New Amps for my Avalon Ascent II


I am looking to retire my Roland Model 1's which have been driving these venerable speakers for 16 years. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

My source is an AMR CD 77 with a Music First Audio TVC as the preamp. The room is approximately 30 by 40 feet and our musical taste is predominantly classical and jazz
franzschubert
Guido,
Yes I was very impressed by the 312 .... the bass was almost surreal. I am also considering the H2O.

How does Mahler sound on your Vienna Mahlers? I always thought his polyphony was the hardest to reproduce.
Hi FranzSchubert, old Gustav does sound magnificent on my Mahlers with subwoofers firing outward + 312 + Capri. the extension is phenomenal. . . but it is not bloated at the bottom, nor it ever becomes tizzy at the top. . . and harmonic exposure is tops. Macro and micro dynamics is to die for. . . but it never sounds 'artificially pumped'Good idea to remove speaker grills for critical listening. . . . lowest level detail excels with grilles off. Oh yes, did I mention bass drum is stigean? I still have some relatively weak links in the system: Cardas Golden Ref speaker wires and a Cardas Golden Ref PC currently on Capri. PC on 312 is Shunyata Anaconda Helix Alpha, which is excellent for this particular application. my AudioQuest Sky ICs work beautifully from X-01 LE to Capri to 312. I will try some new Synergistic wires soon and will see how they behave/compare. Guido
First time I heard the Ascents was back in the early 90's at Chicago CES. They were in a very large deep room, driven by an all Gryphon system. Music was analog front-end playing a jazz trio. It was mesmerising. The soundstage depth, image density, and tonal accuracy left me in want of these speakers.
I heard Ascent MK2's many times with Rowland Mono 9's, Gryphon Monos, Basis / Wadia front ends, Cardas Hexlink / Purist Dominus cabling throughout, no other system (except Apogee 1-ohm Scintillas) could ever touch it to this day.
You are spot on. That is why the Ascents are the "Archimedean point" of my system. The rest I am gradually enhancing.