Audio Physic Virgo II vs Avanti III

I have not owned the Virgo II's but have heard them many times. I have owned the Avanti III's. Both are very accomplished speakers and the Avanti's are technically excellent...but...I tried very hard with lots of different gear and could never really get the Avanti's to let me relax and just enjoy the music...which is exactly what the Virgo's always allowed me to do.
Everybodies taste is different, but since you asked...I'd stick with the Virgo II's.

I did not keep the Virgos and regret that. They are wonderful. In my opinion, the Avanti IIIs are superior. I
know of no speaker, that I can afford, that I would prefer to have. I hear no flaws in them. I never experienced brightness from the Virgos or the Avantis that was not as a result of the upstream equipment or material. They simply reproduce the signal presented to them. I don't know the Pass or the Adcom so I can't comment.

-Wendell

Taking your subjest a bit side way, I was very impressed by the new Sonics speaker lines---www.sonicsonline.de/---designed by Joachim Gerhard---the original founder of Audio Physics---at the Home Entertainment show.

I believe the Virgo II was still Joachim's design, but the third generation was done after he sold the A.P.. And I heard many thought that the magic of A.P. was gone after his leave. I would think if you like the Virgo II, you should definitely look into the Sonics speakers. Except that, as they are so new, there will not be used one on the Audiogon for quite a while.

Robert

I also listened to the Sonics at the show. It is hard to make judgements under show conditions but I wasn't impressed with what I heard. Could have been the room or the setup.

-Wendell

I think whether you "upgrade" from the Virgo II to the Avanti III depends on whether you have a listening room that will let the Avantis shine. That is, big enough with space around the speakers to let them do their thing. If so, then I agree that the Avanti III will provide a performance level worthy of the money spent, but if not, the Virgo II is pretty darn good....