When Evolution Becomes Revolution: Experiencing the Transformation of the Avantgarde Trio

Dominated by those three visually imposing trumpets, the new Trio G3 is still unmistakably an Avantgarde Trio; but look a little closer and you quickly realize that, short of the midrange and bass horns, pretty much everything else has changed. Let’s start with the drive units. The three main drivers have all been redesigned, with increased power in their motors, evolved diaphragm materials, improved surrounds that remain completely linear throughout their travel, and a newly developed chamber between diaphragm and horn mouth that controls out-of-band output. Although the midrange and bass trumpets remain unchanged, the tweeter horn has been redesigned and is now almost twice the length of the old one, with a 25% increase in the radiating area. That allows the new XT3 drive unit to use a smaller, annular diaphragm, significantly reducing distortion, while extending both bandwidth and headroom. For the first time in the Trio’s thirty-year lifespan, the offset tweeter horn can be precision adjusted, fore and aft, to maintain driver time alignment, irrespective of toe-in. That might not sound too dramatic, but in setup terms it solves one of the biggest challenges facing the Trio owner.