Avalon Eidolen VS Porac D80 or B&W 802D

Based upon the three speakers on your list, I agree with Buff. (Note: I have not heard the Proac D80 though.)

The Avalon Eidolon is a really special speaker. It sounds great, and works well for any music, not just classical, (although, I will admit, that it does sound fantastic when listening to classical). It is very transparent, and tonally is very neutral. It is not quite full range, but pretty close, especially if driven with a fair amount of power (say 200+ wpc). (FYI, they are so transparent, that if your upstream electronics are not top notch, it will reveal that, and therefore may not sound as good as they can sound. This is not a criticism, just a statement; Most, (all?), highly refined speakers exhibit this characteristic.) Also, notice what Buff said about being properly placed. The Eidolons like lots of space around them, so be prepared to pull them well into the room, and kept well away from the side walls.

The B&W 802D is also a very good speaker, with a very highly refined treble response of course. However, it is even less full range as the Eidolon is, nor is it as transparent, at least IMHO. This is certainly a good (and close) second choice, if you can not find a pair of Eidolons at a good price.

My two cents worth.

Uh, guys,

The Rockport speakers you are referring to are priced way out of the OP's $10K price range. New, the Aquilas are about $46K, and the Ankaas are about $28K. (And even used, I am pretty sure the Ankaas would never drop down to $10K - maybe $15K. And they are not quite full range either, but they are close.)

The only Rockport he could afford would be the Mira speakers, which run about $16K, so used they would be around $10K. And while they are fine speakers, they are more monitors than full range speakers. (The Mira Grand would fulfill his requirements, and they do sound fantastic, as they are nearly full range, but they run around $35K new.)

PS The Rockport Antares speakers are really amazing. (A friend has them.) They are a full range speaker, with incredible imaging and soundstaging, and they are the best tonally balanced speakers I have ever heard. But they ran, before they were discontinued, around $46K new.

Fmpnd,

You are correct that he did not mention a $10K figure directly. However, a quick look at used prices for all three speakers shows that they are all around $10K.

One thing the OP should be aware of, (which none of us who did recommend the Avalon Eidolon mentioned, which we should have), is that the Eidolons are a discontinued speaker model, and will probably be well used, (i.e. they will be several years old, versus the other speakers mentioned that may only be a year or so old). (The Eidolon Vision replaced the standard Eidolon about three years ago I believe, although what the difference is I am not sure, as they look identical to me.) The Eidolons used prices used to be up around $12K a few years ago, and have drifted down to $10K due to age. It is something to consider.