Avalon Ascendant or Vandersteen Quatros?

I heard both with Ayre, AR, Jadis, Cary gear. Ascendants never inpressed me, with any electronic. Vandersteen played pretty good with Ayre. But they are difficult in setup, without experienced and measurement electronics you are not able to maximise their performance.

Thanks for the repsonse, I'll definitely have a hear both to make a decision.

Wig,

Good luck on your search. I have Avalon Ascendants and really enjoy them. I am using Herron electronics with them and to me they are very musical. The thing that impresses me about them is that the are "boring" but in a good way. After you really settle down and listen, you realize how natural and balanced they are and they produce some pretty good bass so I don't miss my sub that I used on my Utopia monitor set up.

How would you describe the sound of the two and which one would you say provide the best imaging and soundstage?

Wig

Wig,

I was using the Mini Utopia with a Rel Stadium III sub. The Avalons are more open sounding with better depth in the soundstage. The Utopia's can sound a little etched on the top end. My wife who is not an "audiophile" also commented that the Avalons sounded more "live".