Amp for Verity Audio Sarastro

My Verity Parsifal Encores actually sounded best to me with the humble Nuforce monos. Maybe the extreme bass damping factor and sheer speed. Some of the KT88 powered valve amps were good too but not as coherent top to bottom as with the Nuforce. In the end I sold the Veritys, much as I had liked them. The thing is the Veritys are just that little bit laid back, enough so that you will not eliminate it IMO.

Bryston 28B SST.....just an (educated) hunch...

I agree with you Tuboo. Even the Sarastro reach concert SPL levels easily.

Even if you look at the specs (around 120 db) I think this is more than enough. And of course with no distortion at all.

Regards,

Michael

forgive me my bold reply, but the comment from Gregm is quite opposed to my own experience.

'excepting the average dynamics'..
well i personally experience extreme dynamics with unlimited headroom, i have a really large room and even with the Atma M60 the room is the limit when it comes to dynamics not the Lohengrin.

'were reasonably sensitive'.
the Lohengrin is at the positive side of 95 dB and that is horn territory. Vu meter on my Atma M60 touches only couple of watts on loud transients.

'Mind you, if you want concert levels these are not yr spkrs'
on the contrary, they are superb on large symphonics save maybe the biggest Wilsons.

'they'll blow before they go too loud.'
Yes they certainly blow - your ears and then some.

it is with some amazement i see this sort of reviews and opinions coming up at Gon. no offense, but as gobsmacked Lohengrin owner have to add my two cents.

cheers keep on spinning'

Hi Pierre!

The Mc's were great equipment indeed, but not the best match for my speakers! Of course the MC 2301 would also be a great choice but they are very very expensive here in Greece. I think 40% more expensive than the price in the States.

Yes the Diablo has an amazing-effortless punch and dynamics but also great detail and musicality.

I'll post some quality pictures soon.

Thanks a lot my friend,

Michael

What's up Michael?

Going for the Diablo and dumping the beloved Mc gear. Ok I forgive you for five minutes only if you get the MC2301. Ah...the Diablol (single component) medium size beast of a component looks like a cross of retro and modern design from the Danish. Lets just say it looks pretty cool from the pictures.

No question the Diablo should provide you with 500 w into 4 ohms... it has one heck of Dual Mono Holmgren toroidal transformer. That means you should have more control over the woofers and one heck of a punch and dynamics.

Enjoy the Diablo,

Pierre

Tuboo thanks a lot for your answer!

Unfortunately I cannot come for a listen as I am from Greece...;)

The atmasphere may be satisfying but dont forget that the Lohengrin is 96 db as opposed to the Sarastro which is 93 db. A headroom is also important in the amp your using. You should not stress it too much and some additional wattage is always welcome. Are you talking about the OTL amps?

I finally settled to the Gryphon Diablo integrated, and I can say that I am more than satisfied with the results.

Thanks everyone for your input.

Greetings from sunny Greece,

Michael

c) Atma 60 watters. Amazingly, a very good choice if low on output power -- only for quiet listening.

well come over to listen to my M60's partnered with Lohengrin. they get to earbleeding levels my friend.
loud listening gives a reading of a couple watts on the VU meter.
"only for quiet listening" ??
Nagra and Verity superb match too.

cheers tuboo

Michael -- by "expensive" I mean +10k. Coming to think of it, it's still within yr budget!

To be frank, Krell didn't really do it for me either. Please note that the spkrs' owner is an amateur of classical music, so he wants both harmonics and aggressive dynamics. Others may like the Krell/Lohengrin combo (Lohengrin's the spkr I listened to).
Regards

One of my friends own Verity Ovation and he drives them with -4- Nagra VPA monos. Very nice.
I did listen to their biggest speakers, Lohengrin, with -4- Nagra VPA's, interesting match. They work well with those.

I would try the Art Audio monoblocks quartet,these amps
did not have a problem running the Andra I Eggleston at
all,Call Joe Fratus at art audio,He might be able to help you,I think He is using the Verity speakers to voice his amps,The quartet did sound unbelievable to my friend house.
I hope this will help you...

LAMM M 2.2 or LAMM 1.2 ref. will do the job got my V.A. OVATION dream match with LAMM M 2.2 voicing voicing and voicing

Lappiere I have a dedicated line. I doubt the lack of the filter is problem. Cause that could give me only an increment of more power. I need some serious power amp!!

Gregm thanks a lot for your time my friend, very interesting findings. What do you mean when you say these amps are expensive?How expensive? I'll try to audition some of the amps you mentioned. But as I understood Krell is definitely not an option!

Regards,

Michael

Michael how about some dedicated power lines for the future tube amp(s)? If not, a power regenerator may help your tube amps keep consistent current.

Opinions from people who have heard Verity Audio speakers with different amps would be highly appreciated

Well, I've heard VA spkrs (the ones with the 15" woof bass reflex cabinet) and actually liked what I heard, excepting the average dynamics. So here goes:

1) Objective was to replace a Krell amp the owner did not like. An impressive number of amps were offered for trial (provided by dealers of course). Many European, btw.
2) Cutting to the chase, here's what was musically good with these spkrs AFAI remember:
a)Lamm's hybrid amps -- probably available used for well below yr budget. Nice tunes. Some dynamics.
b)The ridiculously big VTL 750 mentioned above. Overkill perhaps but the sound was OK and Mahler was not lacking. Nor was BB King live. I still think the Lamm was slightly better but slightly harsher than the VTL
c) Atma 60 watters. Amazingly, a very good choice if low on output power -- only for quiet listening.
d) An ss YBA 600W or 1kW power amp ("passion"). That was impressive. Impressively expensive as well.
e) A Symphonic Line class A amp (that's german SS). That too was impressive, less powerful than the above. Impressively expensive.
f) FM acoustics 80W (Don't remember the model). Strangely, the result with this amp was slightly on the edgy side. Very impressive sense of clarity though.

By the way, the spkrs I heard were reasonably sensitive (more than yours I think) and the use of high powered amps really only served to provide better control over the big woof. Mind you, if you want concert levels these are not yr spkrs -- they'll blow before they go too loud. Regards

Guys thanks a lot for your anwsers!

@Jaybo

Do you think that with a solid state Mcintosh I will retain the sweet midrange but also drive my speakers to their limits?

@jmcgrogan2

I have heard the Sarastro performing rock amazing with the LAMM monoblocks, before I purchased it. Rock solid - earth shaking kick drum. So I know this can be achieved.

Oregon and Lappiere I'll try to see if the Joule amp is represented here in Greece and see what happens.

Has any of you heard the aesthetix hybrid ATLAS ne amp together with the Calypso pre-amp?I could easily get hold of that for a listen.

In any case I wont do any fast moves cause except the impact on certain kind of music on most of the music I'm listening I'm completely satisfied!

Thanks again my friends!!!!!!!!!:)

Suggestions for the famous Mr. Arygo:

MC2301

VTL MB-750

Joule VZN 220

Or...get used pair of MC501s and new C500 preamp.

My vote is the Joule Heaven's Gate tube amps. A friend uses these with his Verity Parsifals. To my ears, the band is in the room!!!
Excellent timbre, the kick drum has depth and punch. Highs are sweet and clear. Midrange- ooh-la-la.
The Veritys and Joules are a dream come true.

Hello Michael,

Congrats on your purchase of the Sarastro's. I own a pair of the Parsifal Encore's, and I have heard the Sarastro's on two occasions, I am jealous.

However, it sounds as if the Sarastro's may not be your cup o' tea. No speaker is all things on all music to all people. Those that do not like the Verity sound, say it is 'too polite'. I cannot argue with this. The Verity speakers that I have heard have a glorious midrange which sets them apart from most other speakers. However, that being said, I can't really say that these are 'kick-ass' rock n' roll speakers. I would not have cared for Verity speakers 25-30 years ago, in my rock n' roller days. They suit me very nicely these days, as my tastes have changed more to jazz, folk and classical.

You may have to look for different speakers, though you will then lose the sweet midrange. Tough call, no speaker has it all, no matter how much you spend.

FWIW, I always preffered tube amps on my Verity speakers, so I guess you could look for a used pair of VTL 750 Reference amps. If 750 tube wpc doesn't do it, nothing will. Or, since they are bi-ampable, you could try some tube amps up top and a big Krell amp for the bass drivers. Input sensitivities will probably differ, so you would need to find some way to adjust for that.

Cheers,
John

the 2200 matched with a 352 or a 402 will do the trick