Best amp for Avalon Eidolon speakers?


Just bought a pair of Avalon Eidolon speakers through Audiogon (they're glorious !) and am looking for an ideal amplifier match. I've heard Accuphase and Jeff Rowland Model 12s mentioned as good matches. At present I have a Theta Dreadnaught II 5-channel amp with a Lexicon 12B preamp, and Nordost SPM cables and interconnects. I listen mostly to classical, jazz, and vocals. Any suggestions?
lloydj
I too have heard the Avalons with Spectral and a Wadia source and was struck by the soundstage, transients and very natural decay - all in a super well treated room.
I have a budget(?) Avalon Radian setup that I just put
together with all Spectral electronics (all from Audiogon).
Yes the DMA-360 monos are glorious but they are around
$9000 used if you can find them. A nice alternative is the
DMA-200, which is a pure Class A amp which idles at 800 watts, the ONLY down side is the fan of the older units
run loud, so replacing it would be a good idea. It will definitely power the Eidolons. Preamp: the DMC-30, DMC-30S,
or the DMC-30SL are excellent, in particular, the DMC-30SL;
it throws the largest soundstage, highest resolution, and superlow level resolution of any preamp I have heard. The downside is you need an outstanding DAC/processor or else the DMC-30 series will show off the faults of it(very easily heard). A Wadia 850 is a very good choice for under $3000. Also, the upside of the DMA-200 is that you do not necessarily need MIT cables, the DMA-360s do. . BTW, room acoustics, and speaker placement make or break most Avalon speakers, not electronics. They will either sing like a bird or howl like a dog if the room and speaker placement are not optimized. Also, if you want tubes, Albert Porter's suggestions hit the target dead on. Good Luck
A follow-up on Shubertmaniac's preamp comment. It sounds from your post as though you are doing the mains of a 5 channel system. The DMC-30sl preamp has analog pass throughs and is built to be part of a home theater setup.
Congratulations by the way on your Eidolons.
Hi, If you decide to go with tubes I can highly recommend the BAT 150se monoblock amps and the BAT 51se pre-amp. Everyone who has come by to hear the system musicians and audiophiles alike are just astounded at the sound I'm getting. Good luck, Tom
I owned Eidolons (sold them to move to the Diamonds- BTW, if you like the Eidolon's, listen to the Diamonds but that is a different subject). I started with a Rowland Model 10 and went to an Accuphase A-50V which was astonishing how much better it sounded than the Rowland. I still run the Accuphase with the Diamonds, althgough subjectively the Diamonds seems to present an easier load than the Eidolons. Within its power envelope I have also heard that the Model 10 outperforms the Model 12. Looks like Jeff is embarking on another power supply design with his new Model 300 series.