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Perhaps a transistor amp will actually perform better than some tubes (I will return to those in a moment). The Avalons are not as easily driven as it could seem. On first glance this isn’t apparent. The Ascendants were easy to drive, with a sensitivity only 1dB higher and a similar impedance. The Transcendents reach audibly lower and the bass is more dynamic and potent. This requires better control to not become boomy. A good transistor amp with low output impedance thus would be a good choice. On the other hand how a good tube amplifier using KT88 or EL34 builds up its sound, how it harmonizes everything into a coherent whole is something the Avalon would seem to pray for.


Enough about the upper part of the spectrum. As I mentioned already, there is no problem with the amount of bass. Frankly speaking, the Transcendents have exactly the right amount. With Jazz the double bass was never louder than necessary. It’s in fact a rather quiet instrument but with electronica like the excellent Grabek 8 it can hit very hard indeed. With a amplifier capable of high current the quality of the bass is fantastic. It can appear in different places on the stage  not bound to the middle or loudspeaker box. Its location depends solely on where the sound engineer or producer placed it.

This bass is a very dynamic part of the audible spectrum and for the most part responsible for this loudspeaker's impressiveness. My friend Andrzej who visited during the audition commented on this after one piece, an atypical Depeche Mode version of Enjoy The Silence (Harmonium) on a maxi single. The piece was recorded with an air-powered reed organ. There isn’t much spectacle in it but the Avalons made it spectacular nonetheless. They expanded the soundstage and added an element of extra dynamics and bass fortitude. We sat enchanted almost seeing the guy sweating while pumping away on the reed organ.

So soundstaging is one of the most important virtues here. The first plane is drawn slightly behind the base line of the speakers to work well with all kinds of material. With recordings where vocals dominate like Carol Sloan’s Hush-A-Bye or June Christy & Stan Kenton’s Duet, they are big and fleshy but not in front of the loudspeakers. In the window between the speakers there is drama far behind and in the depth there are the elements related to the recording venue. This can be especially appreciated on live recordings like Sinatra At The Sands which the Avalons promptly turned into a true spectacle again due to their exceptionally dynamic response and handling of the bass.


So while these clearly were fantastic loudspeakers, they aren’t for me. Even so I can point at the top priorities their designers focused on. They wanted to create a loudspeaker with high dynamics and an open quick sound. In this they succeeded brilliantly. As such the speaker wants a rather warm system to have us fully profit from all its assets and those of such an amplifier (because this is mostly about that). When we fulfil these requirements we arrive at a mature high-quality sound that positions the Transcendent at the high-end for what then isn’t that much money.