Hi-Fi History: Henry Kloss' pioneering Advent Loudspeaker

Welcome back to our Hi-Fi History series! This week we explore Henry Kloss' Advent Loudspeaker, its initial reviews, insights had, and how it helped pioneer hi-fi.
Wiring diagram for stacked Advents along with helpful observations:
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[@gnavrides]

Thank you for this nostalgic journey. Henry Kloss was my Mothers brother. My very adored Uncle Henry. Tinkering non stop in a basement full to the ceiling with sound parts. He was indeed an absent minded highly focused genius. Generous and humble. The real deal. I grew up on a farm in the West and we always had his latest inventions…an impression that lasted a lifetime for me … I grew up to be a music and sound editor for film and television… Maybe it was just in the genes. Miss you Uncle Henry.

[@acfinney1]

A 1970s Harmon DC receiver It's a very good match because it's colorless as well. That's why I picked the Pickering 380. Adds a little color

[@acfinney1]

One thing you didn't hit on was the fact that it uses a 12 inch speaker basket for the 10 inch speaker.

[@JackT_Music_on_Vinyl]

Best comment of all! I loved your uncle's products in the 70s and still own them today.

[@FredPinkertonIII]

I worked with Henry at Advent and Cambridge SoundWorks, I visited him and Jackie at their home in Cambridge a few times. He even called me to ask an audio-related question or two. I was always impressed with his focus on creating audio products that answered a need in the marketplace (201 cassette deck, for instance) or were simply better values for the price (Advent Loudspeaker). My life would have been MUCH less interesting had I failed the job interview at Advent in 1975.

[@bobk3840]

I’m 71 and I still have my original large Advents from my college days in 1972. Of course they have been refoamed a few times and have had crossover caps and resistors swapped out for new ones. They still look like new. Started with them being driven by a MARANTZ 1060 and a Dual 1229 as a source. Fast forward to today and they are driven by a Luxman L-505uXii and a Denon DP-3000NE. Still enjoy the sound. Thanks for the History.

[@WardDorrity]

Clearly, you're a man of discernment and taste.

[@evanbonnell9611]

I’m 37 and Large Advent (anniversary) speakers are responsible for my audiophile journey. My uncle had them and at age 10 they radically changed everything for me. Now have Harbeth and Wilson but also bought my uncles Advents, and I’ll never sell them.

[@acfinney1]

Yes. With the dome tweeter. I'm using those now. High quality.

[@roberthaysley4245]

I still have a pair of stacked Advents. Amazing to this day

[@charlesm8482]

I'm running two pair of the smaller advemt loud speakers stacked. They are still kicking ass

[@doylewayne3940]

I have my stacked advents also, with that beautiful real red walnut surface. Had new surrounds done three times over the years. Found out I could use a 12 inch surround for the 10 inch cone that improved the bass even more. 😍

[@cherylridone2155]

In 1970, as my mom was finding a replacement for her console stereo, I was able to convince her to purchase the Large Advent Loudspeaker(s) as part of a stereo package. She loved the sound eminating from them: accurate without being edgy, able to play full range at all chosen volume levels,& above all, musical. I still have her speakers and enjoy the sound from them. Just a lovely, fulfilling sound. Thank you Henry Kloss(& thank you, The Absolute Sound).

[@mikeeygauthier2959]

My older sister & her husband had Advents, Sony 7055 and Thorens 160, back in the early 70s. It ROCKED!! Thx for this, brings back great memories!

[@jeffreypicciolo7706]

Wonderful segment. Beautifully explained. I started my audiophile journey with Advents. Love this content.

[@Sara_PY]

What a wonderful review! I started my audiophile journey with a pair of AR-4x's, then moved to Larger Advents (in 1971, I think). I was in college, so it was a stretch to afford them, but I managed. I recall the argument I had in the showroom with a friend when AR-3a's and the Advents were being A/B'ed - I was adamant that the Advents had superior sound, he was adamant that "how could they, they're half the price". :) One of my brothers also had a pair of Larger Advents, and during one summer break we combined our speakers (stacked tweeter to tweeter), driving them with a Crown DC-300a, Dyna PAS-4 and AR-XA table (Shure M93 cartridge) and had HOURS of wonderful listening. Thank you for the history lesson(s), you're doing important work!

[@Buick54]

Correction: There was a Dyna PAS-3 (tubes) & a solid state Dyna PAT-4 both of which I owned. No PAS-4 that I know of.

[@SinnerSince1962]

Just given a pair of OLA’s by a friend of a friend. He bought them new in 75. They are absolutely mint. I’m so stoked!

[@earlmcferrin2495]

I still have my "New" Large Advents that I bought in 1978 just after I got out of the US Navy - been refoamed 3 times and recapped but otherwise original. And still driving 'em with my Sansui Eight Deluxe receiver that I got at overseas Navy prices in 1976 just as it was being discontinued. It's been recapped and still is exceptional. Killer system !!!

[@steveludwig4200]

Thanks you for your service to our country sir! Sansui's were great!

[@perlman7376]

My brother and I had original walnut Advents back in the day. I still have a pair. Besides nice tight bass, the Advents have a unique presentation which may be attributed to its neutrality and/or acoustic suspension format. Anyway, many fond memories of long ago are brought to mind every time I listen to them or look at them. Priceless! Thanks for sharing your knowledge and experience in this well done video.

[@stevenpettinga7400]

Double Advent loudspeakers were my first high end purchase in 1970 or 71. I thought, and I still do, that they are so well balance and natural sounding. Over the years I've sweetened them up with 4 blue triangle JBL super Tweeters, that finish out the sound; yet I've never gotten tired or fatigued from their sound & presence. I paid $110 or $120 a speaker back then and a couple years ago they were still about the same price, shipping cost gets difficult but expect $50 or $60 shipping per speaker. They are so beloved and satisfying. Many of my friends had JBL or B&O but I always thought mine sounded the best. An incredible speaker and still a decant price. Steven Pettinga, Indianapolis.

[@dragoslavrajkovic8729]

Just simply amazing speakers. I have 3 pairs. Large Advent loudspeakers two of them,and small Advent. I just want to complete with first model,wich is probably the best. Love them soooo much. 🙏💕

[@billsmith2212]

I have a set of KLH bookshelf speakers since 1968 . I also have a small table radio that he designed from Cambridge Sound Works , as well as a set of their computer speakers with a sub woofer . Thanks Henry .

[@elkowitz]

I loved you comment about the AR3-A. I told my friends, many of whom could not wait to buy these, that they sounded muffled, especially in comparison to other brands. People I knew bought them because it was "The thing to do" if you wanted to brag about your system. I did convince my roommate that the Rectilinear III was much better and he went for it. I thought it was the greatest speaker that I had ever heard.

[@Buick54]

Allan: Like you I also felt the AR3a was "muffled" until an audio salesman told me they can sound much better if you turned up the tweeter & mid controls on the back of the speaker & I got to hear them that way & was shocked at just how good they became just from tweaking them. If the AR3a was the only speaker I could listen to I would be just fine with them. As for the Rectilinear III, I felt they were very close soundwise to the AR3a so yes I also like them very much. The first serious speaker I bought however was the Original Large Advent back in 1973 because they are much like the AR3a at a fraction of the price. I still have the Advents in addition to my Dahlquist DQ-10's.

[@steveearnshaw2216]

Sold my AR 4a’s for Rectalinar Mini III’s.a move I regretted until I bought the Large Advents. It was a great ride back in the day.

[@jdsalinger73]

A was able to demo some AR3a's, I my NLA with dome tweeters sounded much better. I just refurbished some KLH 5's and they beat the 2-way Advent in mid/high, but the Advent has the better bass, hands down.

[@daniannaci3258]

The Rectilinear III is rarely mentioned anymore, though it could be one of the very best speakers of its time. I think better than the Large Advent even though I just refurbished a pair of LGAs and its companion Sony STR-7045 receiver. Great fun!

[@mladenbasic1]

Love this kind of content! keep the history coming.

[@grimlocked2524]

I appreciate this. In the 90s my Dad didn't read Sports Illustrated, but he did read Crutchfield. As a kid I had no idea what brands Advent and Onkyo were since mainstream ads were all about Sony, Pioneer, etc.

[@AnHebrewChild]

your comment is awesome. In the early 90's I spent my paper route money on a pair of Advent 25th Anniversary two-ways and an Onkyo to drive them. I was 12 years old and landed on the Advents because my friend's parents had them and I loved how they sounded. I still own both the speakers and the receiver. Had the Advents re-foamed in ~2010. The Onkyo finally gave out a few months back. I might just figure out a fix for it, as it served me so well for 30 years. that was paperboy money WELL spent!

[@jonpatrick66]

​@@AnHebrewChildyour reply was so cool to read. I started a similar hifi journey approximately 20 years earlier at same age. I saved all my money that I was able to make mowing various neighbors grass all summer long. It was in Texas that I grew up, so it was long summer. There was a TV mostly,and radio store in our small town and I got the best they had. It was a Zenith system with Allegro speakers that seriously rocked. Totally loved it. So did all my friends. Well, thanks for sharing.

[@AnHebrewChild]

@@jonpatrick66 awesome story. And yeah, so similar to my own. Including "all my friends did too." 👍 Once the hi-fi bug is caught, there's no shaking it! And sounds like we both caught it at a young age. Be blessed. :D

[@jonpatrick66]

I thoroughly enjoyed this talk. Very down to earth . Thank you.

[@btbb3726]

When I was in elementary school (late 1970’s) my older brother had an Advent Videobeam 7’ projection TV in his bedroom. Remembering the Advent name, I bought a pair of Advent Baby II speakers - I still have them and I renowned them a few years ago and use them in my secondary sound system.

[@maevegreenleaf7166]

I’m 33 and own 2 pairs of smaller advents. Absolutely adore them.

[@josebaaz7461]

I just started my journey of becoming an “audiophile” and I’m really am enjoying the experience. I started with a pair of ads bookshelf speakers, bose, psb, and so on . 20 pairs and 3 years later I found a pair of advent speakers 5012/0 and decided to restore the pair .I haven’t finished it yet however I’m looking forward to setting them up and hearing them . Thank you for sharing so much information about advent.

[@downhillblur708]

Still have the KLH Seventeens I bought in High School in 1977. They are used in my downstairs/basement system. They are definitely going to outlive me.

[@G8GT364CI]

I had a pair of these years ago.

[@jemsmay2167]

64 yo here, bought my large advents from Tweeter Etc on Comm Ave (if you know, you know) in 1978. Listening to them right now, still connected to my Beloved Kenwood KR 4070. Cranking ‘BCN out the dorm room window back in the day, Old school audio bliss. This speaker was/is the best party speaker of all time, the louder it gets the better it sounds. BTW, my roommate sophomore year had AR speakers, they spent the year in the closet.

[@jemsmay2167]

Great review/history lesson! If I can suggest 3 important things you left out; first the “High Frequency Control” that allowed fine tuning of the speaker high end between 3 toggle settings (“normal, decrease, extended”). Actually worked if they were hooked up to a decent amp. Second re. Stacked advents (had this with another roommate in a little apartment out in Allston…) its essential that the top speaker be inverted so the tweeters are adjacent in each stack. Amazing sound if you had the amp and the room to get the most out of them. Third, everybody knew back in the day that advents sounded even better if they were raised up off the floor about a foot (milk crate, some bricks and a board, etc…) and placed not too close to the wall.

[@rafranks1410]

I’ve done Stacked Advents since I got my second pair in ‘76. Two speakers? Nice. Two stacks? ROCK CONCERT!

[@bruceburnette9953]

Still running my 1973 large Advents with a Rega Elicit amp. My Bose and Polk speakers sit in the closet. Love the sound and look of the Advents. Just oiled the walnut cabinets last week and looks beautiful..sounds the same.

[@stighenningjohansen]

They were nice, I miss them. When I bought them, I was listening to expensive English speakers, wich didnt sound right, then I noticed the brown thingies in the corners, checked them out and just bought them. They were fantasitic. I cannot forget that open, powerful sound! Thanks

[@airtow6766]

My first quality system, that I worked and saved to buy, was an AR-XA table with Shure M95ED cartridge, a Sony 30 watt integrated amp and the original Advents in walnut and had the best system of all my high school friends. I still own a pair of original Advents and enjoy them immensely. Thank You Henry Kloss.

[@stereoniche]

Thanks for the insightful history and information. I recently started a vintage audio channel and am using the New Large Advent as my baseline reference speaker. For new audio enthusiasts, Advents are still a lot of bang for the buck, especially for anyone interested in vintage audio.

[@alskjdfsldkjf]

Listening to this right now through my 1974 Advents. Still sounding fantastic!

[@andrewsiff]

👍

[@deanstarfish]

In 1970 my twin brother and I drove from Peru Indiana to Boston to visit a friend over Christmas. We went to Cambridge and bought Advents and an AR turntable right from the factory as best I remember. 70's were dizzing times. It's a precious memory as I let him drive my VW buss through Pennsylvania and Ohio in an ice storm. He had never drove before. My brother was an electronics genius as proven for years later.

[@robertthurston6858]

Yes, keep up these History Lessons.

[@Homer19521]

Maybe you said it in a different way, but the Large Advents provided a very fine midrange (no exaggerated chestiness) while still providing excellent bass. A rarity in the 70's & even sometimes today. I still have a pair of the mahoganys in near mint condiditon. Also own a pair of the original Ohm Walsh II's. I have disassemble both pairs & updated/repaired as necessary. They are still my daily drivers. Great vid. Kloss remains my hero.

[@williamrose579]

I still have the pair of Advent speakers that I purchased in 1978. Still sound great. Bought them at a high end audio store, after about an hour of A/B testing against other speakers - using multiple classical recordings, and a couple of Mannheim Steamroller recordings. Worth every penny.

[@doylewayne3940]

I have my stacked advents also, with that beautiful real red walnut surface. Had new surrounds done three times over the years. Found out I could use a 12 inch surround for the 10 inch cone that improved the bass even more. 😍

[@dell177]

I belonged to the Boston Audio Society back then and I remember a lot of discussion about the large Advents.

[@DennisDMcDonald]

I had Advents back in the day and loved them. But after 15 years or so the membrane surrounding the woofer speaker cones disintegrated and I replaced them with woofers from Radio Shack. I used the speakers till those disintegrated as well. Very fond memories.

[@thefreestylefrEaK]

I just picked up my first pair of used Advents. Fully working and in great shape Advent 3's. Was immediately taken aback at how GREAT they sounded for a smaller sized speaker. Well balanced, smooth, and airy sound stage. Paid $14 for them. They are keepers!

[@danknox9986]

I have a pair in my bedroom with a Model 19. Kind of a weird pairing but I’m happy with it. Had this setup for 20 years.

[@WardDorrity]

Waaaaay back in my college days, I ran stacked Advents with a Phase Linear 400. Best bang for the buck at the time. I'm 74, btw.

[@burlingtonbill1]

I was SO excited when I was able to upgrade from a pair of Altec 755E 8" speakers in some pretty walnut boxes to a pair of used Advents, about 1972. They were the cheaper vinyl-clad finish, but it was ALL about the sound, especially the bass! SO much better than anyone else's speakers in my friends' systems. I powered mine by tubes -- so sweet!

[@daniannaci3258]

Have you looked up the going price of those Altec 755E speakers 😮? I hope you still have them. You would never know that they were most commonly found in the walls of post-war school classrooms being used as PA speakers😆.

[@hermancm]

Oh I’ve definitely heard of advent speakers as I had a pair of the small Advents (wish they were the large Advents) and I remember when a small audio store I frequented in West St Paul Minnesota around 1977 or so, called The Sound of Music which would later become Best Buy had them in their stores. The guy I was buying audio equipment from back then was a guy named Brad Anderson who would become the president and CEO of Best Buy for sometime. You are right, the bass sounded great on the Advent Loudspeakers and I remember I was coming beginning to listen to bands like Pink Floyd and other album rock bands and the speakers always sounded great.

[@j.patrickmoore9137]

I bought some Large Advents in college. One of the cool things was that there was a switch on the back to "protect" the tweeter - essentially, for normal listening, you could put it in one position for extended treble, one center position and a third position when you were going to overdrive your amplifier into clipping and generate a lot of distortion, it would help protect the tweeter from being fried by the excessive high frequency power. Eventually, I did buy a Phase Linear 700 to power them; I used the output jacks from my receiver and hooked them to the input jacks on the Phase Linear. The thing I noticed was that the noise floor of the Phase Linear was much higher than the amplifier section of my receiver. So, I sold the Phase Linear and just used my receiver's amp.

[@acfinney1]

Very fascinating video. I've been using a single pair of advent large. Settled on a Pickering 380 cartridge years ago. Very smooth bass. The best speakers for big band jazz in classical in my opinion

[@johnnytoobad7785]

I had pair of "KLH-Fives" while in college (should have held on to them !) and my best friends from high-school (going to a different college) had put together a "double advent" system. Both were great sounding systems as I recall. Advent was also the first company to market & sell outboard "Dolby-B" units for home audio tape decks. Had one of those also.

[@karlsonkab51]

Henry's KLH 17 and 6 are among my all-time favorite loudspeakers and their cloth surrounds can still function without hardening and parameter shift. There's something special about their woofer cone composition that sets them apart from many other companies. I remember the Small Advent with its mass-loaded woofer doing pretty well with pipe organ and a Dynaco Stereo 120 transistor amp at my friend's start-up store which later became "The High Fidelity Center" in Huntington WV where the Large Advent went up against B&O's excellent filler driver designs and things like Design Acoustic - which did not sound so good to my ears. Even Henry's plastic cabinet little White Advent speaker sounded better in the mids than a VMPS speaker I owned. Also, way back - my cousin had a KLH fold up stereo phonograph with two speakers - it was very good too and may still be working somewhere !

[@asmallwhitedog0479]

I have a set of Bull Nose A3s. They are my favorite speakers.

[@wwz1011]

My college roommate back in 1976 had a Pioneer system with the large Advent speakers. He had a lot more money than the rest of us!

[@steveludwig4200]

Still have a pair of Advents from 1978 to pair with my 1977 JBL L-100s. BOTH sound great!

[@renegade637]

My dad used to work on a semi-truck that would go around to various sports venues to broadcast them on TV. One of the guys on one truck purchased some Advent speakers to be used on a truck. I think, after the company got merged and the trucks were getting disassembled or refurbished, my dad was able to acquire the Advent speakers. They needed some working on because they had gotten into a pretty bad condition. However, he repaired them and they are now part of our home theater system.

[@davidhunternyc1]

For 20 years, I used a Cambridge Soundworks Model 88 CD Radio by "Henry Kloss." I loved it. Much better sound quality than the Bose CD Wave Radio. The problem with the Model 88 was that the CD tracking mechanism kept breaking, even from new. To their credit, Cambridge Soundworks sent me countless replacements. I even insisted they fix my broken radio because new radios would have the same problem. Unfortunately, because of this, all Model 88s will end up in the trash. It's too bad. It was a brilliant little radio.

[@JackT_Music_on_Vinyl]

Thank you for this. I'm over 50(!) and could not afford Advents when they were produced. I bought a pair of professionally reconed Larger Advents a few years back, and have an AR XA turntable as well as other gear. The Advents are my favorite.

[@daniannaci3258]

That AR XA turntable was (is) so sensitive to footfalls that in college, having one of those in an old house with rickety floors, us boys made a platform and with the help of one girlfriend, suspended such on a webbing of macrame roping. It swung a bit, but no more jumping tonearm and it sounded much better.

[@timschutte6924]

I had a pair of 2 way advent floor speakers. 12 inch woofers and a dome tweeter. Although not very efficient, they did have very good sound.

[@Reyfox1]

Owned a pair of Advents with the "egg" tweeter. Eventually replaced them with the newer on. My first pair of "real" speakers. Paid $224 for a pair of large Advents. Some did stacked Advents were the way to go. Kloss did a lot. The Kloss Novabeam projection tv... saw it at my audio dealer. And the cassette deck was trend setter with dolby.

[@stevemessenger7008]

I really enjoyed this video. As a pro musician back then I was using Altec 9844A studio monitors with a Sherwood receiver, Dual turntable, and Shure cartridge and that started my h-fi journey that is I am still on.

[@charlesnr]

Wow. first HiFi speaker was the AR4ax and my second speaker was the Large Advent. The Advents powered by the early direct coupled JBL 400S 40/watts channel amplifier. This 3rd break thru of the time along with these speakers.

[@scofab]

The Golden days... very interesting. My first "real" speakers were a pair of real nice AR-4x I found in a used stereo shop around 1985 @age 20... I remember I was running a Sansui receiver then, one of that era so... nevertheless I learned a lot. Sometimes I wish they were still around to play with. Real fun times. Thanks and regards.

[@Ebergerud]

I bought a pair of used Advents from the at the time famous Sound Well in Berkeley - cost $125 a pair. They sound great and are hooked up to a two channel receiver and my television. Lovely sound. My first component loudspeakers were KLH 17s - they were very nice also. Family resemblance I'd guess.

[@robertwheeler4068]

I started my search for quality home audio with the small Advents...I was still living at home in a 10'x8' bedroom...WHAT A RUSH!!🎵🎶☺✌

[@LynnKorte-ve4qf]

I'm 64 and I have a set I restored and listen to them quite often,Mind are the walnut rounded corners model and the fried egg tweeters are one of a kind. Young folks don't know what they are missing pinging on their cell phones and listening to music..I have many restored loudspeakers I listen,and then sell or trade.I have a nice pair of Criterion 3003s. Bet you haven't heard of those. Very nice restored

[@stevengagnon4777]

Those fried eggs are certainly one of kind. Have pair that were stashed in my pile. I put them in my Bose 301seris II in the front position. With a first order at 2600 on the tweeters ( the rear Bose tweeters are active) and woofer . The tweeters are down a few decibels with an 8 olm l-pad. The fried eggs sound so nice and gave the Bose a little more focus in the sound stage while the back tweeters still do their thing (and they will fry first being seris one could say they are an active fuse,) . The Stanton 681 certainly helps. Eno's On Land is wonderfully large as it fills the room.

[@Parallax982]

I've got a pair of OLA with beautiful bull nose cabinets running in my master bedroom from a Marantz 2235 fed by a Wiim Pro through a Geshelli Labs J2 DAC with the AK4499 chipset and Sparkos opamps. I adore the sound. Downstairs, I have a OLA stack with utility cabinet models down and another bull nose set on top (these a bit beat up). The stack runs with a Marantz 2270 fed by an old CD player. Again, the sound is amazing. I may get a streamer and a DAC for this set too, as it's amazing to have millions of songs at one's fingertips. When I was a teen, I of course had a turntable but I dumped my vinyl collections years ago. Don't feel motivated to go in that direction again, as I don't have a sense that going back to LPs would create an obviously better sound. Particularly when one considers how records scratch and age. I'm a big fan of an inexpensive streamer with a quality external DAC feeding a warm vintage receiver (Marantz, Sansui, Pioneer, etc.) into great old classics like the Large Advents.

[@paulboudreau3754]

I was able to purchase 4 Smaller Advents. They had been refoamed by the original owner. They didn't make custom sized foam for that size cone back then so they have a seam but it doesn't affect anything as far as I can tell. I noticed that the Smaller Advents are listed as 4 ohms whereas the Larger are 8 ohms. I had read about stacking and wanted to try it but due to the resistance I wired them in series instead of parallel. Well they sound great that way. I ended up peeling off the beat up vinyl wrap and installing wood veneer and fresh linen covers. Came out pretty nice. Way better than the faux wood vinyl.

[@deanstarfish]

Thanks for this historic information.

[@armanddimeo6575]

The original large Advent was approaching the end of its production run around the time I got into this hobby in the mid-1970s. By then, it was easily bettered by other speakers from companies like ADS, Avid, Epicure, etc., especially in the highs. The New Advent brought the design up to date.

[@jdsalinger73]

My curb-score bullnose NLA had the 25th anniversary dome tweeter. Beautiful sound. I recapped and refoamed them and enjoyed them for about 10 years.

[@ronaldrice2936]

The New Large Avent Loudspeaker was my first Real speaker, still have along with seven other pairs, and Still a favorite 🔉🔉🔉👍💯😁🇺🇲

[@c.j.7752]

Picked up a pair about 10 years ago and restored them. They mate well with my Sansui receiver.

[@surroundedbyjaggoffs]

I’m 69, my first pair of advents were the smaller 4 ohm 2 way , still have them and they work. My second pair were the large advent with the walnut veneer bevel edge, I wore them out beyond repair after replacing foam surround twice, I replaced the 10 inch woofers with a parts express special , sadly I had to let them go!!!😢😢 but they were great while they lasted!!!!

[@cablebrain9691]

The Advents were my first speaker pair. I bought them used for $20 at a garage sale.

[@rafranks1410]

$112 speakers! I’ve got four of them, purchased in ‘73 and ‘76. Only 100 buck each! On their third set of woofers. I wish the repair kits were around in the late ‘80s, and I’d still have the original woofers, which I thought sounded better than the twelve inchers in them now.

[@johnstuartsmith]

My next door neighbor moved and left a pair of these Advents laying in the gutter because the woofer surrounds were rotted. (!!!) I got a kit to repair the surrounds and capacitors to redo the crossovers. I was quite surprised at how well they sound. I think part of their success is that the tweeter crosses over to the woofer at a lower frequency than most two-way speakers and is acting more like a midrange. .

[@BigCityCBGs]

Hi I'm restoring a pair of the Advent smaller Loudspeaker and was wondering if I should leave the paper that's stapled and glued to the back of the cabinets they are not in that good of shape. Does it affect their value at all? Thanks

[@eggshellskullrule7971]

I own the AR3a, AR5, The Large Advent, and KLH 5, all properly restored. The best sounding one in my 20 x 12 ft environment is the Large Advent. All of them sound much different from my reference JBL 4320. But they all please my ears.

[@renerazon4008]

Large Advent and Genesis Physics 210 are my all time favorite speakers.

[@DAVID-io9nj]

As a poor teenager, cost was a main factor in getting Advents. But the goal was to go to stacked setup when I saved enough money.Thinking back on it, I believe the larger sound stage is what did it for me. It essentially was a tower speaker and had a bigger sound stage than a single pair of bookshelf speakers.

[@helmuttdvm]

Still have my Large Advents from the early 70s. Other than refoaming the woofers, they‘re still great.

[@acfinney1]

Remember, the woofer cage is 12 inch with 10 inch speaker for longer piston movement. Whether it makes a difference, I don't know, but the proof is in the listening. Works well with medium watt amps.

[@andershammer9307]

My first real speakers were the original large Advent. I own 4 pairs right now and the powered Advents. I own many KLH products like the 8 and 21 radios and the 11 and 20 stereo systems and I have KLH nines but they need restored. I once compared original large Advents to some Thiel CS5s and while the CS5s had more high frequency detail the Advents were more balanced and musical.

[@avpro51]

I had Utility Advents in college, ‘71, ‘72. Run with a Quad 33/303 and Rabco TT with B&O SP12. Remarkably natural for the time, but its faults made themselves known. Thin mids, wiry highs…I moved on to Microacoustics FRM1s. They are barely remembered, but were indeed better. But the glory of the Advent was its bass.

[@svbarr]

To this day I still remember stacked POWERED Advents.Yeah it was weird to turn the top speakers upside down, it wasn't that physically stable (don't let big dogs in the room) and I'll bet the bi amp quality (specs) isn't as good as today's amps - but man did it sing. Female voices and Jazz and even Rock with harmonies were pretty amazing. I know most folks stacked non powered Advenst but the bi amp powered Advents were POWERFUL.

[@socksumi]

It was the consensus of most Advent fans who lived back then that the original Large Advent was superior to the "New Advent" that replaced it in 1975. In fact as I recall in Absolute Sound the reviewer said that the 1975 Advent "stinks" compared the the highly praised original. I do agree the "original" Advent was better in the all important midrange and it's bass a bit richer. The later 1975 Advent however didn't "stink" as the reviewer contended; it was just not quite as transparent in the mids due to a higher crossover point and it's woofer was arguably less good. In it's favour the 1975 Advent tweeter did extend better in the top octave and it's bass was somewhat tighter. Both versions of the Large Advent were and are pretty satisfying speakers.

[@nobelstone9714]

The Dynaco A25 was less costly and out sold the Advent speaker(it is the best selling audio speaker of all time) and was sonic competition for it. It was more transparent and even had better(but not quite as deep) bass. Harry was wrong about the double Advents. I had a friend who was in the speaker market and knew about double Advents. I owned IMF Studio 2 speakers and we compared the two. the IMF was better. And then I got an idea. Let's try single Advents. They were more focused and more detailed with better octave to octave balance than doubles. Doubles had more bass in relation to the mids and highs and were less transparent and less image focus and poorer stereo imaging than doubles. I'll add one more fact about Kloss at the time. He was probably the man most responsible for making the cassette a high fidelity product making one of the first units with Dolby(I believe it was the first). The hi fi cassette was a significant product for well over a decade.

[@bradleydurbin6784]

I saw these today at my used vintage repair shop for 300.00 along with vintage pioneer receivers Sherwood receivers and a huge heavy pair of bozar speakers. What are your thoughts on vintage Polk Audio speakers?

[@markfischer3626]

I'm of that era. My experience with AR3 was quite disappointing. Yet I attended two live versus recorded demos at trade shows that were remarkable. It always puzzled me how Roy Alison pulled it off. I only found out how a few years ago. John Dahlquist used the Advent woofer in its own enclosure for his famous DQ10. My first pair of loudspeakers was KLH model 6. It was about 25 years between the time I acquired the analytical skills and the time I applied them to understand exactly how acoustic suspension speakers and all other woofer/enclosure speakers work and why the acoustic suspension speaker is the best design. Villchur himself didn't fully understand it. He was not a scientist or engineer. He's what I call an intuitive inventor. He had a knack for coming up with right answers. Kloss was a great speaker designer but a lousy manufacturing engineer. AR3 is on exhibit at the Smithsonian as an example of excellence in American design and manufacturing.

[@bikdav]

Call me a trader to the cause. I’m sometimes looking for the old wood veneer Large Advents to convert them to a 3 way closed box speaker. Those cabinets were bulletproof back then.

[@rickc661]

as as 70+ yer old... good stuff. My first stereo included dynaco A 25 , also highly reviewed at the time, ( same year introduced, I think) 10 in 2 ways.... cabs notably smaller and a bit cheaper. ' increasing power ' I think the original AR amp was 50 watts per. - I'd guess the legendary AR 3 needed 3 x more power...and AR was a great company , developed both the dome tweet & acoustic sus bass, still used today.

[@a.man.man.]

Thanks 🙏

[@cyclewisconsin105]

I have a pair of the Prodigy and the Heritage and am getting ready to put new surrounds on the drivers.

[@glenncurry3041]

The Advent loudspeaker also did something else. Lots of Vets were coming back from overseas with Japanese stereo systems they bought cheap there. That included Japanese loudspeakers like the Pioneer CS77. High efficiency with lattice cloth grills. The Advent was one of the first excuses to upgrade their systems. AFAIK the speaker stand was invented by a guy in Memphis that worked for Opus II. I was a rep and they were a customer of mine at the time. I remember it costing him a fortune in chasing patent violations. Put him out of business.

[@jwise7114]

My dad had the klh 9's. I listened to them for 40 yrs. They were not dynamic enough for me but very detailed and sweet in the right seating position. The advent's never did much for me although I owned a pair. I'm old but remember these days .

[@ericschulz8447]

Should I trade my Vandersteen model for a pair of large Advents? Thinking one day to stack them! Thoughts?

[@kwt7667g]

I stole a pair of these for $50 about 15 years ago. Sounded pretty bad after a day of use. Turned out the surrounds were rotted. Took me a few years to get around to it, but I refoamed them. Nice speakers. It’s true, they give you what you give them in terms of an amplifier.

[@steverothermel2516]

Thank you for this informative and important video. It would be nice to know the name of the host.

[@TASmagazine]

Tom Martin did this video.

[@Winterfell1066]

Wow, you could have shown a lot more pictures of the Advents stacked advents, etc. You actually talked a lot more about the KLH 9 than the large Advent.

[@justanaverageguytoday]

I sold tons of advent in the day. Large advents were good for most for moderate volumes. Yes the bass was smooth but the larger 1K tweeter was even better. Still a good design concept today. Smaller models not so special. I would have liked to see more Cambridge Soundworks stuff. That was a good idea. The advent projector was pretty poor and hard to set up.

[@ThePlumbum1]

I went to the fancy audio fest. I saw $20,000 speakers. I came home, and said “my advent 2’s are good enough.

[@peterrichard3706]

I heard the ar3a. Ok I guess. But music back then had not much bass. Not like today's stuff. I wonder how'd they sound today. I'm running OHM L,s on Emotiva power. There ok. My Cerwin Vegas RE 30. There ok too. Got a pair of AR3,s. Need lots of love ($) to bring them back.

[@gtrguyinaz]

Double Advents was the great rock and roll speakers of the 70s….

[@TimGuest-cw1vo]

Where does the Dynaco A25 rate against Advent?

[@cwize]

I had a pair of these for a long time (late 70s or early 80s model?). Then a tweeter failed and I searched in vain for a replacement. I finally let them go in a move, if I recall.

[@donwhiteford4028]

I owned a pair of advents in the early 70's. There wre nice, but my altec lansings of the similar size with a 12" woofer were superior. In my opinion

[@chrisgoodrich1795]

This video kinda misses the historic poin: Henry Knossos was a giant!he founded multiple companies which made affordable products. He invented the residential projection industry! He marketed a very good no-frills turntable and he sold home cassette deck with Dolby (what does this dolby button do? What’s a Dolby?) This made cassette tape a successful audio format for Many YEARS! Speakers weren’t his only success. He was a pioneer. We should name streets after him!

[@herrprepper2070]

When I got my military discharge in 1970, I sold 30 days accrued leave and bought a decent turntable, receiver and a pair of Advent Loudspeakers. I just got the woofers back from repair of the isolation rubbers and confound it… now one speaker sounds like crap at moderate bass and volume.