i've owned 3 pairs of avalons over the past 10 or 12 years: eclipses, ascents and eidolons. i've also listened extensively to the radian and several other avalon models. before purchasing my eidolons, i did several weeks of critical comparisons between that model and my prior ascents, played in my system (i have a very good dealer, who's also a good friend). the eidolons better the ascents in every way. they have considerably lower bass output, more life-like mids and smoother highs. the eidolons are also slightly easier to drive than the ascents, tho they love high power/high current amps. the radians don't come close to the eidolons. indeed, if i were considering a lower priced avalon model, i'd look to the opus. it shares some of the same variety of drivers as the eidolon and comes much closer to the sonic attributes of the latter model than do the radians. these are, of course, only my subjective opinions. YMMV. -kelly
