Avalon Eidolen VS Porac D80 or B&W 802D

Hi,

I have owned the Eidolon and heard the BW several times. To me there is no comparison. The Avalon has a capacity to render detail and nuance that the BW lacks. And the soundstage is incredible. However they do not have a very strong bass.
Be careful with amplification. The Krell should work well but I never heard them with a big valve amp, like the Premier 140.
I do not know the Proac.

Good luck

Not a fan of B&W, even their D series.

But I am also not a fan of ceramic driver speakers like Eidolon unless your room is not superly huge and require monster solid state to drive them. If I were to pick Eidolon, I will mate them with tube amp and in a medium size room. In a large room with solid state, Eidolon sounds very hi-fi to my ears.

I have no experience with the Avalon Eidolon, I like a lot the Avalon Eidolon Diamonds, but mainly for classic music.
Since you listen mostly to jazz, blues and some rock and roll I would advise you to consider seriously the Proac D80 - I have owned Proac 5's and they were really good with this type of music and should sound very good with either of your amps - I preferred the sound of the Proacs with tubes, but I have read that a well know studio in Portugal has Proac with Krells.

Not sure if the Rockport Ankaa falls in the Eidolon price range. If it does, that is another to consider. I also have not been a fan of the specific ceramic driver speakers which I have heard. Avalon was not one of them. I had the Eclipse with a C-J Premier 8A,and thought it was very good. I had the C-J converted to Triode at that time, and it was lacking in power for the Eclipse. I sent it right back to C-J to go back to the pentode 250wpc. The Eclipse certainly liked power. FWIW, I moved from the Avalon's to Verity Parsifal Encores, and did not look back. I would like to hear one of the Proac's also.

Fjn04, IMHO you have a good point. The Rockports are amazing. I have the Aquilas but the Ankaas are fantastic speakers as well. I always try to repsond to the OP's question and try not to inject new suggestions unless it appears that the OP is open to same. That said, if the OP is still considering all options, I agree with you that the Rockports, IMHO, are an even better choice than the Eidolons, at least given my preferences and considering his gear. Not that the Eidolons aren't good but, like you, since I have had speakers with ceramic drivers, I prefer the drivers in the Rockport speakers as being more tonally accurate and musical.

Just my $.02