Live Concert in the Living Room
Interview with Ralf Steinhilber, Managing Director of Avantgarde Acoustic Speaker Systems GmbH
The ambition of Avantgarde Acoustic Speaker Systems GmbH is nothing less than to build the best speakers in the world. The company has been getting closer to this goal for 30 years: The horn speakers it builds offer a sound that literally gets under the skin and excites customers around the globe.
Having the feeling of a live concert at home was the motivation for Holger Fromme to start his own company. Previously, he had experienced what an auditory experience a high-quality horn speaker could offer.
He was thrilled, but could not afford the device, so he decided to build one himself. For the technical implementation, he brought Matthias Ruff on board. Together, they built the first speaker and in 1991 it was presented at trade shows for the first time – marking the birth of Avantgarde Acoustic Lautsprecher Systeme GmbH.
Form follows function
"The design of horn speakers is not to make the products look particularly avant-garde, but rather the shape follows function," says Managing Director Ralf Steinhilber. "Through the shape, the squaring of the circle is practically achieved: To generate sound, air must be moved over membranes. Where a lot of air is moved, these membranes must be large. But if they are large, they are also heavy and sluggish. Although the sound opening of horn speakers is large, the horn mouth, where the driver sits, can be very small. Thus, a very small driver can be used that can produce an enormous sound pressure. This results in a clear, distortion-free sound that offers a truly spine-tingling listening experience in its quality."
From Germany to the World
By now, the company is already on the market with its fourth generation of products and enjoys an excellent reputation. "In the segment we operate in, we are one of the benchmark setters," Ralf Steinhilber is sure. The speakers are exclusively manufactured at the company headquarters in Lautertal, where 30 permanent employees and several freelancers work for Avantgarde Acoustic. Their fans have the speakers not only in Germany but all over the world.
"These are people who love music," says Ralf Steinhilber. "Such acoustics must be experienced firsthand to know what it feels like to absorb music with all senses."