For what it's worth, I support Goatwuss's original point of view. While my stripes are solidly in the full range camp, I'd find it rather superfluous to own a set of high caliber speakers only to use them in an application that limits their overall potential.
That said, if you're steadfast on owning either of the two speakers, my vote would go for the Wilson's. Why? Because they will give you greater articulation and dynamic expression at low volumes, which seem to be your foremost priorities. Even though Wilson's tend to get a bad rap at Audiogon, their performance can be outright exceptional. The only problem is that they are incredibly fussy about room placement, and you need to be very mindful about the electronics you match up with them. My word of advice would be this; if you go with a set of Wilson's, feed them tubes. A solid well-rounded tube integrated will do. Also, be prepared to spend a lot of time getting them positioned 'just right'.
As for Avalon's, I like them in the sense that they are warmer and easier to work with. It requires much less effort to get excellent performance out of a pair of Ceramique's than it does a set of Watt Puppy 7's. Some feel that this alone is an excellent mark of a transducer. I just feel that its merely a difference in the manufacturers credo. The good news is that they are quite musical and can match a wide variety of electronics. On the 'affordable' side, I'd suggest a Leben integrated. On the not so affordable side, I'd look into a warmer sounding solid state integrated, such as the model from Karan Acoustic.
Either way you go, you're getting a kick ass set of speakers. Good luck.
That said, if you're steadfast on owning either of the two speakers, my vote would go for the Wilson's. Why? Because they will give you greater articulation and dynamic expression at low volumes, which seem to be your foremost priorities. Even though Wilson's tend to get a bad rap at Audiogon, their performance can be outright exceptional. The only problem is that they are incredibly fussy about room placement, and you need to be very mindful about the electronics you match up with them. My word of advice would be this; if you go with a set of Wilson's, feed them tubes. A solid well-rounded tube integrated will do. Also, be prepared to spend a lot of time getting them positioned 'just right'.
As for Avalon's, I like them in the sense that they are warmer and easier to work with. It requires much less effort to get excellent performance out of a pair of Ceramique's than it does a set of Watt Puppy 7's. Some feel that this alone is an excellent mark of a transducer. I just feel that its merely a difference in the manufacturers credo. The good news is that they are quite musical and can match a wide variety of electronics. On the 'affordable' side, I'd suggest a Leben integrated. On the not so affordable side, I'd look into a warmer sounding solid state integrated, such as the model from Karan Acoustic.
Either way you go, you're getting a kick ass set of speakers. Good luck.