Avalon Indra vs Eggelston Andra III


I am curious about these 2 speakers.Did anyone had a chance to compare them?
128x128mikedimitrov
I don't know if this will help, as I have not heard those exact two models from Avalon and EgglestonWorks, however, I have heard and compared the Avalon Eidolon and the Andra II speakers.

Both are cut from the same cloth, IMHO. Both image and soundstage incredibly well, and better than most of the other speakers I have auditioned in this price range. (Both speakers disappear from the soundstage almost completely.) Both have excellent mid-range and treble response. Now, both do need a bit of power to get the most out of them, (I recommend at least 200 wpc minimum). Also both speakers, and especially the Eidolons, need to be brought out into the room, in order to achieve the best sound from them. (Both are fairly finicky about room placement, but this is fairly common with full range speakers, IMHO anyway.)

The differences between the two speakers are slight, but there nonetheless.

The Eidolon only has the sin of omission IMHO, (which most audiophiles prefer), as the deep bass response is a bit weak, (below 30 Hz). Other than that, it has a very flat frequency response from 30 Hz on up to 20K Hz. It is a very fine speaker. (The aesthetics are very nice, especially with the birds-eye maple veneer.) One of my favorite speakers.

The Andra II on the other hand has much better deep bass response, (down to 20 Hz with a bit of room reinforcement). But unlike the Eidolon, it does not have as flat a frequency response, as there is a slight mid-bass hump. (I prefer the treble response of the Andra II, as it uses the Dynaudio Isotar tweeter, but the Eidolon is not too far behind in that respect.) The aesthetics of the Andra II are very nice too, especially with the black granite side panels on the upper enclosure and the piano black veneer below. But in this category, I would give the nod to the Eidolons with the birds-eye maple veneer.

In case you’re wondering, I purchased the Andra II speaker, as I really wanted to have a true full range speaker, one with that last bit of bass response. (I have done enough room treatments to minimize the mid-bass hump to where it is barely noticeable. In fact most people don't even notice it.) I have owned them for more than 2 years now, and I am still very happy with them, and have no plans on changing them out any time soon.

The Indra, the successor to the Eidolon, should sound nearly the same as the Eidolon, (although it looks like it might be just a bit more bass shy than the Eidolon, due to the use of dual 7 inch woofers versus the 11 inch woofer the Eidolon used). The Andra III, the (obvious) successor to the Andra II, is also slightly different, in as that as it has aluminum side panels, (instead of the black granite side panels), and it is now a ported speaker. (I did like the fact that the Andra II was a sealed design, as it did not interact as much with the room as my previous ported speakers, (the Revel Studios). However, I did pull the Andra II speakers out from the wall as much as I could, as this minimized the mid-bass hump even more.)

That is my two cents worth anyway.
And, Good Luck in your search!
Both are very fine speakers I am sure.
Kurt Tanks,you are very kind for taking so much time to explain the diffrences.I am now owning Tannoy Canterbury,I lkove their retro looks and how they sound.But you know there is always something better so I am thinking to experiment some more.I have an oportunity to swap these speakers + some money in few thousands$ for Andra III or swap for Tannoy Kingdom 15 straight.Never heard any of them.I listen acoustic music,Jazz,Prog rock(mostly) and classical music sometimes.I heard Andras are great for rock but not for acoustic music(in one review).Can you comment on that?Thanks so much
The Avalons are among the most coherent and cohesive speakers on the market. If you have an ear for driver integration and imaging, then you would be hard pressed to do better. They are finicky about placement and high quality components (especially amplifiers). If you listen to acoustic and unamplified performances that have stage depth, you will appreciate them. If I had a smaller room, or a better appreciation of money, I would probably own the Indras.
No problem, glad to help.

Again, this is comparing the Avalon Eidolon to the EgglestonWorks Andra II, (not the Indra or the Andra III).

With that said, I disagree that the Andra II speakers don't do acoustic music very well. I actually love the way that my Andra II does acoustic music, especially with jazz. I listen to a decent amount of jazz, (say 15-20% of my listening), and it does a great job with it. (I love how the bass and double bass sound on some of the Bill Evans and Ray Brown LPs; in fact, it sounds better on the Andra II than on the Eidolons, IMHO.) However, I can see why someone might say that they sound better with rock, as the Andra II can rock out with the very best of the speakers I have heard. The twin isobaric 12" woofers are very fast and go very deep.

(However, I might agree that the Eidolons do some acoustic music better than the Andra II, but only very slightly, and then only with classical music, IMHO. The Eidolons seem to work great for classical music, but are only very good with rock. I think they might do complex music, such as classical, a bit better as I think they might be a touch more revealing.)

If I was to grade the Eidolon and the Andra II speakers for each of the types of music that I listen to, I would grade them thus:

Rock (I listen to rock about 60-70% of the time.)
Andra II - "A-"
Eidolon - "B+"

Jazz (I listen to jazz about 15-20% of the time.)
Andra II - "A-"
Eidolon - "A-"

Classical (I listen to classical about 5% of the time.)
Andra II - "B+"
Eidolon - "A-"

Vocals (I listen to vocals about 10-15% of the time.)
Andra II - "A-"
Eidolon - "A-"

FYI, I don't give out "A+" grades, and only the very best speakers get an "A" grade. So the fact that you see "A-" grades means that these speakers are very close to the very best I have heard. And, I should point out that my reference speaker is the Rockport Antares, which a friend of mine has, and to which I have heard on many occasions. (And, it is this same friend who used to own the Eidolons for several years prior to owning the Antares, so I am very familiar with that speaker.) These are tremendous speakers that get just about everything right. (Of course they should given what they cost!) Another speaker that I have heard that "seems" to get just about everything right is the Avalon Isis. (I say "seems" because I have only heard them once, and the room was not quite set up perfectly, yet, but once they are, I think they would be the Antares equal.)

I should also point out that both the Andra IIs, and especially the Eidolons, need to use really good electronics. They are very revealing, and if you have less than high quality equipment, they will reveal it quickly. (I do feel the Andra II speakers are just slightly more forgiving than the Eidolons, as I think the Eidolons are a touch more revealing.)

My two cents worth anyway.