Sidekick, I think your thread was a bit early as the Compas was only debuted at the Hong Kong AV show in August last year. I got some feedback that the standard Compas (with ceramic tweeter) is competitive with the Eidolon Diamond which is impressive, and naturally the Compas Diamond would be better again.
Avalon are using the latest generation of Accuton black coated ceramic (BCC) drivers including BBC ceramic/honeycomb long throw bass drivers & as far as I can tell the very latest OEM Accuton CELL concept BBC concave ceramic midrange & ceramic or (optional) diamond concave tweeter. I am trying to confirm this with Avalon.
The CELL midrange & diamond tweeter have the advantage of the same acoustic center for the tweeter and midrange for time coherency, perfect signal settle and piston behavior of the dome even close to the dome resonance, steady decay of higher order harmonics & high bandwidth. All this adds up to a more seamless integration of the midrange & tweeter and better overall time coherency. Of course, these speakers are perfectly phase coherent as well & I would expect they have even better time coherency than the Eidolon Diamonds.
I will post back when I get a response from Avalon re: the Accuton CELL drivers. |
Hi Sidekick, I was able to confirm the Compas is using the very latest Accuton OEM CELL concept drivers, including either a BCC or optional Diamond 1" tweeter & 4.5" BCC ceramic midrange. And over and above the OEM specification, Avalon further apply proprietory modifications to push their pedigree a bit further. I know Vandersteen gets all the kudos for developing time-aligned drivers, but these drivers are the real deal as well.
I like the direction Avalon have taken with this speaker. The latest OEM Accuton drivers allow greater power handling, accuracy & time alignment. The choice of twin 9" bass drivers means the Compas will have significantly faster bass and better dynamics than the Eidolon, and the new, narrower cabinet features additional faceting around the tweeter to eliminate phase distortions and improve disperion. The narrower cabinet (compared to Eidolon) also helps the speakers disappear in the room.
Another interesting fact is the Compas also has some elements which have directly filtered down from the $300k Tesseract, including the midrange & diamond tweeter. Tesseract also uses an 11" BCC mid-bass version of the 9" ceramic bass unit in the Compas. The Compas incoporates Avalon's latest thinking and the latest drivers & looks set to position itself between the Transcendent and Time. Personally I see the Compas Diamond as like the Infinity IRS-Beta was in it's time; way better than it has a right to be for the money. |
Tidal Contriva Diacera for 25% off. What's not to like? |
03-30-13: Wattsperchannel
Tidal Contriva Diacera for 25% off. What's not to like? And you would be a Dealer? The Compas Diamond is using newer generation CELL concept drivers which offer superior sound and coherency. |
Ok...I stand corected, but the point is the same.
A newer, better version of the Accutron drivers in the Tidal for 25% less than the Tidals. What's not to like? (No not a dealer, just very interested in the Compas.)
Can't wait to get a chance to hear them. |
Melbguy, do you know if the Eidelon Diamonds can utilize these new drivers? I must assume they are pricey, but owning the diamond tweeter, and much enjoying what the Tidal's have accomplished has piqued my desire to take the Diamond's further. |
@Wattsperchannel, sorry I misread your post and thought you were advertising a sale on the Tidals! I agree the Compas offers great value compared to the Contriva Diacera & Avalon are using newer drivers. |
Siddh, the first thing to mention is that Avalon don't do 'one off' or special orders on their speakers, so you wouldn't be able to order the ED with the CELL concept midrange & tweeter. And I wouldn't recommend modifying a pair of ED's. For one thing, you wouldn't get your money back & the Compas' drivers are a different shape/size, so they won't drop into the ED.
Fwiw, I strongly considered the Eidolon Diamond myself & discussed options with Lucien at Avalon. His recommendation was the Compas Diamond which is a more dynamic and overall superior speaker than the ED & employs Avalon's latest thinking. |
The drivers configuration in Compas looks similar to that of
Contriva ~ albeit Avalon seems to be using the smaller
Diamond tweeters (25mm instead of 30mm). Also 4,5" BCC mids
instead of 7"s.
Been enjoying my BCC Contriva for over two years now.. And
to my knowledge, Tidal have since the beginning of last year
incorporated these 'new' BCC drivers into the rest of their
line.
Interesting.. But of course, ultimately is how the sound,
and I believe Avalon is one class act too. IME, properly
implemented, these new black ceramics are a delight,
imparting none the negativity ceramics are notorious for in
the past. |
As one who has owned both Avalon (Eclipse, Eidolon, Eidolon Diamond) and Tidal (Piano Cera, Piano Diacera now), know that the Contriva has real magic. That being said, I too have great respect and admiration for Avalon designs. |
Well said Bvd and Link. Exactly why I am so excited about getting a chance to hear the Compass which may capture some of the phenomenal atributes (magic) of the Contriva, for a price within my budget.
Has anyone heard of a price on the diamond version of the Compas. I hear $35,000 for the neodymium, butI can't find a diamond figure. |
@Wpc, I noticed one blog posted a msrp on the Compas Diamond of $50k, however based on my discussions with Avalon I believe that is not correct. The msrp for Compas Diamond should be around $41k. |
Melb,
Thanks. I had read a forum refernce to the $50K and thought it was out of line. I wasn't able to find a credible reference until yours. Thx. |
04-12-13: Wattsperchannel
Melb,
Thanks. I had read a forum refernce to the $50K and thought it was out of line. I wasn't able to find a credible reference until yours. Thx. Yes I was told by Avalon that the Compás Diamond edition will be a "bit more money than the Eidolon Diamond", so I think that is pretty close to the mark atleast as far as US pricing goes. |
Has onyone heard these yet? |
@WPC, Avalon told me Hifi News are receiving a pair of the Compas ceramic version this week and will be reviewing them in the coming weeks. Apparently Compas did not appear at the New York show as the NY Dealer had not yet received a pair. I guess they're busy filling customer orders first. |
Has anyone heard these yet or is anyone aware of any reviews I may have misses??? |
@Wpc, I spoke to Lucien at Avalon around 22 April & he advised me Hifi News will be reviewing the Compás Ceramic version in the coming weeks. They were due to receive the speakers by the end of April. Stereo Sound Magazine did a review of the Compas in February in Japanese, however the review has not yet been translated. Hope that helps. |
Any impressions from RMAF of the Compas? |
Checking to see if anyone has heard the Compas yet?? |
