Avalon Acoustics' Eidolon Diamond

A little of topic, but personally I can't see any reason for a $2,800 synthetic diamond tweeter. I'm not opposed to it on grounds of price alone or anything like that. And I'm sure its a nice unit like there C-12 and C-22 units. But for $2,800 it would seem a plasma tweeter for $500 in parts would outperform it across the board. Now maybe the plasma is a little harder to integrate into the rest of the system, but still... It just seems expensive overengineering and I could never justify the purchase of that driver or any system using it.

I think "expensive overengineering" is Avalon's tagline.

As a dealer, we probably have more experience with the Eidolon than anyone else. Whether or not this speaker would be correct for you depends on a number of factors. What equipment will it be used with, how will it be used,and most important, what are you looking for? If you would like to have more information please feel free to contact me. The Eidolon has unique performance capabilities when properly configured, but as with any speaker, it's not for everyone. As with any edge of the art product results will depend on a number of factors. Terry Menacker. 1.800.838.1812.

Insofar as this discussion seems to focus on the engineering aspect of the Eidolon Diamond, you should at least be aware of the facts. In addition to the diamond tweeter, there are a new woofer (with the same cone diameter), new internal wiring and crossover. The cabinet and midrange driver are the same but everything else is different. With all these changes, it stands to reason that there should be a significant difference in performance. It is also my opinion that the higher end Avalon products (which is what I am most familiar with) do offer reasonable performance for the money. Examine the cost of the components, particularly drivers, and you'll see what I mean.

Further to Linkster's post, also examine the cost of those enclosures--a lot of time and $$ for them in particular, and a significant reason Avalon speakers sound as good as they do.

I agree that the cabinetry and finish on all Avalon products are second to none, particularly when it comes to the premium finishes. BTW, the premium finish upgrade price on the Eidolon Diamond is only $2,000 which is a much smaller price differential than the (standard) Eidolon or Opus.