Double Advent Loudspeaker Setup, Vintage

Anyone with two pairs of Advent Loudspeakers has a story, so here's mine.

The older pair belonged to my brother, and was purchased in 1975. The newer pair was mine, purchased a year later. As a teenager, all my most joyous musical moments were experienced with these speakers, and there were many, so forgive me if I get a bit misty eyed. I used my set quite happily for 29 years, and even after upgrading I couldn't bear to put them out with the trash. So they lived in the closet until last week. The Coronavirus lockdown has left me with a lot of time on my hands, so I decided to pull them out and have a little fun.

I first heard about the Double Advent configuration around 1978. One of my audio maven friends raved about it. Apparently, two pairs of Advents, wired in parallel and matched with the right amplifier, somehow achieved a sonic dimension far greater than the sum of its parts. You don't have to believe me; check out this old Absolute Sound article from the period. http://www.kallhovde.com/advent/stacked-advent-b.pdf. If you poke around the Internet, you'll find other references as well.

I'll cut to the chase: I have only one amplifier, an Arcam A75, and it is not the right amplifier for Double Advents. Not enough power (50 watts at 8 ohms), and it was really unhappy pushing a 4 ohm load. This Arcam is as sweet as you could ask with my Gallo Reference 3's, but the upper midrange was shrill and abrasive with the double Advents. (Note: this is the same amp I used with my single Advents for about 4 years, and it sounds great with one pair. Not so with the Double set. I disconnected one pair while testing yesterday just to be sure, and excellent sound was restored. Wish I had another amp to try.)

So, why even list these things? Because some audiophiles love messing around with the old stuff. And an old high-wattage Pioneer, Sony, Crown, JBL, BGW, or SAE amplifier might be ideal.

Caveats! These are old speakers that have been through multiple moves, including trips to college and back. They are beat up. The woofers were replaced in all four speakers around 1994, using Jensen parts, which were the recommended replacement (they appeared identical to the originals.) On one of the 1976 speakers, the foam surround on the woofer had developed a tiny crack, which I foolishly tried to repair with crazy glue. Bad idea. That said, I heard no problems during my tests that suggested an issue with any of the woofers. (If I planned on keeping them, I'd replace the surround on the '76 pair using a kit from simplyspeakers.com. Looks easy enough in their video.)

CORRECTION POSTED ON AUGUST 6 - I was mistaken about the 1975 pair. The woofers on these two were not replaced; rather, my brother had them professionally re-coned. So they look a bit different from the woofers in the 1976 pair. End of correction.

I have listed the quality of these speakers as Very Poor, because I respect the guidelines of this site. And according to audiogon's description, they are very poor. But honestly, that seems a bit harsh. I thought they looked great in my living room, and the dings and scratches just made them seem like cool vintage gear, which they are. If the damaged woofer was creating any sound issues, I couldn't hear them. The only sonic problem was in the upper midrange, again, because my amp was a poor match.

Also note that the bottoms of these speakers are peppered with little holes from spikes on speaker stands.

Finally, let's address the shipping issue. I live in northern New Jersey, about 30 miles west of Manhattan. Your best bet is to pick these up at my house. I'll ship them if you wish, but expect to pay upwards of $400, maybe more, depending on location. (Each speaker weighs about 37 pounds.) I no longer have the original boxes, so the UPS Store will have to pack them.

So, to finish off... I got my money's worth out of these Advents decades ago. But I truly believe the Double Advent system creates a listening experience worth having, maybe something unlike any speaker you've ever heard. Why not find out for yourself? Thanks for reading, and I wish you many wonderful sounds.