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Avalon Eidolon for nearfield listening?

My room is only 10Wx17Dx15Dx8H (The depth of the room is unbalanced because of a pillar on one corner of the room). I am home auditioning Eidolon right now and so far really impressed. The geometry of the room and its size forces me to listen to them about 6-7ft. from them. Although I like them very much, I am wondering whether I am wasting money for such a small room and listening environment. If I went for a lower notch speaker that is better suited for nearfield/small room environment, will I get better sound than what I am hearing from Eidolons? FYI, I have listen to Avalon Eclipse also in the dealer and obviously, they are a couple of notches lower in most aspect vs. Eidolon. But I am wondering whether smaller speakers like Eclipse or Audio Physic Virgo would outperform Eidolons in my room.

Please make me your recommendations for my small room, assuming I am willing to spend up to Eidolon price for the best sound.

I am going to change my other gears to fit the speakers, so the rest of my system should not be a constraint. I am considering Goldmund amps and sources. Any one used them with Avolons?

Thanks
CPark
cjpark
cornfedboy
1,645 posts
 
cpark: i own eidolons. i've also owned (original) eclipses and ascents (avalon- before ml, apparently lacking imagination, stole the name). i've listened to every avalon speaker model made since they started making' 'em, in lots of environments. the eidolons will sound just fine in your listening room, tho you may need to do some acoustic treatment. i have some physical constraints in my listening room, too. hence, my eidolons are only 3 1/2 ft from the damped rear wall and 8 ft from my sweet spot. they sound great. with my accuphase/boulder/jrdg electronics/frontend, the imaging extends 8 ft. and more beyond the outer edges of the speakers and way, way behind them. while i don't mean to disparage bmpnyc's views, i think the eidolons are better in the nearfield than the opuses. probably due to the superiority of the eidolon's drivers and the absence of the down-firing sub. you might wanna' give the opus a listen, tho. they are also great speakers and, of course, YMMV. -cfb
glide3
402 posts
 
I will put in a strong plug for the Audio Physic Avanti III's. I have owned the Kharma's but prefer the AP's. They do very well in a nearfield set-up and will give you everything back you give them. I mistakenly thought I had their performance maxed out several times only to find there was more there as I upgraded/changed a component, wire, tweak or positioning.
The Piega P10ltd or P8ltd would also be at the top of my list given your room and based on price for performance.
rushton's avatar
rushton
2,445 posts
 
I will echo Kelly's comments. I listen to Eidolons in a 17.5D x 13.5W x 8H room and continue to marvel at the sound quality. The front edge of the speakers sit a little over 5' from the front wall and I sit about 7.5' from the speakers. Integration of the drivers, imaging, and soundstaging, is superb. Would they sound better in a larger room? Probably. But they sound great in this room. The bigger challenge I see in the room CPark describes is the 10' width, not the 15-17' depth. Some thoughtful experimentation with acoustic treatment will certainly be in order. But, if the Eidolons are in a price range you can live with, I find it hard to imagine something else that will be more musically satisfying.
audiokinesis
2,747 posts
 
A speaker that works well close to side walls, provided you can give it breathing room behind, is the Sound Lab Millennium-2, a full-range electrostatic. The larger Millennium-1 won't give you quite as wide a soundstage in your room, since its greater width means you can't spread them quite a far apart. The Sound Labs excel at timbre, inner harmonic richness, and nuance. The M-2's retail for twelve grand with options, which would give you plenty left over to get a really nice amplifier.

In a more conventional speaker, you might want to look into the Piega's recommended by Jtinn.

Best of luck in your quest!
flex
292 posts
 
I have Eidolon's in a 14w x 19l x 10h room, and they like to sit 2.5-3' from the sidewalls with reasonably significant tow-in (about 16 deg). With less tow or closer to the sidewalls, even with very extensive sound treatment, they develop some uncontrolled overhang of sound (partly due to reverb from adjacent rooms that can't be completely sealed off from the main room). I would be a little concerned about the 10' width in your room and would consider long wall placement rather than short wall. Also, I would recommend discussing with Avalon their experience in long wall/ short wall placement for a 10' dimension. They are very helpful, and also have a web site for questions. Eidolons are fabulous speakers - worth fighting for if they will work for you.
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