AVANTGARDE ACOUSTIC Uno Fino

The lower cut-off frequency of a horn loudspeaker is determined by the size of the horn. Like with conventional cones, the larger the horn, the deeper it plays. Below the cut off frequency of the horn the response rolls off with more than 18dB/octave. The 1st order crossover of the Uno Fino is set to operate to the cut-off frequency and does not require high pass filtering. At higher frequencies Avantgarde Acoustic uses a small trick: the small air chamber between the driver’s membrane and the horn operates as a low-pass filter and automatically filters off the frequencies above with 6dB/oct slope. Combining this effect with the same roll-off value of the driver the total attenuation reaches 12dB/oct without any low pass filtering system – the crossover can be as simple as it is.

The Uno Fino presented a little accented and sweet highs. They do not have the ultimate grain-free perfromance of the finest diamond or silk dome tweeters yet they are very lively, open and never aggressive. As a result the sound swings and rocks and leaves the baffles as fast as it can. The mids of the Uno Fino excel with acoustic music and posses almost planar qualities, no matter if you play soft or loud. They lend a solid base to sizzle of cymbals, like they did in Lovegood from Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows soundtrack (Alexandre Desplat, Water Tower / Sony) - the sound of the cymbals was so nicely delineated in space and so real that it bordered a holographic experience in my room. Similarly, the smooth waves of London Symphony strings in Death Eaters bloomed out with understated presence and grace. Still, if you prefer to listen the "audiophile way" you remain delighted by soft clicks of bows and noises in the orchestra. I liked listening at high volumes with the Uno Finos - the monumental sound spiced with harp glissandos kept high resolution, perfect soundstaging and spectral eveness with the volume knob moving clockwise.