Tim,
I have similar objections to the posts on the Avalons, but it is nice for the finish and probably somehow contributes to some element of the sound (though the latter is a guess). I will definitely consider Avalon as my main option for my upcoming upgrade nonetheless.
After swappng cables, testing my old speakers, and so on, I got tired of the re-positioning thing too. Its easy to get it close with little tricks, but you inevitably spend days tweaking to get it just right. I finally gave up and decided to streamline the process. I purchased a corner brace (steel, about 18 inches long 90 degrees along its length with several holes). I applied felt along each surface and centered a plumb line. I then stretched 3 meters of line, looped the line around a clip (mountain climbing clip) and dropped a plumb from the other end of the string. So, now I can center the brace on the top of the speaker, hold the line straight to the tweeter, and mark where the plumb falls. The system has made it incredibly easy to change setup and get positioning correct to a very fine degree (measuring at 9 feet away allows aligning the speakers relative to center with great precision). Changing cables on the Avalons & repositioning (or merely adjusting my other speakers) now really does take about 15 minutes.
You're right that it is a pain to change cables on Avalons, but I always found repositioning to be a hassle before... and I still love the sound!
Good luck,
Jacob
I have similar objections to the posts on the Avalons, but it is nice for the finish and probably somehow contributes to some element of the sound (though the latter is a guess). I will definitely consider Avalon as my main option for my upcoming upgrade nonetheless.
After swappng cables, testing my old speakers, and so on, I got tired of the re-positioning thing too. Its easy to get it close with little tricks, but you inevitably spend days tweaking to get it just right. I finally gave up and decided to streamline the process. I purchased a corner brace (steel, about 18 inches long 90 degrees along its length with several holes). I applied felt along each surface and centered a plumb line. I then stretched 3 meters of line, looped the line around a clip (mountain climbing clip) and dropped a plumb from the other end of the string. So, now I can center the brace on the top of the speaker, hold the line straight to the tweeter, and mark where the plumb falls. The system has made it incredibly easy to change setup and get positioning correct to a very fine degree (measuring at 9 feet away allows aligning the speakers relative to center with great precision). Changing cables on the Avalons & repositioning (or merely adjusting my other speakers) now really does take about 15 minutes.
You're right that it is a pain to change cables on Avalons, but I always found repositioning to be a hassle before... and I still love the sound!
Good luck,
Jacob