avalon ascent to avalon eidolon

Hello Jet, I owned the Radian HC and upgraded to the Eidolon almost a year ago. The Eidolon to my ears is by far the better speaker. Both bass extension and speed in the bottom octaves is quite improved over the Radian. As good as the Radian are at soundstaging the Eidolon takes this to another level. Images have an uncanny presence because of the correctness of timbre and texture of tone. This high resolution comes at the cost of needing to mate the Eidolon with quality components upstream though. It surley will let you know if something is colored in the system. If that's the case, you would get better overall results with the more forgiving Radian. I never heard the Opus myself, but from what I've read Cornfed is correct that it also would be a better choice for you. It's my opinion to go for quality over quantity for a power amp, especially with the Eidolon. Of course your personal taste in music, room size, and the volume levels you listen at come into play choosing an amp for the Eidolon. Good luck in whatever your choose and if decide on the Eidolon I hope their "magic" is as profound to you as it is for me. Best wishes, Tom

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

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

Hello Snook, The bass is improved big time with break-in. You would never think it was the same speaker. Shubertmaniac, you are very fortunate to have both high quality tube and s/s electronics for your system. I drive my Eidolons with BAT mono VK60's and a BAT50se preamp. My next major upgrade will be my amps. I hope to get a pair of BAT VK150se mono amps. I believe the BAT gear has something very special going for it. They seem to combine the best that s/s and tube gear has to offer. Regards, Tom