Avantone Group Buy, anyone?

[Crandall1]

There has been quite a bit of interest in the Avantone speakers showed at NAMM (the new Auratone 5C clones). I have a bit of a relationship with Avant as a result of a Chinese ribbon mic group buy they helped me out with a couple months back, and they're willing to do another group buy with me.

It isn't the best deal in the world, basically free shipping and you can get the speakers in the next few days. So $169 true total cost. Details are on my blog, which you can find here:

http://www.analogindustries.com/blog...=1153859004654

They're only allowing us 50 pairs for this, but that should be more than enough to go around. Pop on over to my site if you're interested in this. Avant are really easy people to deal with, and they have the speakers already set aside, so this won't be as troublesome as most group buys.

[lowswing]

pitty, no group buy for eurpean...

[Crandall1]

Yeah, that's a bit of a drag. We did European orders with the microphone group buy and Avant had a lot of issues with them, as they're not a retailer, and only ship to domestic brick-n-mortar stores, so they're not very excited about shipping overseas.

[GPl]

What about Canada? Major metro areas.

[Crandall1]

Nope, sorry. They were quite clear: USA only.

[DivineMusic]

umm, i think i might have to order a set of these vs getting the yamaha hs50...

[Solar]

This is crazy , I just wrote to Glen from Avant about this matter, i think why they do not have Canada's GROUP BUY its maybe because AVANT did not yet find a specific Canadian Distributor but i know that i;ve spread the word about the Mixcube and a lot of peeps here are intrested to have a pair just like me.

But i will report tomorrow as soon as i get an email from Glen but for sure, if not , i will place an order in the USA group because i have a HOME in the states, so i guess i'm GOOD no? Crandall1 can you confirm me if i have an adress in the USA, if i can place and particpate in the ORDER GROUP BUY?

Thanx a lot

Truly

[Crandall1]

If you have a US address to ship the speakers to, you can definitely participate. No problem at all.

I spoke to Avant about this, and they said they'll ship directly to me, as long as I am willing to re-ship. So if you absolutely have to have them right now, drop me a line. As long as you pay the actual shipping cost from my joint (zip 97360) to you, I can slap a new label on them and ship 'em out. I don't want to do dozens of 'em like this (the boxes are surprisingly heavy), but drop me a line with your situation if you can't get 'em any other way and we'll work something out.

[audiomichael]

Sorta related...What do you guys power these things with?

[xj32]

I was gonna ask that too...

[Esset]

any off you US-guys willing to be a "US-man" so that a European can by?, I'll pay you, you pay them and I'll pay you overseas shipping?

Just a thought?

[DivineMusic]

i'll order a set but what kinda amp should i use with them?

[murp]

Originally Posted by Esset

any off you US-guys willing to be a "US-man" so that a European can by?, I'll pay you, you pay them and I'll pay you overseas shipping?

I use Access USA (www.myus.com) for this kind of thing, and they are pretty good and reasonably priced.

[Crandall1]

Probably the best amp for a simple solution to this scenario would be a Crown D45, D60, or D75. These can be had for ludicrously low prices on the 'bay, and the D45 is still sold new, albeit at a much higher price.

There are plenty of amps that can power these, of course. They can handle 200 watts a side.

[DontLetMeDrown]

That's hella cheap. The low price makes me extra skeptical. Anyone actually heard these before?

[Crandall1]

Originally Posted by DontLetMeDrown

That's hella cheap. The low price makes me extra skeptical. Anyone actually heard these before?

They sound basically exactly like Auratone 5Cs. They just aren't as fugly. (In fact, they're _much_ better looking.) Which is what was intended, according to Avant. I have one of the first pairs, and my review is on my blog. Anyone that reads my blog regularly knows that if they sucked, I'd have no problem saying so.

With the following caveat, of course: I kind of get the feeling from your post that you're under the impression that these are, like, good for nearfields or something. If that's the case, I suggest you do some research on what Auratones are and what they're used for; these are _DEFINITELY_ not suitable as your sole nearfields. They are secondary monitors for a specific purpose. If I'm mistaken in my assumption, I apologize.

[max cooper]

I have a pair on the way if anyone around here wants to hear them.

[Solar]

Anyone hear already tried them and any comments? Cuz the GROUP BUY is ending today and i wanted to read some comments before placing my order because no distributor yet in Canada /Montreal

Thanx

[rapfreak]

i decided to pass on the group buy since they're so new and the only thing you save on is the shipping. i find it hard to believe that not a single dealer won't offer free shipping.

[Pohaku]

At the moment, I don't know that you can get these from anyone other than Avant Electronics directly. I've ordered a pair through Chris. For the price, they are still a deal - they are only $169 - how much can you realistically expect to save on something that's already priced that low to begin with? Cheaper than buying a set of Auratones on e-bay.

[rapfreak]

sure they're cheap but no one seems to have any reviews on them yet and the group deal only saves you a few bucks. i'd rather wait a bit to hear some feedback.

[Pohaku]

Well, I figure Chris' review counted as far as I'm concerned You could wait a long time before Mix gets around to reviewing them. They are cheap enough that I'm not losing any sleep over them.

[vixapphire]

any word re. ETA on the group buy? looking forward to hearing and seeing these things.

[Crandall1]

They should be shipping today and tomorrow. The payment is all made, and everything is in Avant's hands now. So I imagine people will be receiving them starting Wednesday or Thursday.

[vixapphire]

to paraphrase the Red Stripe ads, "Hooray Beer!!!"

[max cooper]

Hey, I thought I'd ask around and see if anyone here in Austin has Auratones laying around that they wanna put up against the Avantones.

I've been a fan of the Fostex 6301B for a long time, but the Avantones are a lot better.

I find I'm using them for more than just a "crappy speaker reference". The stereo image is really easy to hear and work with, probably since there's only one driver per box. I think I like them a lot more than I remember liking Auratones, but not having them to compare, I can't really say for sure.

Well built, too.

[Pohaku]

I just got mine today and I'm interested in hearing them compared to my NHT A-10s and S-00 sub.

I've never heard a pair of "real" auratones so I have no basis of comparison there.

I like it when it feels like Christmas in August.

[Solar]

Originally Posted by Pohaku

I just got mine today and I'm interested in hearing them compared to my NHT A-10s and S-00 sub.

I've never heard a pair of "real" auratones so I have no basis of comparison there.

I like it when it feels like Christmas in August.

Yes please, let us know your feedbacks... truly

[SMC Productions]

Originally Posted by Pohaku

I just got mine today and I'm interested in hearing them compared to my NHT A-10s and S-00 sub.

I've never heard a pair of "real" auratones so I have no basis of comparison there.

I like it when it feels like Christmas in August.

UPS, says mine are due, Thursday! thumbsup

[max cooper]

Just wanted to mention to you guys who are getting new Avantones that they need a LOT of break-in time. When you get them out of the box, the drivers are pretty tight. I've been running mine for a couple of weeks now and they're still getting better and clearer.

When they're new, they sound a bit muffled and constrained. Tannoys are subject to the same thing.

I'm using these things a lot. Maybe it's the novelty of them, but I think they're very good.