also owned Acoustic Research) & they started slapping the Advent name on all sorts of cheap garbage. Audiovox, an American company, bought AR and Advent when Recoton declared bankruptsy @3 years ago but when I did a search just now for Advent on Audiovox's website, all I got is "Invalid Model Number No product matches your search criteria. Please try again." :sigh:

I am hoping Audiovox is thinking of bringing back the Advent attitude i.e. its big warm sound and quietly elegant furniture-like styling (which many people still say they like when I show them my Pioneer CS99As which also have such styling) but in a more modern slim tower form. The only company still sticking with The Big Look is Cerwin-Vega, and hopefully their new-ish and more refined (for them anyway: Vifa soft dome tweeters, bi-amp capability, etc) CLS Series (http://www.cerwinvega.com/products/homeaudiovideo/CLSseries/overview.html)* will hang around for us knuckledragger audio hobbyists :D that still like the sound of a traditional fullrange loudspeaker system but that doesn't cost an arm & a leg.

* designed by an engineer who previously worked for NHT & his department is overseen by a guy who previously worked for Revel

Fisher, Scott and KLH have more or less met the same fate as Advent.

:sigh:

[coopmv]

If you want Large Advents, stick to the original with the masonite ring around the woofer (like the pic gener8tr posted). They're the original Henry Kloss designed/voiced Advents.

Any of those New England speakers from that era have that wonderful warm, rich sound. AR, Advent, KLH...all very musical to this day. Still a very likeable sound. :righton:

It also does not appear there is much audio equipments manufacturing business left in NE.

[CardinalFang]

Last week, vinylrec stopped by and we hooked up his smaller Advents to my Fisher KX-100. It took a while to pick my jaw up from the ground. :D I loved them so much, I bought some large Advents on eBay:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=230092087778

[kurtphyre]

Is their a specific model of old Advents that is best? Or are all older Advent's equal?