Avalon Eidolon Diamond-Worth it?

Hi Nick,

I'm using BAT 150se mono-blocks and the BAT REX preamp. I prefer the virtues of good tubes over good solid-state. My front end is digital only at this time which consist of the EMM DAC-6se and the EMM CDSDse. Cabling both interconnects and speaker is Nordost Valhalla. Power cords for the most part are also Valhalla. Equipment rack is the Finite Elemente MR. and Zoethecus (for now) amp stands.

Hello Kurt,

The funny thing about going from the Eidolon to the Eidolon Diamond for me was what I heard at the very first was not the diamond tweeter but the bass. The tweeter is very unassuming and is in no way attention grabbing.

I can remember when I first hooked the Diamonds up in my room and started the long break in process, within the first few bars of the tune I had put on and at a background listening level the quality of the bass was instantly noticeably to me. It was just so much more informative. I was playing a recording with an acoustic upright and I could hear so much more clearly the player's touch, the attack of the fingers hitting the strings, the texture and tone of the bass, the size of the instrument. This extra resolution of detail in the lower registers also contributed greatly to revealing the sense of hearing the size and space of the recording venue.

Yes, the two extra Hz that the Diamond has over the standard Eidolon can be heard on certain recordings, mostly just in the way of weight. But it is the quality of bass with the Diamond that really counts. Going to the Diamond revealed that the standard Eidolon had a little extra energy and warmth in the mid bass that added a little punch. This coloration actually was obscuring information in the upper bass and lower mid-range.

It is my opinion that bass is the most inaccurate colored aspect of music reproducing playback systems. From my experiences the bass is always a crap-shoot. That is, you can take the same entire identical system, set it up in 10 different rooms, and you'll get 10 different takes on what that system's bass sounds like, and it is the bass that will sound the most different from room to room.

Sirspeedy and Shardone make valid points regarding sealed vs. ported designs. They have their pluses and minuses, and you have to decide which trade-offs you're willing to live with, because they exist even at these lofty prices.

For me the Eidolon Diamond in my room does a great job of giving a balanced picture of the musical event, more so then any other speaker I've heard. I feel extremely fortunate to own them and that I'm able to enjoy listening to my favorite music and musicians being reproduced by them.

Enjoy,
Tom

"Mo bass,mo problems"(btw,my friend had the very fine Eclipse)...Well,from my experience with the REL Stentor/Avalon Ascent MK-II......Your assumption has merit!!....The Ascent is a rediculously sensitive speaker(a good thing in the long run).I have had it sounding about twenty different ways!!Literally!!....

I'm willing to bet(a penny-:)that those who sold it,"never" heard what it could do!...Especially with today's better componentry!!

Each time I thought the speaker was doing something,it turned out that it was some other parameter.....This has happened,like a zillion times!

Finally,I must conclude that this design is absolutely an electron micrscope on "whatever" is before it.So,when the speaker was originally introduced,some felt(including me)that it lacked the lowest freq(even though it got rave press)......It DID,but as time has told me,ONLY a TINY amount of low freq is absent....Time and technology allowed for some interesting sub bass systems to be considered.

I felt the speaker was underperforming(even though it sounded great) because as the other components got "that" much better,surprisingly, the speaker knew it too!!...Always!!...Time and time again!...An amazing design(460 lbs with crossovers...whew!).Serious!!-:)

Ok,but since I wanted to take advantage of the amazing stage proportions this design had(it smoked my big Infinity's...both the RS-1,and the Infinity Beta.... four tower designs),I moved it 7.5 feet out into the room,and boy this speaker "liked" that!!But,you are going to lose a bit of impact,especially with a sealed design in this scenario.

I waited a long time to "do" a sub,not wanting to screw things up.Very easy with any sub,because "everyone" gets hooked on "lots of bass" at first!!But I got it to blend seamlessly,after lots of careful consideration,and am thrilled!!

So,to answer the Eclipse question,....you can get deeper bass,with more weight/impact...But basically it depends on how you have the Eclipse set up.What you want in bass.I like just a hint of added weight/depth.I only use about 1 click stop of volume,on my sub.That's only 10 % of the gain available,but since the basic Ascent has proven itself after almost "any" change in set up variables(it's that sensitive,even at incredibly low volume levels in resolution),I realize the sub question means getting the sub set in an almost "exact ideal" room position,or else doom!...Tread carefully,but it can be done!

Btw,sorry to go on so much,though we are all basically talking "Avalon" products.

I would LOVE to hear the "Diamond" someday,and think it most likely a magnificent product,especially when one sees so much very expensive foreign competition.Not likely to better the "Diamonds" by much.Just an opinion.

Best

I agree whole heartedly with what Trcnetmsncom has stated. The Diamond tweeter is indeed unassuming and yet it resolves high frequency information in a way that you will almost forget that you are listening to a transducer. When I initially purchased my Diamonds it was the absence of so much grunge, noise, and distortion from the tweeter that first made an impression on me.

When people say that an audio component draws you in they are indeed referring to the quality of sound like what you will hear from the Eidolon Diamond.

As well, agree with the statement that there is even more low frequency extension and tonal information from the Eidolon Diamond. I have bass player friends who have commented on the fact that if they need to truly hear what a recorded bassist is actually playing they'll need to hear it through these loudspeakers. The Eton woofer is exceptional at allowing you to hear tonal differences not just within simple notes but even manufacturers' of bass instruments.

The Diamond represents a very interesting combination of music playback that is presented in a somewhat laid back fashion while maintaining tremendous detail without spotlighting a specific portion of the frequency spectrum. In a properly set up system, your Diamonds will yield music in a way that you almost have to re-learn how to get used to listening as its presentation is so different than so many other Audiophile loudspeakers. Until the mighty Isis came along, the Eidolon Diamond was (and still is) a transducer that almost lets you forget that you are listening to a loudspeaker when the source material allows for it.

Now that the new Time has been released, you may be able to pick up an Eidolon Diamond for a good price as some will undoubtedly upgrade.

Happy listening.

The diamond tweeter is absolutely sublime. When properly implemented in a speaker design, and optimized with the proper components, there is no going back. Maybe a touch unassuming at first, it is natural without drawing undue attention to itself. This is a component to be enjoyed over the long haul.

Well, if the Time and, particularly, the Isis are anything to go by, the diamond tweeter is fantastic and the performance of the upper echelon Avalon speakers is beyond reproach.