Avalon: are new models quite better than older ?

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.

I don't want to come off as someone that rationalizes his equipment choice as so many of us do,but,the original last version Ascent series#2 was and is one of the finest speaker systems ever designed.I heard the Eidolons in a very fine set up when they were introduced and they just did not have enough to make me want to upgrade from the Ascent.Truthfully upn an a-b comparison the Eidolon may provide a bit more bass,but,they,to me,sounded a bit lean in the upper mid.The Diamond I have not heard,and Avalon does not make it easy for these to be auditioned.I'm not driving for 3 hours to hear them in another state.Avalon does not demo them at any trade show other than Vegas.Obviously intis case 'what happens in Vegas will stay in Vegas'.As for the Ascent you have a sealed enclosure that will definitely produce a more articulate midbass than a ported design.Avalon can stand on it's head,but, they are never going to convince me that a ported design with a similar internal volume will do any better than a properly designed sealed box which the Ascent is.The only thing a ported enclosure of thi type(Eidolon and Diamond)will do differently is produce a louder and abit less defined bass and midbass.Read the comments on midbass made in the absolute sound regarding the performance of the 32000 dollar Diamond.Also,if you have acess to it,read the hard cover book that came with the early Avalons.It is spot on regarding this subject.Common sence tells me that you are going to sell more product by giving the public what it wants.Most people want lots of bass and a room friendly design.The Ascent had 4 boxes.2 175 lb speakers and 2 55 lb crossovers.That's 460 lbs worth of speaker vs. 2 150 lb boxes for the Eidolon and Diamond.Also the Ascent was a very easy 5 ohm min. load to drive.That makes a DIFFERENCE.Lastly what I did to supplement the extreme low frequencies was to ad a REL Stentor Sub.I crossover at 24 hz. This is a killer set up and cost me alot less than selling the already fabulous Ascent's to buy the Eidolons.I'm glad I did.