I am thinking of buying the Avalon Osiris.

Hi All,
I owned a pair of Osiris speakers for 4 years, until I sold them last year, in favor of Dynaudio Temptations. These speakers can be very difficult to set up. You need a large room, both for the height of them, as well as for thsound. For imaging and soundstage purposes, they need to be out into the room quite a ways.
They need excellent amplification. They are actually a difficult speaker to drive, since their sensitivity varies with the different drivers used. I went through Rowland 9Ti's, Pass 600's and Krell 750 Mcx's until I settled on a Boulder 2060 stereo amp. I spoke at lenght to the people at Avalon and they told me that they had used ARC 300 amps to help voice them, but I believe that tube amps do not need to apply for this job. You may find , as I did, that the Osiris speakers are voiced on the "polite" side as far as midbass and bass are concerned.
To conclude, a wonderful speaker if you have the right room, the right amplification and the right sources, but this is something that you can say about any speaker. It's intteresting, I sold my speakers to a man in South Korea. If you are buying serial numbers 9 and 10, you're getting a good set.

Good Luck,
David Shapiro

You guys are all GREAT , what a wonderful hobby to have,
feel the energy of all these great comments.This is what keep me going with Audio and music..I feel proud to be an audiophile.

Mr. Shapiro you know what? they are serial no. 9, 10s. I just met the guy who had them originally purely by accident who sold them to a dealer who sold me the Wilson Benesch Bishops. I just bought XLO Limited Balanced cables from the guy tonight and he told me he bought the Avalons from US and shipped them to Korea. That guy had more gears then me by far, I mean this guy had 5 sets of Goldmund speakers by almost every generation. FM Acoustics Monos, 2 sets of Audio Research Ref 3,MKII preamps, Jadis , Goldmund transports and Kharma Inter Cables ..and list goes on and on.

Wow, I am actually tracing and finding the family root of "THE" Osiris too. There are only few in Korea...less than 20 probably...

I own Avalon Opus just for AV and have not given them enough attention. I regret and I am going to hook them up in my living room to my Krell 650MC monos this weekend see what they can do as well..

All you guys are absolutely correct in terms of the room treatments and tunings. And of course the SIZE .

My living room is not that big but my roof goes up quite high gradually and that is a plus.
I heard the Osiris at one dealer location with Boulder 2050 Monos and A-B tested it with Wilson MAXX2 side by side couple of weeks ago with DCS front end . BTW, They are the different pair from the one I want to buy...remember serial 9,10
No comparison I though the Avalons were so much more detailed and relaxed where the MAXX2 sounded tangled and compressed. Every voice notes and guitar notes were so clear. I am sure the MAXX2 are great ones too, I have also owned WATT PUPPY 6 s for a while but I had a difficult time brining them to full potential.

After that session I felt Osiris were my dream speakers. I heard the Dynaudio Temtation at US dealers and I thought they were absolute as well but I felt they were too expensive for me.

The current dealer wants US$60K for the Osiris. He said he paid 50K US$ and they guy who sold it to the dealer whom I met tonight said it cost him US64K after tax and shipping cost to bring them to Korea. They are beautiful speakers with almost no scratch on it.

I can only sell my Bishops for US$22K so it is quite a jump for me. I was thinking of driving them with 2 pairs of PASS XA200 Monos...?Am I going overboard here?

5 Speaker 1M short Cables I assume I will need to connect
it to the Osiris. More Audioquest Silver cables...

I am just a guy who had passion for these audio equipments since middle school...went on to study Electrical Engineering in collage..looked up to guys like Levinson, D'Gastino, and Nelson Pass. But I felt making money is easier then designing amps...and instead of making a career out of it ..I made it a hobby..so please I am not a dealer ..I will neve be one..I see better systems and far more exclusive system here which is WW .Korea is a huge market for highend stuff as all of North Asia is..I think the reason ? There is really nothing more better to do other than playing golf in a crowded course. !!!

Sirspeedy, give me some advise on room treatments..I think you are so right...you guys are all experts here...

Hi Hugo,
There is a pair for sale at www.higherfi.com for much cheaper than you are thinking of paying. The Boulders would be a fantastic match to the Avalon's.
Enjoy,'
David Shapiro

Hugos,the high ceiling is a big benefit.When I bought my Avalon Ascent MK-2's I had a dedicated room built,literally to match the speaker energy projection.Only 8 ft ceiling,though.Due to construction costs.I had been advised by Avalon,on the dimensions,so it worked out great.It took me a couple of years to get it right.I have a large collection of original label Decca,Emi,Mercury,and Rca lp's.Along wiyh many other labels.I designed the room to allow for built in record shelves along the sides.This gave me good diffraction properties.I,then experimented(it helps that I have some very experienced audio friends)with various accoustical treatments.Remember,before the Osiris,the Ascent was Avalon's premier design,and are really an incredible speaker,but not designed for too large a room.I knew this and have been very careful with ancillaries(Rowland/Audio Research,all highly modified,btw),as well as careful room treatment.

You will have to be EVEN MORE conscious of your room's characteristics,as you will be generating much more energy,than me.I see no reason for it to be anything less than superb in low frequency energy,contrary to what was previously stated,with alot of care.This IS important,and cannot be overemphasized!!I'll try to be specific,since you have asked for the advice,but don't take my word as final.You must experiment,and research what is involved in proper room acoustics.You do not have to hire an outside service,for this,as careful personal comparisons are really all you need.As long as you aren't impatient.

Also--DO NOT treat the ceilings with any damping material.I have tried this,a few times.Once at the recommendation of a well known audio reviewer,who I knew,and it closed down the sound.DO treat the side wall area,depending on room width,with either something like energy absorption,or diffraction.Trial and error will come into play,but you WILL be rewarded.

Hugos,I have my equipment(as stated Rowland 8t,two chasis model,with second chasis upgraded from bettery to switch mode power supply,Audio Research Pre/phono,Levinson CD,SOTA table with Graham arm/Transfiguration,and good cabling)situated behind my equipment,like you do.This gives some degree of diffraction,and I have a narrow thin rug type awning above the equipment,in area behind speakers.I,also have corner tube traps,behind speakers,in corners.NOT TOO wide tube traps,as I had to experiment here.I have some 1/2 round, 5 foot tube traps mounted on wall to the side of the speakers,actually just behind where cabinet ends.Behind my listening area is a bay window,treated with a long absorptive(not alot)shade.To the side of my ear area is some flat Tube trap panels.I have small corner tunes,in area behind,and above speakers,along with a couple of flat absorptive panels.All carefully experimented with.

Oh yeah,I have carpeting in the room,and have mentioned that I use a REL Stentor sub bass system(behind right speaker)that is crossed over at 24 hz,and is set with VERY low gain,so as not to impede the Avalons' soundstage.

That should give you an idea of what I have done,which is NOT your room,obviously,yet maybe you can get something out of it.Obviously I'm supremely happy,but I've spent years modifying almost every piece of equipment,as well as the room.

The other things to cover,again,is bring the Osiris WAY out into room,if you want to hear them really breathe.They are almost like an omni directional speaker,they are so open,when set up right.Little adjustments can be BIG!!!

Also,please don't get mad---but, the what looks like a beautiful marble,on wall,behind system will most likely HAVE to be treated,if you want to hear what your current stuff can really do.Particularly with the Osiris in system.I hope you have an understanding wife,here!That's one reason I built a room.

Well that's about it,for now.I really wish you the best of luck!Keep us posted!!