Avalon Acoustics vs Wilson Audio

802d is a really fast speaker.

Ive heard tons of remarks about the 802D but never ever that it was fast.If anything one of the major slaps about that speaker is its way too slow and bloated in the bass,extremely "lush" with that famous Brit sound BTW I hate...and to say Avalon is "to warm or too lush" is just silly at best.Your talkin to the wrong people my friend.IMO listen again to those 802s before ya buy!

I haven't heard Wilson and Avalon extensively but one perspective I've noticed hasn't come up a great deal is Musical taste in the thread. I've heard Sashas , Maxx3 and various Avalon's except Eidolon's. At the money you're talking I think their is a clear difference between the two ranges and they suite different tastes. Like others have mentioned tonally the Avalons are exceptional but they lack the heft of the Wilsons. If you're a rocker I'd expect you'd have a preference for the Wilsons if its classical/acoustic then perhaps the Avalons. The Sashas get much closer to the Avalons than WP8s in terms of top to bottom coherence if not quite there but then they both shift more air than an Indra and you really notice that listening to rock/pop etc material.

Missioncoonery I perceive the Avalon's sounding as they do from what I was reading on this thread so far. I haven't heard the Avalon's yet, but I will soon. Fyi, for you to discriminate "British hifi" is clearly a fan-boy comment. And yes the new 802d is a fast speaker, and I like how it sounds. Just because you don't doesn't mean you need to criticize. There's a lot of hifi gear I can't stand that other people talk about here on the forums (not this thread in particular), but surely others.

Defride, I know both systems are completely different. One is 2ch, the other is HT. Budget is different because I would have to get a bunch of new gear for a 2ch setup which explains the price gap. The HT setup I would only be upgrading a few things. Plus it would be focused as an all arounder type system so yeah its not gonna be perfect. I would call it the jack of all trades but master at none. It would still be a really great sound system though.

Kaxmann,

The following comments are not a personal attack

There is nothing fast about the 802D... There is substantial overhang in the bass. It could be delayed port noise but they are slow. Look at the measurements in the link I provided below. You can see that the port is still making low level noise up to 400hz. Because of this they will also need a lot more distance from rear and side walls to sound balanced (downward port too).
If you think the 802Ds are fast you have simply not heard enough. If you want a fast speaker think Wilson, Magico, or Thiel. As a side not if you want a cheaper speaker with similar sound as Avalon demo the Thiel 3.7s also.

http://stereophile.com/content/bw-802d-loudspeaker-measurements

Mids:

The Sophia 3 has higher resolution and transparency in the midrange than the 802D. Only at ear bleeding levels do you get the same level of detail out of the 802D's midrange. The Thiel 3.7 is even more detailed in the midrange than the Sophia 3. None of these speaker's mids are bright.

Bass:
Sophia is the clear winner. It has texture and slam the 802D can't touch and is much faster. The 802D has very good bass power but to a fault. It is slow and booming is anything but giant rooms(15X30+). The Thiel 3.7 is very fast and VERY textured in the bass. It has more detail than the Sophia at it lowest not around 30hz but come up short in shear power. The bass from the 3.7 will be very good in an average room(12X15ish).

Highs:
802Ds highs are great. They are well dispersed and have what I call a rockers high that fill the room much like a real cymbal. They are detailed and never get out of control. One of my favorite sounding tweeters but they do need to be played loud to shine. The Sophia 3's tweeter is not quite as detailed but is also well dispersed. It has a natural sound to it but does not reach for the stars like some better tweeters on the market. Not bad not great IMO. As for the Thiel 3.7 tweeter, I am really not sure. I have demoed them many time and for the life of me I can't recall how they sound. The mids and tweeter are so integrated I can tell where one stops and the other starts.

Over all sound:
The 802D are colored but can be fun to listen to. Because of the coloration I do not think they are worth their asking price. The Sophia 3 is a good balance between resolution and musicality. They have real bass and are also fun. The Theil 37s is a class act and a truth teller... make sure you can handle the truth (most can't). They will be as fun or as cold as your source music/equipment is.

As alway use your own ears.

PS. all my comments are on the 802D and not the new 802Diamond.

James63, I appreciate your comments greatly. You were very professional about it. I trust your judgment on the 802d's, but the new ones were improved significantly from what I've heard. I did hear the last gen 802d's, but it was a while ago and I don't remember much from the experience. I have heard the thiel 3.7 in a side by side comparison next to the newest 803d using the same electronics, and I actually liked the 803d better. The biggest selling point for me with the bowers is the diamond tweeters. There's nothing that sounds quite as good as the diamond IMO. The sound is so pure. The Thiel is good, but it doesn't do anything for me. Neither do Magico's especially when you consider the cost for them.

I want the Wilson Sasha really bad, but I would have to get a deal on it. Plus one of my local dealers I'm pretty sure is marking up the price on the Sasha. Its suppose to be msrp of $26900, but from what the salesman told me its $28k. I never pay full retail for my hifi, I always work out some sort of deal.

When I get closer to making a decision on speakers I'll be sure to demo as much as possible. No sense into dropping this sort of money when you're not sure. So far though I'm really feeling the dedicated 2ch route. Thanks again