Anybody else heard the Avalon Acoustics Isis?

Hi Sydsrig, Avalon's are great speakers. When I first owned my Diamond's and then replaced them with the Isis it most defiantly was an upgrade. If you were asking me; should I upgrade to the Isis from my Eidolon's would it be worth the extra money? My answer would be I never owned those but owned the Diamond's and the Isis most defiantly was a upgrade.

The MBL's are marvelous speakers and can do things that I personally have not heard any other speakers do. You your self have admitted that for the past 2 years you have heard them at shows and can't pull your self away from them so that must be saying something. All audio gear is personal and you are the one who needs to be satisfied and not me so you need to listen and make the decisions and not let others sway you.

All I can do is pass along is my experience's but you most defiantly need hear for your self prior to making decisions. I have not missed my Isis in anyway and even my good friend who is a die hard Wilson lover is absolutely blown away since coming over and hearing them the other day. I can't wait until I get these new amps in my system, I am anticipating that they will sound different than my current Pass X600.5's and anxious to find out will I prefer them ? won't know until it all happens.

I would recommend you refer to the MBL threads to get more info. from the other members regarding their thoughts who have owned them for years.

Branimir,firstly I happen to own,and love my own Avalon speakers.
That being said,please educate me as to what would be wrong with a wide baffle speaker,like the TAD(which isn't all that wide)in the appropriate room.
The HE2007 demo happened to be in a way to small room,but my observations take this into account.I simply assumed it was a seemingly nice design,that would be superb in the correct environment.

Dev,

Why is sound of MBLs not my cup of tea? Well, I audition them twice-both times at lenght. First was all MBL system and they sounded artificial to me. I have to say that I attend classic music concerts regulary and sorry to say but Piano on MBL sound different then in real life. On Isis for example piano to my ears sound more real then on MBLs. Same story is with Rockports-they sound much more real then MBLs. MBLs sound excellent but, their sound is pleasing illusion-not repeat of the real music. I know that I am sounding rude about MBLs but, this is MY taste. I for example like MBL electronics a lot but, not their speakers. I respect them, just I could not live with them.

Hello Dev,

Thank you for your response and I do appreciate your insight and that of your friend who is (or at least was) a Wilson fan. I agree with you that the only way to decide is to listen for yourself and to not let others sway you. That is exactly how I built my current system over the years to begin with (spectral/MIT/Avalon). The only problem is that other than hearing MBL's at audio shows with flagship MBL electronics, I have no way to really compare them to my current setup to confirm or qualify my impressions.

That is why I look to you and others who at least have had Avalon's in there home and have done a direct A-B comparison. At the very least this is a way of getting some indirect evidence to help with the decision making process. Given that I can't do an evaluation first hand, the best I can do is increase the likelihood of making a sound and reasoned judgement for myself. By reaching out to people like you who have confirmed the MBL decision over the Avalons (I am quite familiar with the Eidolon Diamonds and the Isis as well) for themselves, that's one more data point to consider in valdating this for myself. I have also read all of the other MBL 101E threads on the forum as you suggested (I tend to read more than post).

Trust me when I tell you that if there was a way for me to do an A-B with the 101E's and my speakers (optimally in my system and my room), I would be all over it. Ufortunately, that has not proven feasable in Ft. Lauderdale, FL which is where I live.

I take it you don't live in the area by chance?

Hi Branimir Thanks for your response, that's fair to give your opinion and personal taste regarding the MBL 101's but I must say that I disagree with your findings 100% and I am most defiantly not experiencing artificial sound or when you referred to saying the Piano not sounding realistic while played on them. Total opposite in my findings so far.

I just had my Uncle over along with his son who are 6th generation Masters and world re-known piano builders and tuner's for the best of the best and could not believe how realistic the speakers sounded playing music especially Piano pieces so I have to say you have left me in awe with your overview and comments regarding this.

I have not heard the Rockport's but owned and lived with the Isis for almost two years along with others that I had mentioned in which I use as a reference for my own listening. Possibly your demos you had in length twice just were not right and that's why your conclusion is such and that's okay or possibly they just are not your "cup of tea" but I have to say they are the closes I have heard to realistic music. I am really appreciating what they can do and have never heard any speaker do what these can but I have not heard every speaker out there either, are they the best? nope. There is no best out there only different.

My friend who was over who owns the Wilson's could not believe what he was experiencing and said to me that if he had only heard this at shows and along with at dealers that his whole take on these speakers would have been the opposite and is now seriously looking at getting them but is awaiting the new Wilson's MK2's so he's in a bit of a pickel but then again he could buy a couple of pairs of MBL's for what he's paid for his new Wilson's.

I mentioned to him it should be real interesting when I get the CAT JL3 SIG. MK2's and Berning mono blocks to find out the sound difference, will I prefer it? don't know until I try it and that's what this hobby is all about.

When we refer to the Rockport's and their crazy list price, exactly how much do they list for? they better blow away the MBL's and almost every other speaker on the planet, will they do this? I would be shocked but if they do I'll be looking into getting a pair for my designated room.