Speaker Asylum: REVIEW: Avalon Acoustics Arcus Speakers by gino

Having enjoyed for more than a year this magnificent 2-way floorstanding speaker, I thought it time to contribute a review on a product I consider one of the finest in its category, and at its price point--the Avalon Acoustics Arcus designed by Neil Patel.

After nine years of Apogees, the time had come for speakers less dry, less beamy and more involving. The replacements for the speakers we loved to hate also had to be less demanding of placement--both on the floor and in the listening seat--and ultimately provide many hours of serious listening with no fatigue.

The Search took months. After my critical-listener wife of the Excellent Ears and I had auditioned a number of speakers a notch below the Arcus price range without success, John Barnes, longtime friend and owner of Audio Unlimited in Denver, suggested we hear the Arcus, a new pair of which had just reached break-in in his listening rooms. Having heard the now-legendary--and expensive--Avalon Eidolons at length, we listened to the Arcus and thought The Search might be over, albeit at a greater outlay than we had planned. More than a week of in-home auditioning followed, with the Avalons getting a thorough workout on everything in our library, including rock, jazz, techno, world and classical. "Those speakers," said my wife, "make music!" Indeed. The comment is still made after they have had a particularly vigorous workout.

In making music, the Arcus first is exceptionally coherent, with excellent dynamics; quick and articulate with superior transparency and tonal balance, this 2-way design has excellent resolving capability, following closely the characteristics of the Eidolon--in smaller scale--and sharing with that $25,000 speaker the extremely wide soundfield that extends deeply into the background and the corners, then moves out from the speakers and up (extremely difficult for any speaker) to draw you into the venue. This huge stage continues to surprise when sounds appear holographically in a near 180-dgree arc around your listening seat. The "goosebump factor" comes with the Arcus at no extra charge.

Excellent dispersion throughout the frequency range also provides a generous sweet spot for more than one listener, a luxury not afforded by a number of speakers we reviewed prior to the Arcus, and a virtue certainly not shared by the late-lamented Apogees. Even when listening far off to the side, the Arcus continues to provide a well developed three-dimensional stage, a major attribute of driver selection--a 1" titanium inverted dome tweeter and an 8.5" Nomex-Kevlar woofer--and their placement within the enclosure, the two separated by a greater distance (15") than most 2-way designs. The Arcus soundstage is further enhanced by the faceted face of the rock-solid cabinet, which readily withstands severe knuckle wrapping without any sign of resonance and begs one to find vibration anywhere when driven at extreme levels. Imaging and focus--while slightly diffuse as compared to the pinpoint accuracy of mini-monitors (read: analytical)--are superior and contribute greatly to the overall presentation. The supreme coherence of the Arcus is realized through Neil Patel's frequency-specific crossover design that negates speaker crosstalk and the need for biwiring.

The Arcus is musical honesty. Strings and voices are smooth, full and clear. Group vocals or choirs are just that--individual voices heard singly and together, with great "thereness," a presence not found in some speakers costing much more, and certainly not in many 2-way designs. Brass is presented with bite and body, woodwinds are sweet without syrup--you sense the material of which each is constructed--and instrumental nuances are heard readily. Drums are very dimensional, covering material is easily discernible; bass and percussion are fast, tight and articulate. While bass notes are satisfyingly deep (cabinets are bottom vented, with proprietary spikes supplied to provide correct cabinet-carpet spacing) to around 35Hz in our living room (Avalon quotes a conservative 45Hz at the bottom end), this is not the speaker for pipe organ aficionados. That said, I've felt no need for a subwoofer to extend the lower registers of this speaker, not being a fan of wall-shaking notes. Cymbals, bells and other instruments in the higher registers are crystal clear, with natural sheen and without glare, hardness or other artifacts. Acoustic instruments resonate with reality, and pianos--notoriously difficult to reproduce realistically--can be glorious, depending on the recording. Inner detail is rendered with great clarity, even at low listening levels. When played at lease-breaking levels, the speaker remains superbly articulate with no trace of congestion.

The Arcus, with a 5-ohm nominal impedance, mates very well with most tube or SS amps and demands little while returning exceptional performance with all types of music, but ultimately, as with all of the finest speaker designs, it is heavily dependent on input signal quality--the better the components, the more enjoyment will be yours from these highly dynamic speakers. Avalon says 30wpc is adequate to drive the Arcus; more power is preferable, in my estimation, to realize the full capabilities of this speaker.

An excellent speaker in every way--from concept, driver selection and component layout, to crossover design, cabinet construction and the exquisite hand-finished cabinets in selected book-matched woods, the Arcus is an audio treasure.

REVIEW: Avalon Acoustics Arcus Speakers Review by gino at Audio Asylum