Avalon Eidolen VS Porac D80 or B&W 802D

Fjn04, IMHO you have a good point. The Rockports are amazing. I have the Aquilas but the Ankaas are fantastic speakers as well. I always try to repsond to the OP's question and try not to inject new suggestions unless it appears that the OP is open to same. That said, if the OP is still considering all options, I agree with you that the Rockports, IMHO, are an even better choice than the Eidolons, at least given my preferences and considering his gear. Not that the Eidolons aren't good but, like you, since I have had speakers with ceramic drivers, I prefer the drivers in the Rockport speakers as being more tonally accurate and musical.

Just my $.02

Uh, guys,

The Rockport speakers you are referring to are priced way out of the OP's $10K price range. New, the Aquilas are about $46K, and the Ankaas are about $28K. (And even used, I am pretty sure the Ankaas would never drop down to $10K - maybe $15K. And they are not quite full range either, but they are close.)

The only Rockport he could afford would be the Mira speakers, which run about $16K, so used they would be around $10K. And while they are fine speakers, they are more monitors than full range speakers. (The Mira Grand would fulfill his requirements, and they do sound fantastic, as they are nearly full range, but they run around $35K new.)

PS The Rockport Antares speakers are really amazing. (A friend has them.) They are a full range speaker, with incredible imaging and soundstaging, and they are the best tonally balanced speakers I have ever heard. But they ran, before they were discontinued, around $46K new.

AVALON very musical great highs warm midrange great imaging THE BEST!!

Kurt,

I didn't see any mention of the OP's budget or the $10k figure in the OP. However, I do agree that it's almost always best to stick to the question posed by the OP.

Fmpnd,

You are correct that he did not mention a $10K figure directly. However, a quick look at used prices for all three speakers shows that they are all around $10K.

One thing the OP should be aware of, (which none of us who did recommend the Avalon Eidolon mentioned, which we should have), is that the Eidolons are a discontinued speaker model, and will probably be well used, (i.e. they will be several years old, versus the other speakers mentioned that may only be a year or so old). (The Eidolon Vision replaced the standard Eidolon about three years ago I believe, although what the difference is I am not sure, as they look identical to me.) The Eidolons used prices used to be up around $12K a few years ago, and have drifted down to $10K due to age. It is something to consider.