Avalon: are new models quite better than older ?

Dgad, thank you for adding your direct experience, I think that Eidolon's owners don't feel the same, probably you have many enemies among these now...

As an Eidolon owner who has heard the speakers with a half dozen sets of electronics, I'd say that if you are looking for speakers that are tuned first and foremost for dynamics, look to something like the Wilsons. Eidolons and most of the Avalon line are more musical and laid back. I've never had any problems having more than enough dynamics for my listening tastes (from large scale classical to jazz and some rock), and they certainly have speed. In fact, it's not difficult to get the sound to be too punchy, but punchiness and impact are not specific to bass, and may characterize the mids or highs as well. Bass articulation with the Eidolon depends a great deal on the choice of electronics and cabling. The Eidolon Diamond, which is what I believe Jtinn is referring to when he says newer Eidolon, definitely has more powerful 'authoritative' bass and is notably more punchy. It also has very finely detailed treble. Be aware that the Diamonds need a reasonably large room, but they sound extremely good, as befits their price range.

I've never owned Ascents but did spend an afternoon listening to them at a store in Manhattan where they were well set up. My impressions at the time were that if anything, they were too balanced toward the bass. Sorry, I can't comment on their dynamic behavior.

Thank you Flex, very interesting comments. The reason why I started this thread is simple: I own a pair of Thiel 7.2 and I just purchased a pair of Avalon Radian HC. Well, comparing the two, I noticed that the driver's speed of Radians (yes, not only the woofers, also mid and tw) is better, sound is faster and transients more clean. Thiels are vented (even if they have a passive radiator), Eidolons are vented, Radians are sealed so my question about bass speed and impact. Thanks again.

Luke,
I'm a former Avalon Radian HC owner. At the time I bought, I was quite fond of the Eidolon, but it was out of my price range. I heard both with Spectral/MIT, and bought a DMC20II pre, DMA180 amp, MIT/Spectral 770 bi-wire to drive the Radian HC in a 17'x14'x9' room. For me, the bass was well-articulated and speedy, but not impactful. Of bigger concern, the system was quite fatiguing(w/Meridian 508 as a source). After a few months, I sold it all & returned to a tube based system.
Since then, I've had the pleasure to hear Rushton's Atma-sphere/Eidolon combo, and it's got me wondering what the Radian's might have capable of with a top quality, high powered tube amp. Regardless, of tube or ss, I've always found the bass performance of the Eidolon's to be excellent, and certainly better than either the Ascent or the Radian HC. To me the unanswered question is, "how good can the older Avalons sound w/tubes?" Regards,
Spencer

Thanks Spencer. My feeling is different about the impact of bass in the Radians: I found the woofers really fast, dynamic and capable of move a lot of air (and I have a huge room, 40 x 30 ft)... but no, I haven't heard the Eidolons in my system yet so I can't make a direct comparison.