I've been listening to a pair of older Eidolons for over six years now so I'm extremely biased. I replaced a pair of Paradigm Studio 100 v2 and the difference was so dramatic it's now very difficult listening to other speakers who's time and phase is not addressed.
I should also point out that my audiophile ear was so childish when I auditioned Eidolons in stores and at shows they always seemed sleepy by direct comparison. I simply didn't know what I was hearing.
I was constantly listening to my system and not the music with the Studio 100s v1s and v2s. After a few years of constant dissatisfaction with my system I began going through amps and preamps with changes but with no success in musicality.
The switch to the Avalon Eidolons was nothing short of magic. Even my family was stunned by the difference but far more importantly the rightness and musicality of their presentation and at any volume level. The Paradigm's had a rather loud volume sweet spot.
After living with the Avalon's it's easy to hear systems that are and are not doing the rightness thing.
If there is a house sound I would assume its the rightness and musicality. There may be a model that might be brittle or thin but I've never heard anybody comment on that before. I would easily assume those would be a consequence of issues upstream.
As to cabling I did some brief auditioning but have settled on a Cardas Golden Reference system loom because they provided the best top to bottom cohesiveness and may very well be the brand of internal wire used by Avalon.
