Avalon Eidolon Diamond and Tenor Audio OTL

I heard a lot about CAT amps driving Avalon speakers although I have not used any for my Ediolon. Lack of authoritative bass- can it be your preamp matching with your amp? If not, you might want to look into speakers positioning. I noted very minute change even in a fraction of degree for toeing in or out would make a big different to the sound. I took couple of years to get the right position for Ediolon--painful! In only for tubes-my taste as well. Believe it or not, I tried many tube amps with Ediolon before and they includes Jadis JA-500,VTL Ichiban,VTL-750,Hurricane ASL,Audio Research VT-100MkII etc.. spent a lot of money. I finally settled down with technology which is more than 30years old--a pair of McIntosh 275 run in mono block (150W per channel). The mid is something I will die for. The bass -- deep and authoritative. These happen only after I used combination of 12AX7 and 12AT7 for the small tubes and KT-88 as output tubes. I paired these amps with CAT ultimate preamp. Ironically,these amps do not cost me a lot for such an expensive pair of speakers.

Excellent suggestions of the Lamm and Atma-Sphere. Enjoy!

Costanzia,

I have not heard the Tenor OTL with Eidolons, but I would be concerned about the impedance match (not power output) for controlling the bottom end. I use an Atma-Sphere MA-2 Mk.II.3 OTL with my Eidolons (regular, not Diamond), and they are a great match together with marvelously authoritative bass, and the Atma-Sphere's have the neutrality, transparency, speed and resolution to complement the Eidolons well while nicely complementing the Eidolon's wonderful musicality and delicacy through the midrange.
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Hello,
thank you for the answers.
The jl2 is working good (but not exceptional), but this amp dont' have the "autorithy" to drive this speaker... specially in the bass.
I heard the boulder 1060... and it is a completely other world. Since I am tube lover I am searching a better resolution and bass control; I never tried a OTL amp like the tenor, the fourier panther or Joule, and I am intrigued....

I am driving my Eidolon Diamonds with a pair of JL3s sigs and that would be the only way I would go if you had to upgrade,but the JL 2s are super amps.Look for weakness elsewhere in your system.

Costanzia,
I second the previous posters' questions about your CAT JL-2. Would you be willing to go into a bit more detail about what is wrong with it? Why do you feel you need something else? This might help other readers with their replacement recommendations.

I assume that the other respondents who have posed this question back at you are equally intrigued by your posting, since a CAT amp is usually regarded by audiophiles as an end-purchase.

The Viola Symphony amp is superb, and would have no trouble driving your Avalons. Of course, it is all a matter of taste in the end.

The Tenor 75s cannot handle the load and drive the speakers well. If you want more than the JL2 can deliver consider either JL3s or Atma-Sphere MA-2s.
Brian

While I think the Lamms are excellent amps (I own ML1.1s), the one you have is certainly no slouch and is quite highly regarded by many in these forums. What is it you don't like about it, and what are you really looking for?

If I may ask, what's wrong with the CAT? It should have enough grunt to drive those Eidolons pretty easily. The Tenor 75 is a nice piece, but with the Eidolons, I'd probably look at their 300-watt hybrids. The Lamm is a nice choice too.

Having owned the Tenors (great amps) I do not think they could deal well with the impedance of the Eidolon. More than anything OTLs will like a steady and ideally higer impedance.
I'm sure there will be better matches suggested.

How about a Lamm M2.2?

My friend uses the M2.2s with his regular Eidolon speakers, and it is a magic combination, IMHO.
It has a firm control of the bass, so that it is taut, quick and yet has finesse. The treble has decay the likes of which I have not heard before, and yet is not bright. The mid-range even has a touch of that tube magic, that his old VTL MB450s had.

(They are such great amps, that I am buying a pair of used Lamm M2.1s for my system. I could not afford the M2.2s, so I am making do with the previous version!)

I have not heard your Convergent amps, so I can make no comparisons, but, as you can tell, I enthusiastically recommend the Lamms!

Good Luck in your search!