Verity Parsifal or Magico V3 or Wilson Benesch ACT
There is nothing natural about a speaker that is 6-8db depressed along its entire presents area (1K-7K). Have a look at http://www.soundstagemagazine.com/measurements/verity_parsifal_ovation/. Yes I am sure it is pleasant to the ears. So is ear plugs. |
R32rj, Have had WB ACT in it's latest incarnation for quite some time. partnered it with some fine amplifiers, but i experienced it as a somewhat technically sounding speakers. they need a very dominant amp for sure, and come to life with Naim very well. they sound seamless, indeed have no midbass hump and sound mature as a whole. but they did not touch ANY emotion with me. it is fairly silly to argue and 'get right' over the carbon versus MDF. there are many ways to Rome my friends... If you want to be touched moved and inspired by music: Verity. no need to explain, no need to extalt over technical things. let the factory sort it out, time is short, enjoy music! i put it this way: Most speakers have many promises. Many bring you impressive sounds. Some sound superb in every technical way. Others give you a feel good Starbucks experience. Or bring you something anyway. Few speakers keep your attention. Only a hand full speakers give you peace of mind in the long run. Verity Audio invites you to listen to music. one totally happy Verity owner. |
Dhaan, I do agree with you that carbon fiber is widely used in product design as a marketing tool. However in the case of speaker design, Wilson Benesch has demonstrated that it is not neccesary to form a "Univerity of Sound" :), but have a couple of engineers not afraid to wisely experiment with different materials and re-thinking speaker design development. The WB's ACTs cabinet secret is, in my opinion, not the use of layers of carbon fiber, but the use of a cabinet made of a sandwich of composite materials with a core of high density foam. This ultra-light external structure instantly absorbs the energy generated from the drivers. The combination of a very light external enclosure and a heavy metal internal matrix structure is a great approach to speaker cabinet design. The overall sound is superb. Martin. |
Gundam91 I didn't get to hear them at the RMAF. Kind of busy in our room. You can see our room on our website. Dhann Just as a side note. Carbon fiber is used to build the Stealth bomber. When the radar waves hit the carbon fiber they are almost instantly absorbed and dispersed and turned into heat. That is a near perfect solution for speakers where you want to get rid of the back waves off the drivers as quickly as possible so as not to smear the sound. The speed of sound through wood is 3300 meters per second. The speed of sound through Carbon Fiber is 18,350 meters per second. |
Sounds real audio, Did you hear the Sarastros at the RMAF? I heard them there too, several times over the three day period. They sounded a little better than last year, but I don't think those Artemis tube amps were up to the task for a room that size. I had heard them before in L.A. driven by all Nagra equipment and they sounded fantastic. That led me to begin looking into the Parsifals as an upgrade from my previous speakers. Virtual Dynamics had a pair of Parsifal Ovations at the RMAF. Rick Schultz got really good sound out of them. I suggested to the guys from Artemis to visit the Virtual Dynamics room to get a reference of what those speakers were capable of. ------------------------- I had heard the V3 at a local dealer last year with Alon Wolf present. Dealer was using Metronome front end + VAC amplification. I believe the V3 was paired with more expensive system than the Mini. But about 60% of the people thought the Mini sounded better. (Supposedly, the vote went the other way the week before) The problem with that setup, I thought, was that the amp used was just not powerful enough to really drive the V3. FrankC |
..from carbon fiber so there is no cabinet design that is more technologically advanced... What a silly thing to say. Where do you get such nonsense from? Just because the word Carbon is in the sentence, it does not make it automatically technologically advanced. In your ACT case, it is actually a cheaper way to make a curved box. And actually, not a very good one. |
I had the opportunity to hear the Verity Sarastro's. I am a Wilson benesch dealer and am always on the lookout for really good sounding speakers and not simply big brands. I thought the Verity's were nice sounding, a little laid back, with good sound stage. I don't think they are as convincing as the ACT's or as musically involving or as transparent. One thing you should consider is the Verity has a rear facing woofer. This means you may need to bring it out into the room a ways as well as providing acoustically treatment for the room. In regards to power requirements at the RMAF we drive the ACT's with a 50 watt single ended deHavilland GM-70's with rock music volume when needed so no problem there. The ACT's are made from carbon fiber so there is no cabinet design that is more technologically advanced, not even the Magico's. Well that is my two cents worth and don't forget I am a dealer so there must be some bias there. Of course my bias just could be for equipment that sounds good! |
Magico V3! But as mentioned in post above, will take slightly more than 50-100watts (I would say a minimum of 150 'quality' watts), to do them justice and fully extract their mesmerizing capabilities.. However, as all three are serious contenders, in the end, as always, it boils down to taste, preferences and synergy with partnering equipments. Best if you can do some auditioning prior to decision. Would love to hear your comparative notes on them too. |
For point source soundstaging and cohesiveness across the spectrum, it would be hard to beat Merlin VSM-MXe (30 watts should be enought), but they are -2b at 33Hz, full-range enough for me and my musical taste, but maybe less than you would get with the Verity. But a very easy speaker to drive with tubes, and my choice after hearing a lot out there. That being said, the Verity and WB were defintiely on my short list - you considerations are in good company. |
Read the article on the December 2008 issue of Stereophile. There's an article on the Verity Parsifal Ovation. The article stated that you need some juice to drive these babies. My own experiment confirms that observation as well. I have the Encores. I had emailed Verity regarding power requirement and they told me 40wpc would be enough for my room. I then drove them with my Pass Aleph Os w/ 50wpc in class A. The sound was lacking air and dynamics. I switched back to the Pass X350.5 and never looked back. FrankC |
I owned the Parsifal Encore, and they are truly a great speaker. I drove them for a short time with the Accuphase A50V amp. I would just add here that the A50V is not your typical 50 watt amp, if in fact it is rated at 50wpc. That, I am not sure of. My point here is that I would think closer to 100 tube watts, than 50. The Parsifal is still an 89db, 4ohm speaker. I have heard the Magico once, and again, another wonderful speaker. I spent a short period with the WB Curve as well, and the WB line is also worth consideration IMO. I would say all your choices like a bit of power, especially the V3. The V3 sounded wonderful with the Vac Phi 300.1's 150 watts This one may come down to your associated equipment. If I didn't make things difficult enough, Rockport technologies also makes a few speakers worth consideration. Goodwin's High End carries all these minus the Benesch. I just reread my post, and just to make clear. The A50V was more that enough power for the Verity. They had a deep , tight controlled bass. In this area, better than C-J premier 8A's. |
Seems to me there is no way you could go wrong with any of your choices. The Verity's have only improved since you had them and if you liked them then.... Otherwise, you might simply choose on the basis of which you like the look of best, they are all superb sounding speakers. Thought a bit cheaper, you might also want to consider the Reference 3A Grand Veena - that was a pretty impressive sounding speaker, especially at its price below $10k. |
I have heard the Parsifals though not in my system and was impressed with their presentation but I have not heard the V3's. I have the Wilson Benesch Act's and they are superb speakers which I drive very easily with an Accuphase A50V in a room slightly larger than yours so there is no issue with them being driven by your amplifier. Superb sound staging and a highly revealing speaker. Definitely worth a listen. |
