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AVI DM10 - Active System

I like them. A lot.

(I guess that if you've Googled AVI DM10 you've probably already come across my review )

I read your review which sparked my interest in the AVI DM10. I suppose the AVI DM10 only recently came out hence the silence from other audiophiles. However I am looking forward to the trials between the AVi DM10 together with a system involving Hegel H360 and AtC SCM 11 and a third system involving the Devialet. So in price wise it would be AVI DM10 £2,300 (with subwoofer included) against systems worth up to approx £10,000. (This is not including the sources prices as I understand), may be interesting..?
 
I'd love to hear a blind test between the AVI and the lovely Electrovoice Patrician 700s JCBrum thinks he's so clever posting. Lets just say one of these speakers is a highly efficient four-way with a 30" sub-bass unit (thirty!), 12" upper bass unit and two horns for mid and top, and, erm, the other isn't. I suspect you could fill a pair of Patricians with brand new AVIs for the price you'd have to pay for a good condition fully working/restored pair. A legendary speaker.

PS A little info about the EVs here.


I've heard LyndseyTs EVs at Scalford and they were very, very good. I prefer near field listening, always have, but there is no doubt the EVs do soundstage and scale with ease.
 
I read your review which sparked my interest in the AVI DM10. I suppose the AVI DM10 only recently came out hence the silence from other audiophiles. However I am looking forward to the trials between the AVi DM10 together with a system involving Hegel H360 and AtC SCM 11 and a third system involving the Devialet. So in price wise it would be AVI DM10 £2,300 (with subwoofer included) against systems worth up to approx £10,000. (This is not including the sources prices as I understand), may be interesting..?
It will be an interesting comparison. I wait with baited breath. ;)

The DM10 2.1 system they're using only cost about £1740 not £2300. This is because Darius (Ipv) owns a budget Gemini II subwoofer rather than the much more expensive AVI sub. I'm not sure how much difference this will make to the overall sound though as I've only ever tried the DM10s with the AVI sub.
 
JC,

Sorry Joe, It is quite a nice pic though.
Far be it for me to offer unsolicited forum advice, but I think you do more to squelch interest in AVI and their products than to pique interest in them.

Why not try a bit of the honey your bees make instead of vinegar? :)

Joe
 
Well you could be right, Joe, and I did think of the rug comment, but decided not to fan the flames.

Sometimes you have to risk the stings to get the honey.

Smoke is the answer, for beekeepers, but they haven't progressed to mirrors as well, yet.

Do you still have those 'big ol Tannoys', have you got a new pic of the little girl alongside so we can see whether they have shrunk to a more acceptable size ?

ATB to you and your family, and to Tony L, I hope his foot is mending.

JC
 
JC,

The rug comment never fans the flames, man. It's what makes this forum great. :)

Yeah, I'm still using those big ol' Tannoys. They're not perfect and are obviously coloured, but what they do well -- create an effortless sense of scale -- I can't replicate with another speaker for the money I paid. To help put it into perspective, I paid only a bit more for a very clean pair of rectangular GRFs with ST-200s super tweeters than what a pair of Harbeth P3ESRs sell for new.

I also have Ashley-approved Sennheiser cans, so I know what clean, transparent and very detailed reproduction sounds like. Sometimes I like the trees (detail) and sometimes I like the forest (scale) and thankfully I can have either when the mood hits.

I don't want to fan the flames with AVI, but I can't help but think it could have played out much differently if the fanbois kept it as cool as the dude. However, I'm more than happy to let the past stay in the past and would be interested to hear what DM10 owners think.

Joe
 
I'm surprised that no one has mentioned that that rug really ties the room together.

Joe

Perhaps that's because, in this case, it really does not tie that room together.
I'm not sure any rug could achieve tying-together in a room with two wardrobes plonked in the middle.
 
There are many active systems that could be put together for less than half the price of AVI and always have been.

Sound quality and aesthetics are in the mind and eye of the purchaser - rugs included.
 
You'll have to elaborate on that. Your point escapes me.

I was replying to the OP who said that AVI was a fraction of the price of other active systems. It certainly might be but, equally, other active systems can be out together for a "fraction" of the price of AVI.

Clear?
 
I was replying to the OP who said that AVI was a fraction of the price of other active systems. It certainly might be but, equally, other active systems can be out together for a "fraction" of the price of AVI.

Clear?

Gotcha. :)
 
Yeah, I'm still using those big ol' Tannoys. They're not perfect and are obviously coloured, but what they do well -- create an effortless sense of scale -- I can't replicate with another speaker for the money I paid. To help put it into perspective, I paid only a bit more for a very clean pair of rectangular GRFs with ST-200s super tweeters than what a pair of Harbeth P3ESRs sell for new.

Astounding price! I bet you could easily sell the Reds in those lovely original GRFs for £10k+. A truly legendary speaker and you look to have an exceptional pair. Something to had down to your kids as the real top-end investment grade hi-fi such as this will always increase in value. Proper heirloom hi-fi! It's actually hard to put a price on them as original pairs are just so rare, I can't recall a pair ever going through eBay (only some Golds in very tatty and hacked original cabs, and they went for a lot more than the drivers are worth).
 
I was replying to the OP who said that AVI was a fraction of the price of other active systems. It certainly might be but, equally, other active systems can be out together for a "fraction" of the price of AVI.

Clear?

AVI does represent great value especially given the excellent build quality and integrated dac and pre. At the price point, I'm sure they are not easy to beat - compared to either new active domestic speakers or a passive setup.

Throw used, DIY or studio kit into the equation and I think you have a different answer. Likewise if you have deeper pockets. Bearing in mind you can get very good studio monitors with pre/dac for well under £5k which I'm sure would walk all over the DM10's.
 
Any idea how they compare to Dynaudio, Elac or ATC's offerings? There seem to be a new interest in active speakers from manufacturers.
 
AVI does represent great value especially given the excellent build quality and integrated dac and pre. At the price point, I'm sure they are not easy to beat - compared to either new active domestic speakers or a passive setup.

Throw used, DIY or studio kit into the equation and I think you have a different answer. Likewise if you have deeper pockets. Bearing in mind you can get very good studio monitors with pre/dac for well under £5k which I'm sure would walk all over the DM10's.

You can get a DAC/pre into active speakers for under a grand new. Not sure having the dac in the same enclosure as the speakers is worth the premium price.
 
Any idea how they compare to Dynaudio, Elac or ATC's offerings? There seem to be a new interest in active speakers from manufacturers.
I've never hear Elac speakers so can't comment on those. I have heard a few ATC and Dynaudio speakers though (active and passive versions) and prefer the AVI DM10 2.1 to any of them. The DM10s are clearer and image better.
 
What dac/pre and active speakers would beat AVI's offering for under a grand?
I am given to understand that the AVI DM5's with a modest DAC would fit the bill there.

Presumably this talk of one type of system being available at a fraction of the price of another has the unspoken catch of "and will give as good a performance"?

I recently purchased some used AVI DM9rs (£650) and they seem pretty good, although I've not yet been able to deploy them into the room they are ending up in. I previously had a pair of ProAc Studio 125 that weren't quite doing it for me, but that's likely because I'm too mean to spend on a decent amp! My objective is to get amp + speaker combination for less than a grand. I note that DM5s go for less than £600 second hand, and would be "better" in most rooms than the DM9rs. I suspect that would be a hard price:performance ratio to beat. Add in a sub if bass is your thing, and some form of DAC/preamp (AVI seem to think that the vast majority of their customers are happy with Apple's Airport Express for this).

I'm still trying to work out if the anti-AVI thing is really just anti-Active (and that may be because it takes the art/fun/skill out of assembling a euphonious set of boxes) or it's that Ashley can come across as somewhat arrogant.
 
Say a Beresford dac/pre and active speakers by Adams, Genelec, Mackie, Rokkit, Yamaha...My sub £1000 system, 8 years old and going strong is Beresford dac/pre and Quad Studio Monitors with Sony CD/DVD front end.

As to performance, that can either be on measurement or subjective preference. I doubt AVI would win on measurement.
 


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