Parsifal Encore Bass/Low midrange

Rick, I'm really surprised by what you heard. In my moderate sized room with some sound treatment (5 ASC tube traps, RPG diffusor behind the speakers, and Argent room lenses), the bass is not boomy at all. It extends a bit below 30 Hz and is quite musically well integrated into the midrange. With the woofers facing behind, there is no discernable break between the midrange and the woofer.

Did you hear an old pair of Encores or the newer Ovations?

Randy

For the most part, I'd agree with Norfish. The bass extension and seamless integration to a world class mid band distinguish the P/E. That said, there is less than state of the art pitch definition in the bottom 2 octaves. The P/E is very good in this regard, but a quick listen to pipe organ or tuned drums on Vandy 5s (as one example) will reveal the Verity's limitations in this area. In any event, the issue should not rise to the level Rick describes.

BTW,

1) Reversing the woofers' orientation may have significant effect (my current room) or very little effect (my previous room). My guess is, the closer to the walls, the greater the impact.

2) My P/Es were among the earliest production, but sound quite similar to more recent units I've heard, although those comparisons were not in a controlled environment.

Marty

Placement is somewhat critical. The Parsifals, both Encore and Ovation, like at least 4 feet of space from the back wall to maximize LF output. In my largely untreated room the Parsifals read to 25Hz and are not at all boomy, even with a new amp. FWIW, mine are currently 90" apart with no toe-in; seating is nearly 8' from axis.

Another possibility is that the speakers were not broken in. It takes about 600 hours to break in the bass. Until then, it is not well integrated with the mids and can sound a bit dry.

Randy