I am thinking of buying the Avalon Osiris.

I too picked up a pair of Ascents MkII speakers that have replaced a pair of Dunlavy SC4a speakers. I am driving them with a Pass Labs 350.5 and the combination has motivated many of my audio club friends to re-consider their opinions of the necessity for a tube power amp. I have an REL Stadium tucked in the corner of the room, but for most listening sessions it is not used. The Ascents have a wonderful midrange and with adequate amplification the bass is tight and detailed. I'm still playing with room placement, but the room is 15' X 32' and has a sloping ceiling that goes to 12'. I greatly enjoyed reading this discussion and I'd like to thank the participants.
Jeff

Well said and well done for those who have achieved the nivarna in the world of sound reproduction. All should learn the high spirit of SirSpeedy putting his heart and soul knowing what he wants in the first place, to derive every single bit from his speakers system. We should also learn not just the palette of sound or we call it the sound spectrum using the so called "Yin" and "Yang" and i hate to use such terms to describe what one sould hear as there is always another aspect, which to me, matter so much in the business of high end components -- the relative intensity level of energy within the spectrum of sound. It is the ability of the designer of the component to build this intensity level of energy to individual frequency within the sound spectrum that creates ultimately the "Yin" or "Yang" description that we like to use. So, this is the reason why I always believe there are a lot of real "good" sounding components out there and it is really the combinations of these components including room acoustic that give you the sound you would like to hear. Please not to get into habits in spending money unnecessarily. The reviewer is right to say that some of these yesteryear components are still that good to be around.

Well said and well done for those who have achieved the nivarna in the world of sound reproduction. All should learn the high spirit of SirSpeedy putting his heart and soul knowing what he wants in the first place, to derive every single bit from his speakers system. We should also learn not just the palette of sound or we call it the sound spectrum using the so called "Yin" and "Yang" and i hate to use such terms to describe what one sould hear as there is always another aspect, which to me, matter so much in the business of high end components -- the relative intensity level of energy within the spectrum of sound. It is the ability of the designer of the component to build this intensity level of energy to individual frequency within the sound spectrum that creates ultimately the "Yin" or "Yang" description that we like to use. So, this is the reason why I always believe there are a lot of real "good" sounding components out there and it is really the combinations of these components including room acoustic that give you the sound you would like to hear. Please not to get into habits in spending money unnecessarily. The reviewer is right to say that some of these yesteryear components are still that good to be around.

How well could a pair of Avalon Ascent MkII match with Audio Research VT100 MkIII.

The Ascents are a fairly easy load,to drive.Unless your room is huge,and you listen to loud rock,you should be fine.BTW--those are fine components,in and of themselves.

Best!