Since Neil Patel, took over Avalon Acoustic in 1989, there is no looking back. In a few short years he developed a successful rapport between his technicians and master cabinet makers. Patel’s idea is to not supervise his team. He conceptualises his ideas and his team scans it viability and executes the same. This type of communication is as smooth as well oiled wheel, and has in the 15 years played a powerful factor that has helped Avalon glide its way as among the foremost global leaders in audio products.
But how did Avalon Acoustics achieve and sustain the cutting edge in their realm? Neil Patel answered, “It’s not just about technology, or the expression of technology. It’s about directing technology to achieve certain goals that move us closer to the musical truth. We pursue those goals diligently and perfectly and hopefully that is what makes us different.
Another factor that might have made a difference is that Avalon Acoustics have never done a market study to understand consumer expectations. But what they have followed is that they have made their products more globally acceptable in terms of size. What’s more, they look like works of art.
The Design Philosophy
Patel stated in an interview on Stereophile.com (Oct’08), “First and foremost is our commitment to musical truth, where all technique is subservient to achieving an ultimate aesthetic goal. What happens in an actual musical event must be preserved and communicated without destroying the subtleties or nuance. Time, which is absolutely invariable in our universe, must be preserved above all else. Technically, this means not allowing phase distortions within or between drivers. All Avalon Acoustic drivers are purely pistonic, with no driver break up modes within the passband. Phasing is wholly linear throughout the bandwidth of hearing, including the very low bass. Dynamics must have impact and articulation without ringing — which is why the Q of each driver is carefully observed and actively damped, giving amplifiers a purely resistive load (which also eliminates back EMF, which can exacerbate time distortions within the amplifier).”
About to the Avalon Acoustics speakers’ signature faceted shapes, Patel explained, constitute “a functional construct that aids in the transition from 2pi to 4pi space of the driver vibrations.” He added that in each Avalon model, the symmetry between the crossover design and the cabinet’s shape is what gives the speaker its holographic imaging. “One without the other is ineffective”, he concluded.
About The Ascendant
“I have been thinking of introducing a new 2-way design while phasing out the old 2-way designs while working with new polar ideas. I wanted to work with the height of the Arcus and the width of the Opus”, revealed Neil. For his product he spoke to several market distributors around the world who stated their requirements while being a favourable introduction to an expensive model. Neil wanted something that allowed greater entry in to the “emotional and mental processes of the performance…”, among other factors. Neil Patel had specifically designed the tweeter for the product. A lot of the technology that was developed for the Eidolon Diamond‘s crossover was incorporated in to the speaker.
The precise shaping of the cabinet facets provides a slightly more open polar response. The way the cavity works behind the tweeter is different. Furthermore, the Ascendant combines the dynamics of Arcus and the precision of Eclipse.
