avalon ascent to avalon eidolon

I went to one dealer and compared the Maggie 3.6s and the
Avalon Eidolons. I could not understand the furor over the
Eidolons. They were good but not 25,000 dollars worth. I called them salon fluff in another thread. Confedboy was
not happy with my assessment but that is what I heard.
I respect Confedboy's opinion even though he was pretty
hard on me for my statements. So I gave the Eidolons a
second chance at another dealer in New England. This time
they were set up properly. They sounded much much better.
The soundstaging/imaging were almost perfect. They presented
a three dimensional picture of the musical event that I have
not heard before. They bested the Maggies in every facet
except what I call transparency, but it was very close.( I
think transparency is related to stored energy). There
are a few buts...1. The room acoustics have to be near perfect to get the best possible results 2. The electronics
must be the best possible(ie Spectral or ARC), no inferior
stuff here or I believe it will kill the system. So if
someone goes the Eidolon route they must be prepared to lay out close to 100k dollars to bring out the best this system
is capable of producing. If this is the system of your dreams go for it!!!!

shubertmaniac: i appreciate your thoughtful post. while i agree that eidolons need high quality electronics, cable and ic's to bring out their best, i think your $100k assessment for a system that includes them is a bit high. even if you bought everything new and paid full-bore, you could get by nicely for under $60k (cd only). (BTW, if anyone is inclined to do as i posit, please send me a private email--i've gotta a lot of stuff i'll sell ya.) one last thing, the MSRP on the "standard finish" eidolon is $21,520; it's the premium finish that goes for $25,090. --kelly

Hi Shubertmaniac, I would like to make some comments about your post. To my ear the Eidolon is remarkably transparent. Before owning both the Radian HC and Eidolons, I had ML CLS2z and the Quad USA 63. Some would argue that within its range the CLS is the most trasparent speaker ever. The Eidolon IMO is every bit as transparent except for in the mid-bass. As with most things in life there are tradeoffs, and decisions to be made. Dynamic woofers give you the extension, weight, punch and authority in the bottom octaves, while panel speakers do have the speed. I guess everyone has to decide for themseleves what gives them the illusion of reality best. I think what you might be confusing for transparency, is that panel speakers breathe. The fact that you mention the magical soundstage you heard when you listened to the Eidolon can attest to its remarable resolution and trasparency. The better component will always give you greater insight into the recording venue along with more palpable images within the soundstage. While the Eidolon is expensive for most of us, compared to some other speakers that I've heard that were much more expensive, I think they are a bargin. As always no two people hear it the same and we all have to decide what sonic virtues are most important to us. Thanks, Tom

I never considered transparency and soundstaging to be the
same. I never considered high resolution either to be confused with transparency. It is like being in a concert hall and the first notes float from the stage to your ears.
You are so taken aback by the sound by the way it wavers
and conjures its magic. Sorry but planars/electrostatics
do that same conjuring magic that most dynamic speakers cannot but the Eidolons have come the closest. Again I am not saying electrostatic/planars are better(not by a long shot) but they have that something magical I crave(even addicted to). I am a musicophile(?) before I am an audiophile. Having said all that, personally if I had to, I will listen to Schubert (merrily I might add) on CerwinVegas before I give up music. As I stated in my previous post the Avalon Eidolons are fantastic speakers! Enjoy them to their fullest! One small question, both places I auditioned them, used Spectral(which I own and respect) but do they get the best out of the Eidolons???

Hello Shubertmaniac, I think we are both trying to describe the same qualities that planers/stats possess but using different words to describe them. I do feel however that soundstage-transparency, high resolution all are interelated. I'm not very technically inclined but I think the word that best desribes the quality we both hear in panel type speakers is "breathe", panel speakers breathe in a way that real sounds do in real life. I'm glad you can enjoy the music that you love on any system, as do I. BTW, I prefer the virtues of good tubes over the virtues of solid/state. To my ear, great tube gear seems to have the magic for me that I have yet to hear from solid/state. All the best, Tom