New Avalon speakers

[flez007]

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?

I am very happy with them Johngp, and yes, I have heard almost all speakers from the Avalon line except from the Sentinel. I would only consider changing my Ascents for the Indras or Time models.

 

[Johngp]

Wow, that speaks quite a bit for the Ascents! Glad to hear you like them so much Flez, thank you for your input. Hope you have a great week!

 

[wig]

I'm running my Ascendants with a Vac 160i tube integrated amp (86 watt) and they sound amazing, talk about musicality... My speakers are currently 7' apart, 50" from back and side wall with a listening distance of 7'. Do you think I should move them to 8' apart with a 8' listening distance? My listening/living room is 15' W x 20' L.

Thanks,
Wig

 

[MylesBAstor]

I'm running my Ascendants with a Vac 160i tube integrated amp (86 watt) and they sound amazing, talk about musicality... My speakers are currently 7' apart, 50" from back and side wall with a listening distance of 7'. Do you think I should move them to 8' apart with a 8' listening distance? My listening/living room is 15' W x 20' L.

Thanks,
Wig

One thing I listen for when selecting intra-speaker difference is balancing center image stability vs. transparency. Too close and the sound loses its see thru quality; too far apart and center images are too big. (not all that different than what Dave Wilson does, 'cept I don't believe in separating the speakers that far apart in general.).

 

[wig]

MylesBAstor,

Thanks for your prompt response! I guess they are spot on since someone else mention for their size 7' is better even though dealers set them up 9-10' apart. I'm finding that 1/8" toe-in provides better ambiance retrevial and is completely lost at 1/4" and for me ambiance and soundstaging is key to mimicking a live performance and know that some prefer 1/2-1" toe-in for pin-point imaging but mine are truly holographic at 1/8"

Wig

One thing I listen for when selecting intra-speaker difference is balancing center image stability vs. transparency. Too close and the sound loses its see thru quality; too far apart and center images are too big. (not all that different than what Dave Wilson does, 'cept I don't believe in separating the speakers that far apart in general.).

 

[treitz3]

Welcome to the WBF, wig! It can be amazing how tight tolerances can be with regards to placing a speaker.

 

[flez007]

MylesBAstor,

Thanks for your prompt response! I guess they are spot on since someone else mention for their size 7' is better even though dealers set them up 9-10' apart. I'm finding that 1/8" toe-in provides better ambiance retrevial and is completely lost at 1/4" and for me ambiance and soundstaging is key to mimicking a live performance and know that some prefer 1/2-1" toe-in for pin-point imaging but mine are truly holographic at 1/8"

Wig

Wig - I have a minimum toe-in on my Avalons, some years ago Neil Pattel told me that, generally speaking, no toe-in was necessary on the early Avalon models, this of course depends on your room behavior and resonance peaks, but tend to coincide with Myles observation that too much toe creates a larger-then-real center image acoustic size.

 

[Hyperion]

I'm curious about the finish of the Avalons... Are these factory finished (black...)?

 

[flez007]

Hyperion, these pair were an un-finished option - the late avalon dealer here had them professionaly finished in this colour to match with a pair of Model 9 JRDG amps they were showing at the audio room.