Epos M12.2 vs. Von Schweikert VR 1 vs. GMA Europas


Anyone compare the differences amongst these three contenders?

Current setup:

Unison Research Unico
Rotel RCD971 transport
MSB Link DACIII half nelson
StudioLab Reference 1's (4.5 inch cone, .75 inch tweeter)
interconnects:
Kimber D60 silver (transport to dac)
MIT (Can't remember model) interconnects
Audioquest type 4 and no-name brand 12 gauge speaker cable (bi wired)
note: ic's and speaker cable will be changed once speaker is selected.

Room is 11.5 x 14.5 x 8 (give or take).

Equipment setup on the long wall. TV is in between speakers. Equipment and stand is below tweeter level, but still in between speakers.

The way it sounds now:

Lacks 'air' surrounding instruments and voices

sounds a bit veiled and muddy, but still light and lively. I realize this may seem to be a contradiction in terms, but it IS fast sounding - just not as transparent as I want it to be.

treble is very good, smooth, but again, midrange has a 'veil' to it (was not able to audition the existing speakers in house, so I bought them based on in-store experience - and against my better judgement).

Good transition from highs to mids, but then there's some sort of suckout in the lower midrange. Also, there's some sort of bass hump at the lowest point - and YES, i've tried all KINDS of room placement. This is more a matter of placement and room issues than a true speaker problem, but it's a problem none the less.

So, I've come to the conclusion that these speakers just don't 'do it' for me, even though they ARE good in many ways/ with the right system.

been looking at the three listed above, but have only actually HEARD the Epos M12's (albeit NOT the M12.2 and not at home). The M12's mate well with the Unico. Very good detail retrieval and great dimensionality/ spatial cues. Voices, both male and female, sound fantastic with very stable focus/ image.

Wondering if anyone has compared them to the GMA Europas or the Von Schweikert VR 1's... and if so, what kinds of differences/ similarities exist amongst the three?

I'm looking for air, transparency, speed, detail and tight bass. My room and amp lend themselves to a rounded low end (that is, even speakers with limited low end can sound boomy if not carefully placed, as i've mentioned before), so I have to be careful in my selection (ie. front port vs. rear port vs. sealed).

Are all these models comparable? Are they in the same league? Any comments on direct comparisons would be VERY much appreciated, as I have no way to directly compare these products.

Thanks in advance
loose
I home demoed both the VR1 and the GMAs...no brainer...Europas hands downs...unlike the majority of high end speakers that punish all but the best recordings...the GMAs have the uncanny ability of focusing on what a recording is doing WELL...even a poor one...and once you hear a truly phasecorrect speaker...well...game over...
I have not heard the Epos speakers, but like Phasecorrect, I have compared the VR1's and the Europas. It really was no contest, GMA hands down. To be fair, I did not listen to the VR1's under ideal circumstances. I "auditioned" them at my local Tweeter and the amp, positioning, etc left a lot to be desired.
In the price range that it looks like you are shooting for, its going to be tough to beat the Europa. I won't go into great detail regarding their sound, so much has already been said in this forum, but I have been very satisified to say the least.
Your problem could be the Audioquest Type4. I had a chance to home-audition them and found they lack "life and air" as if they overly smooth out the sound. They also tend to attenuate the mid-range.