Hi Dwaldruff, This past year I went through your exact situation. I owned the Radian HC's and wanted to upgrade the amps or speakers. Back when I had the HC's I auditioned many top amps both tube and solid-state including the ARCVT200. The best amp to my ears by far was the BAT mono VK60's. The ARC could play louder on dynamic peaks and was slightly tighter in the bottom octave. In every other area the Bat was the more transparent device. The ARC sounded ragged in the midrange compared to the Bat. Not in a distorted sence, but it had a grit sand like coloration next to the Bat. The Bats timbre and texture of tone gave images the magic that the ARC couldn't touch. The soundstage was also wider and deeper with the BAT. I was going to buy two more VK60's this past year and run 4 of them with the Radians, but instead I bought the Eidolons. IHMO I consider the Eidolon to be a big step up from the Radian and even though I'm going to have to eat pasta for the next year I'm soooo glad I bought them. They are both 4ohm speakers and both drop to 3.6 ohms in the bass but the Eidolon is definitely easier on the amp driving them. The only problem for you is that if you decide on the Eidolons they WILL reveal more of the character of the Spectral gear as they are more truthful to what is upstream in the system. J_k is right, with the right recording the Eidolons blow me away every time!!! Best of luck, Tom
Amps for Avalon Radian HCs
I currently own the Avalon, Spectral with DMA 150 amp, MIT EVO Shotgun interconnects and cables and am looking for an amp that will be warmer, more dynamic, more layered and with better depth. I am considering the Joule Electra Grand Marquis IV, ARC 200, REF 300, Jadis 800 or any other amps that give me just a little more magic. I've also considered keeping my electronics and buying Eidolons. One person has mentioned the Specraweld 100w OTLs from France but I have never heard of this company. I'd love to hear from folks about what you've heard that has blown you away. Thanks.