New Avalon speakers

flez007

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Aug 31, 2010
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I have had 5 Avalon speakers at different moments with different systems in the past, this time I was esceptic of the Viva Solista capabilities to drive and control a big Avalon speaker. I accomodated an in-house demo after listening the with a pair of huge JRDG 9s and we all admited that they sounded better with the Viva at my listening room.

Yes. I bought them!

 

MylesBAstor

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Apr 20, 2010
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New York City
I have had 5 Avalon speakers at different moments with different systems in the past, this time I was esceptic of the Viva Solista capabilities to drive and control a big Avalon speaker. I accomodated an in-house demo after listening the with a pair of huge JRDG 9s and we all admited that they sounded better with the Viva at my listening room.

Yes. I bought them!


Must have been that anticipation :)
 

LL21

Well-Known Member
Dec 26, 2010
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Hi there! Wow!!!!! Congrats! That is fantastic news! Great speakers from everything i have ever read about them. How is the Solista-Avalon match up?
 

flez007

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Aug 31, 2010
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I was wondering if 27 Watts/channel would be enough for them, the sound is just fantastic! ... The Solista was up to the task.
 

LL21

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Dec 26, 2010
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great!!! AValons and quality tubes are very lifelike from what i have read...very. Enjoy!
 

DaveyF

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Jul 31, 2010
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Fernando, another speaker change....Oh No, you've got the disease:D Take two aspirin and call me in the morning:eek:

I was wandering how long you would keep the WLM's, they never did much for me the one time I heard them:(, OTOH, the Avalon's are a serious speaker. I am a little surprised that the Solista can drive them, however, glad to see that the pairing is working for you.
I have a friend who owns a pair of Eidelon's which sound HUGE in his very large living room system, very impressive with orchestral works, etc. Nice choice of speaker:D
 

flez007

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Aug 31, 2010
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Mexico City
Fernando, another speaker change....Oh No, you've got the disease:D Take two aspirin and call me in the morning:eek:

I was wandering how long you would keep the WLM's, they never did much for me the one time I heard them:(, OTOH, the Avalon's are a serious speaker. I am a little surprised that the Solista can drive them, however, glad to see that the pairing is working for you.
I have a friend who owns a pair of Eidelon's which sound HUGE in his very large living room system, very impressive with orchestral works, etc. Nice choice of speaker:D

The WLM are nice speakers, in my room they sounded great except for some minor "boominess" that I never mitigated enough, I am a huge Avalon fan and always wanted the Ascents. I am also surprised that the Solista managed them quite decently, a pair of 9's are arriving next week for audition thou.....
 

DaveyF

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Jul 31, 2010
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La Jolla, Calif USA
Fernando, do keep us informed as to your impressions once the 9's arrive. As you know, i am a huge JR fan and the 9's are some of his best sounding amps to date, IMO.
I suspect that the 9's will drive the Ascents to great heights. Most likely a nice improvement over the Solista, would be my bet.
 

flez007

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Aug 31, 2010
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Well... The 9s are gone, my dealer got a solid offer before carry them to my room :( - but as I said before, not in a hurry to take the Solista out of the equation.
 

egidius

Member Sponsor
Feb 13, 2011
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ever thought about audio consulting amplification?

Well... The 9s are gone, my dealer got a solid offer before carry them to my room :( - but as I said before, not in a hurry to take the Solista out of the equation.

I use the Audio Consulting MIPA amp for my modest Merlin TSM speakers, and they are amazing!! It is a worthy alternative to the Berning ZH230 (No, I would not give that one away, too good :)

But I basically write here because I was told that AC and Avalon work.
(No affiliation with the producer)

Egidius
 

flez007

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Aug 31, 2010
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Mexico City
Thanks egidius, I have just visited last night their website learning more of their preamp line, thanks for sharing this information and the heads-up.
I am actually trying a Mark Levinson ML333, pretty amazing!

 
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MylesBAstor

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Apr 20, 2010
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New York City
Thanks egidius, I have just visited last night their website learning more of their preamp line, thanks for sharing this information and the heads-up.
I am actually trying a Mark Levinson ML333, pretty amazing!


I reviewed the 333 many moons ago. It was a very nice amplifier some 10 or more years ago and a contrast to some of the other ss designs of the times. Lots of power. A little dark side of neutral but perhaps that's a good combo with the Avalons.
 

egidius

Member Sponsor
Feb 13, 2011
430
5
923
Switzerland
ML vs Berning vs AC

I reviewed the 333 many moons ago. It was a very nice amplifier some 10 or more years ago and a contrast to some of the other ss designs of the times. Lots of power. A little dark side of neutral but perhaps that's a good combo with the Avalons.

I had once a 383 together with a 390 and acustik lab Stella Opus speakers - they got so much better
(faster, ligher, quirkier, even funnier) when I tried the Berning ZH270, that I got rid of the ML as quick as possible, so I was not too impressed in hindsight.

The Bernings (either the 270 or the 230) seem a bit more round in the upper bass, the AC seems to have a slightly more evenhanded frequency response, but most important, it is so calm, even though it seems as fast as the Berning, and that's saying something, as the Berning is the fastest amp I had heard before..

e
 

flez007

Member Sponsor
Aug 31, 2010
2,915
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435
Mexico City
I reviewed the 333 many moons ago. It was a very nice amplifier some 10 or more years ago and a contrast to some of the other ss designs of the times. Lots of power. A little dark side of neutral but perhaps that's a good combo with the Avalons.

I am not finding it that dark Myles, it could be as you say a good synergy with the Avalons, what I am finding is a little less resolution at the upper octaves compared to the newer SL amp ( maybe I am just defining dark here....) :), on the other hand, it seems to have end-less power, control, dynamics and soundstaging capabilities, but I must confess that I am using a dark cable (only one at hand) - a Magnan Vi between the SL and the ML.
 

Johngp

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Mar 7, 2012
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298
Austin, Tx.
www.koolcables.com
Ahh, the Ascents! I came sooo close to buying a pair of them a couple of years ago. So what do you think of them so far? Have you compared them to the Ascendants?
 
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