Avalon Eidolon Diamond or Aerial 20T v2.

I own 20t's now and Eidolons before them. They are very very different speakers. Which you would prefer will come down to personal preference by ear, and associated electronics. I don't disagree with your limited descriptions but neither really describes them fully. My 20ts are very particular when it comes to electronics. I have not heard V2 yet but people I know who have have mentioned they feel they are one of the top couple of speakers in the world under $50k.

What is the rest of your set up?

Well that's good. I think your amps will work fine. I was afraid you were going to say you had some 100 wpc tube amps or something and then there was no point to considering the 20t's.

Here are my comments to your remarks:

"I have a good lead on a fairly new used pair in black." V2 has only been out for about a year or so, so they'll all be fairly new.

Aerial 20T v2 Cons =

"I'm a little worried about the ribbon tweeter." The ribbon tweeter is the best sounding tweeter I have ever heard. On horns and percussion it will give you goose bumps because of how real it sounds. It is directional so if you were standing in the corner you would miss the best of what it does. If you listen while seated it's fine.

"Are they as holographic as the Avalons?" No. But then almost no speaker is. That is what Avalons are all about. Even the inexpensive models do it. But they are very fussy about room placement. They need at least 5 feet from rear of speaker to wall, and that's minimum. Anything less and they are just a decent speaker without the holographic imaging. The 20t's are ported on the bottom and very tolerant to being close to the wall. For me this was the single most influential factor in moving from Eidolons to 20ts.

"Will they give me the bass that I want in my room?" Yes. The 20t's have incredible low bass slam, if properly driven. Subs on 2 channel audio are overkill w/ 20t's. Also the 20t's are more dynamic from top to bottom. If you plan to use them in your home theater set up that may be important to you. If I were creating a home theater and choosing between Avalons and Aerials I don't think I'd have a hard time figuring out which would perform better.

"Ship in cardboard boxes that are lined with wood inside. Should be in
crates at this price level." Because oif their size and weight they ship on a pallet and the packaging for mine seemed very solid and secure. Not sure I'd make that part of the decision process.

Avalon Diamond Pros =

"Everyone I talk to in person says they are the most holographic. Sounds like the people are in the room with you." That is very true if you have the room for them.

"I have to say just a great looking speaker with excellent build quality and fit and finish." They are beautiful. Not as stable as Aerials if you have small kids around.

"Seem to hold there value better (Although everything is tougher to sell in this economy)" The last pair I saw for sale (about 4 months ago) went for 16,500-ish from a dealer w/ warranty. There really haven't been many 20t v2 on the market yet. Too new.

Avalon Diamond Cons =

"Harder to find them used and price. This is bad for buying but better if you need to sell them." There are two for sale right now. They list for $38k so expect to pay more for them than the 20t V2 which list for $32k.

"Will these give me the kind of bass I want without running subs." For music yes unless you are crazy about bass. For home theater- I seriously doubt it.

I don't have a stake in either so I'm not trying to sway you one way of the other. I'm just trying to help. They both do different things well. I suspect in your set up and for your use the Aerials might be the better fit. If you scrap the theater and you have the room you might prefer the Avalons. I could happily live with either (except for my room limitations) so I don't think you can go wrong.

I'm selling my 20t's because I want to try some tubed amplifiers and the 20t's are not a match. Once they sell I'll also have the perfect matching amp available.

Mtdking (above) knows what he's talking about so take those comments to heart.

I disagree with him (partially) on two counts. The reviews I have heard about say that V-2 is quite different than what Mark has heard, and I know he not heard them in person. In addition to being named by Absolute Sound as best in show at CES 2009 w/ Boulder gear at a price point that is about 1/2-1/3 below the other winners (magico, Vandersteen, etc.), everyone I have spoken to who has heard them says they are just a totally different speaker and perhaps one of the very best in the world at any price.

I also think your amps are up to the task although I promise there are many that will do a better job. I use a 4 channel Rowland and I bi-amp them and they sound incredible. I used to use Ayre monoblocks which are no slouch at 350 wpc but the Rowlands do a remarkably better job.

It sounds like you can give the Avalons the rear space so that's good.

Again for home theater applications I think the 20t's will do a better job.

Mtdking-

I agree with you that but the Ayre MXRs were not bad on the 20t's. I had an Ayre V-1xe (200 WPC) before that and it was good too. You know I think it's that 0 feedback thing Ayre does, the power rates high but it's not as robust as some. That's probably a good trade off in some set ups. I'm guessing the Bats may have more drive at a lower WPC so its probably adequate. However you're right in that he won't know what the speaker is truly capable of w/o more umph. But if he opts for the speakers first then he can play with amps later.

The amps will be fine. Skip the visions. The Indras are much better at that price point.

I disagree with part of that. The Isis are insanely good and insanely expensive. The Indras are just a mini version of Isis. Maybe they didn't have them set up correctly. Sure they pale to the diamonds but at 1/2 of the price they should.

As Mark points out how many set ups at CES included Indras? A lot. They can't all be wrong. They are tweaky. If I am not mistaken the Diamonds are being discontinued and there is a new model coming between Indra and Isis.

I know what you are saying. I had Eidolons (not diamond). I looked at Indra and preferred it over my Eidolons because the crossover (see holographic thing) was just way better. That is what Avalon is doing better than most and also why the set up is so critical. Remember I said above if you don't have the room for Avalons they become common. That's why you didn't like Indra. They weren't set up correctly. The dealer is probably trying to get the diamonds moved, plus they are 2x the price. With the new model dealers are moving the diamonds which is why there have been so many for sale lately. Then I heard Isis and it was everything all in one. But I don't find that price tag too appealing.

The 20ts do a lot of things I liked about Isis. The bass slam is there. The resolution is there. The imaging is there. If you can spread them out (they like that) the soundstage is good. And for a lot less $. Of course remember that's V1. V2 is supposed to be an entirely different animal, and much better! I should probably make that upgrade to mine and quit!

Bar81 who are you talking to?