Avalon Isis

'hifi' is when the elements of the musical presentation are all there but the 'soul' or 'nuance' or 'sparkle' or 'whatever' is missing.

it is not the same as an 'edge'....but it can be related to the tonal character or lack thereof.

does what i am hearing transport me someplace?

does it pull me in?

i can enjoy a 'hifi' sound but over time it is less satisfying. this can be quite a personal issue.....one person's 'hifi' may be another's 'music'.

getting back to the Avalon/Boulder.....it reminds me of my Levinson/Wilson Watt Puppy days. great sound, i loved it.....but i moved on. i do think Avalon, Boulder, Wilson and Levinson can be 'musical' and not 'hifi'....but it takes great care to get there.

sorry, i did not want to hijack this thread.

No, No, that is ok. Personally I like the very edgy sound that my Avalon Radians with total Spectral front end can give when the music is recorded that way. I have yet to find something as totally involving with my chamber music as this setup. From Schubert to Brahms to Schnittke. It can be very refined with the Emerson's Schubert but with a tinge of hardness that the Emersons can add to the finesse of the music. The violin of Gidon Kremer is very strident and dissonant on CD with this setup in particular the Schnittke 2nd Violin Sonata, just like his live performance. I have an ARC setup but it was too syrupy and not very convincing. I can handle about two hours of live Kremer, before I need a break, about the same for my stereo setup with edgy music. What I find most interesting is how well the setup is for mono music. Albert Porter and I are the only ones on this site that like Hank Williams, Sr. All of his recordings are of course in mono since the recordings are from 1947-1952, just before the true stereo era started. Yet this system plays that mellow swing with convincing air that you can listen for hours and hours. BTW, I heard both the Wilson MAXX2 and Alexandra X-2, both were very very good with Spectral electronics at Overture, but I will stick with my setup.

I stopped in to listen to the Isis 3 times during the show. I think they're absolutely gorgeous, and I really wanted to like them. However, the sound with the Boulder equipment left me cold. I found myself analyzing the sound, not enjoying the music. I think they do have potential, but I'd really like to hear them with electronics I like, preferably Lamm hybrids.

BTW, the room was 29x55, according to one of the Avalon guys I talked to.

If I remember correctly, I believe the piece of product literature I looked at in the Isis demonstration room at RMAF specified efficiency as 87dB. The vocal I heard had excessive sibilance, but this may have been the recording. Would like to have heard them with big tube amps.