Wadia,Pass,Avalon

Have been running Arcus for past year. My last set of speakers--stage from wall-to-wall, superior depth and height (tough to get with many speakers/systems), excellent bass, outstanding mids and highs, very smooth, dynamic and balanced; above all--musical. Probably the finest two-ways I have ever heard. However, these attributes don't show to their best unless you have adequate power. Avalon says 50 wpc is minimum; I'm running 125 pc. OTOH, I've heard the Arcus driven by an Accuphase A-50 (50 wpc class A) in a room approx 18x28x10 and the power was more than adequate at high spls. But you're also looking at a $14K amp with high current delivery. Balance of my system: c-j 14LS, Accuphase DP-55 CD player and T-109 tuner, Goertz Micro-Purl interconnects and SYMO (Swiss) speaker cable. Hope this gives some insight. IMHO, you could buy the Arcus with confidence and never look back. As to system compatibility with your gardware, you'd have to audition it all together. Good luck! gino

Baxman, I currently own the Pass 2 monos (love 'em) and will be taking delivery of the Wadia 860x tomorrow. I'm currently driving Martin Logan reQuests, but these will be relocated to my HT room soon, so I need to replace them, and will likely be going with Avalon Eidolons (or Kharma ce 1,0s... haven't decided yet). Anyway, when I get it all pulled together, I'll let you know. Balance of my system includes dCS Elgar DAC/Pre and dCS Purcell Upsampler... Nordost analog cables and my own digital interconnects. Regards, tsv

Tsv--Sounds like you have a terrific system. Not familiar with Kharma speakers, but am very familiar with Eidolons. Simply the best at their price point, IMHO. Close bud owns Audio Unlimited here in Denver and uses Eidolons, Arcuses and Opuses for most eqipment auditions. You can't possibly go wrong with any of them. Good luck and let us know what you decide on.

tsv I just bought Aleph 2s, and am awaiting the Wadia 831. Meanwhile will use Aleph P as my CD won't passively drive the Alephs. Did you go with the Nordost to enliven the top end of the Alephs? I liked the Eidolons, too, but needed smaller speakers, so got V.A. Parsifal Encores--fabulous!

Hi Gino and Subaru, Gino, check out the Khrama CE 1.0s at www.kharmausa.com... I auditioned these down at Goodwins High-End in Waltham Mass a couple of weeks ago and they knocked my socks off. They completely disappeared! I really like the Eidolons but they do seem to add their own flavor/color... it's a good flavor, but it's there nonetheless (to my ears anyway). The Kharma's completely and totally remove themselves from the music... it's downright weird (in the best possible way). I'm hoping to close a deal with a person over the next week or so at just over half of retail... fingers are crossed. Good luck to you as well! Subaru, you will be thrilled with the Aleph 2s. They are excellent. You will grow to love them more and more over time. The only reason I would ever consider selling mine would be if I ever needed more power... but given the 2s can pump over 200W of Class A cleanliness into a 4 Ohm load... and given the Kharma's that I have my eye on are rated at 90dB sensitivity, I suspect I'll be just fine for a good long time. Regarding the Nordost interconnects... I'm not yet entirely convinced that these are working in my system. The Alephs are so damned transparent that making cable comparisons is almost too easy. I need to insert a few more analog interconnectes in my system before I can really be sure I've got the best match. BTW, I've not heard them, but I have heard from friends that the Parsifal Encores are wonderful... enjoy! Regards, tsv_1