A. Eidolon v. JM Lab Utopia

Rushton, your description echo's my own impressions exactly. I have also taken some time to come to the the same conclusion regarding the bass. It is not typical to hear an accurate bass, and took me a while to adjust to hearing it properly presented again. I also have extensively heard the model just below the Eidelons' (forget their name), and had the exact same experience with the soundstage as you described. They are definitely doing something right at Avalon.

Heard both, on different occasions & about 2-3 yrs ago. So, pls, don't be mislead by what I (think) I remember.

Utopias I heard were driven by an Ongaku (no sound), Krell mono (Bmpnyc speaks for me), Spectral (superbe). Eidolons were driven by triodes (! no sound), Spectrals (prodiguous).

Comparing the two w/ "matching" amplification. The Utopias were very analytical, "aggressively" analytical. The tweater set-up super fast and razor sharp (enough to trim your hair). Eidolons less so. Eidolons clear imaging, clear and musical (I remember I wasn't "looking" to hear anything). Bass resolution: excellent, on both. Speed: Ferrari, both.

Τhe Eidolon has remained in memory as the more "musical" of the two, now that I'm attempting the comparison. So, better.
But then, maybe I was in a better mood during the Eid/Spectral audition?

Good luck, both are great -- and difficult to drive -- speakers~)!

Great comments, Gregm. And thanks for the follow-up Bmpnyc. I think the Avalon speakers next down in their lineup that you are thinking of are called "Opus." These got a very positive review by Robert Harley in TAS some months back. Anectdote: the first time my wife and I heard the Eidolons, we absolutely could not tell where the sould was coming from in the dealer's listening room. Some very nice music was playing when we walked in, but we could not tell that the speakers sitting in the middle of the floor were the source they so completely disappear. Had to actually walk up to them and get close to the drivers to be sure they were the ones playing. Yes, I agree - Avalon is definitely doing something right.

I'm not sure I can agree that the Eidolons are "difficult to drive." Avalon has had that problem with prior speaker models, but I think one will find that the Eidolons are a lot easier to drive than many assume. Of course, they will take about as much power as you wish to deliver to them, but their impedance curve is fairly benign (never below 3.5 ohms, nominal 4 ohm) and they will operate quite reasonably well on moderate sized amplifiers at lower volumes. When I first got mine, I drove them for a couple of months with a pair of vintage Marantz 9's at 70 watts per channel - could play a live volumes and the bass was soft, but the mid-range and highs were quite good.

Thanks for the comments. I assumet he Ediolons would work well in a large room with a 15 foot cathedral ceiling? No, JM Lab defenders out there?