hi,
i own a pair of arcus and have heard most of the other avalons, though not the new opus w/ceramic driver. i'm sure many "higher-end" avalon owners will take offense to this but i'm gonna say it anyways: given decent amplification, most avalons sound VERY similar to one another. this is not a bad thing because the avalon house sound is great. but, i doubt if the sonic differences among those 3 speakers you mentioned will justify even a fraction of their differences in cost. get the regular opus, spend the extra money on better components and be happy. jhmo. |
I agree with S2k but I differ on what I would do, since very few opus(i)?(what do you call more then one opus any way?) have been for sale, the new diamonds are out and I am sure a few Eidolon owners are going to dump there current Eidolon's in place of the diamonds, buy a used pair of Eidolon's. Well that's what I would do if I was in the market for new speakers.
Tim |
A familial quality among different speakers from a single manufacturer is not a unique trait. These three speakers share the same midrange and tweeter drivers, so one would expect a particularly strong resemblance among among them. I am interested in in comments elaborating on the relative merits among them outside of bass response. I don't think the same can be said of the other speakers in Avalon's current product line (i.e. Eclipse Classic, Arcus, Avatar) as these are 2-way designs with vastly different crossover topologies and drivers. |
Linkster: I heard the Eidolon & the Ceramique -- but on two different occasions, and only playing a Burmester test cd on both occasions...
With this limitation in mind, I respectfully submit that my Eidolon "musical experience" was superior to the one with Ceramique. The overall musical / tonal accuracy is what I'm getting at. I particularly found the E's upper register more extended, and the feeling of space more apparent. I can't single out bass performance per se: maybe the differences didn't strike me, or (probably) I missed them.
Let me add, in concluding this inconclusive diatribe, that the equipment on both occasions was mid-range Burmester & the cabling Nordost (valhalla), that I listen to classical & jazz (hence "listening" biases), and that I generally like & enjoy Avalon products anyway! Cheers. |
I think the thec plural of Opus is Opey. At least, that's what Aunt Bee told me, Tireguy. Happy Tunes! |
heads up: i have it on very good authority that s2k_dude has NEVER owned an avalon product. -cfb |
CFB -
If you are going to make statements like the above, please state exactly what evidence you have. How do you (or Avalon Acoustics) know what is in anyone else's house? This kind of charge is frankly disturbing to me as a site member.
|
cfb - you must have some SERIOUS issues to post a moronic flame like the one above. if i actually cared enough about you or what you think, i'd post the serial numbers of my arcus to prove that you're an idiot.
on second thought, F&*% it.
serial #7498-7499
please call the factory to confirm...then get yourself a life. |
Just an aside. Once Cornfedboy flamed me in a post - out of context, out of nowwhere, etc. - so I sent him an e-mail providing my home phone number and asked him to call me and tell me what he meant. He never did. Par for the course, I'd say. while I don't think its healthy to let discussions denigrate into pettiness, it is equally clear that blanket appeasement should not be an option with such "contributions." |
I still think there is a house sound to Avalon. Their 3D
imaging is absolutely stunning. The cabinetry and parts quality is first rate, some of the best. I find the drawbacks are the pricing though I think you can get them at some sort of discount now, the room placement is extremely
critical, they can made to sound like Cerwin Vegas if you
do not place them correctly, and to get the best out of them
you need superior electronics. Kelly flamed me once about
the Eidolons. The first time I heard them, they were awful
the Cerwin Vega effect. I said so in an audiogon thread. Kelly flamed me bad. I listened a second time at a different store, there they were set up properly. They were glorious in their holographic sound. I then praised them. Kelly and I now have a truce. Kelly will defend Avalon to the death, that is his audiogon right. DON'T BITCH, DEFEND YOURSELF,
that is YOUR RIGHT. |
Kelly has the right to defend Avalon. Kelly does NOT have the right to call others liars when they say they own the speakers but don't agree with his every opinion. I thought the idea of a moderated forum was to keep this kind of crap off the internet - why is Kelly allowed to continue? |
Hard for me to imagine any Avalon product described as sounding like Cerwin Vega. Imaging problems can be due to any number of factors. Any full range speaker (of which I certainly believe the Eidolon to be) will be more critical of room placement and associated equipment than those with limited bass extension. Also, the Eidolon requires significantly more break-in than the 300 hours discussed in the owner's manual. You can hear the difference between 1,000 and 500 hours easily. IMO this is the single largest reason for sub-optimal demonstrations of Avalon products (in particular the Eidolon and Opus). |
I'm so sick of cfb's infantile behaviour, particularly as of late. His childish, inane aspersions cast at anybody who doesn't agree with his opinion have grown tiresome, and should not be allowed. His hit and run tactics, manifest on more than one thread as of late speak volumes about character, or lack thereof. And what of Audiogon, why do they continue to not curb this type of behavior? He's accusing people of lying,however you look at it, and personally e-mailing individuals that denigrate other forum participants (yes, there are copies) And now I see that the thread he started on misc. re " should dealers be allowed to post", (not TOO obvious what the intent was) has mysteriously disappeared, conveniently after a rather pointed comment from S2K dude. What a coincidence! I truly enjoy these forums, and hope to continue to do so. I hope this kind of CRAP doesn't wear thin on Arnie to the point he nixes the forums, they are and have been of great value to me. Sorry, Arnie, by merely responding I'm a part of the crap, but I hope this get's printed, fully well knowing Kelly allegedly represents Audiogon. In summary: I DON'T NEED NO STINCKIN HOLIER THAN THOU HYPOCRITES TO CONDESCEND TO TELL ME WHAT'S GOOD FOR ME AND "PROTECT ME" FROM BEING TAKEN ADVANTAGE OF ON THIS SITE. Particularly when their hidden ( yea, right) agenda is merely to disparage anyone who doesn't agree with their myopic view of things. Not to mention that many are doing precisely that against which they so vehemently preach. Can you say hypocrisy? Mark |
i'm sorry. i was given bogus information, which i should have questioned. i was pissed at my hockey team. i had one too many makers marks. i was stupid. i deserve and accept all the negative comments i've received on this thread and others. so, i'm not gonna' be posting for awhile. mea culpa.
-Kelly |
I´m a distributor in Europe, I don´t distribute Avalon, I will like but they have a distributor in our country. Said this, I own the Avalon Eidolon, and I distribute two firms from USA first rate and quality.
The only others speakers on pair with Avalon can be: Kharma, perhaps the Exquisite is superior due to his 5" medium vs 3,5" of the Eidolon, Lumenwhite, but are expensives and the boxes are not first rate as Avalon, Venture, use the same drivers, and Pipedreams with another type of sound. |
