the nouveau would be the one for the music lover/collector..the verity for the audiophile. your memory is correct. |
I have had a couple 3As and I currently own (and love) VA Parsifal Ovations....
The two are not very similar. If anything the 3As are more like Wilson than the VAs...but even that is a stretch.
VA - Oh so musical and involving
3A - leaner and more analytical.
John |
Its a bit of hit and miss because of the differences ancillaries can make to a speakers sound but I identify with the 3a walking a fine line of analytical as you say. The decapos arent analytical to a fault, though. I find them to be very objective and quite musical at the same time but yes a little more "mellow" and smoothness in them wouldnt hurt. But having said that the original question was about the nouveaus(or even the virtuoso's as they have the same corian cabinetry)which are better than the decapos and are probably closer competition to the encore's being that the cabinetry makes them apparently smoother and warmer. If the encores are like the wilson, which to me are like the merlins than i dont know if i would be interested in the encores. I heard some wilsons driven with macintosh gear and like the merlins they were holographic but to my taste lacked color, texture and body. I notice that merlin and encore both use scanspeak and mdf. They use them differently but nevertheless the basic ingredients are still there. I mention this cause it leads me to believe that if the encores use the same materials as the merlins that they might have a similar nature. I never found the merlins to have any real visceral impact and apparently neither do the encores. The above mentioned caveats was the deal breaker for me with the merlins. Though i still think their an intersting speaker. The nautilus 805 for a little standmount was quite visceral compared to the merlin. I liked that speakers physical impact. Anyways i like the capo's and if nouveau's take those qualities and smooths everything out but the encore's are still somewhat lean like the merlin/wilsons than perhaps the nouveau is my speaker. I dont know i'm just trying to work this out, outloud. Am i barking up the right tree? |
Wow..Jaybo...You and I couldn't be further apart! |
I used to own deCapos and still own P/Es and Merlin VSMs. This is not the comparison you were seeking comment on, but...
The Verity AIN"T LEAN!!
Certainly not in comparison with Wilson or Merlin or the deCapo.
FWIW
Marty |
my apologies...i'm going from memory too....the verity is the music guy's speaker (flat, tonally accurate, old school))....the 3a is the ubber detailed midrange at your nose speaker (not unlike a wilson).....sorry |
If by comparison to the merlin and the wilsons the parisfal encore's ARENT lean than there might be just enough fatness on their bones to float my boat for a long while. Maybe. Though the nouveau might have a real nice flavor of their own as well.Which is the whole point of my original question. I guess its a tough question as the nouveau's are a relatively unheard speaker. Martykl how would you compare the merlins to your parsifal encores? |
I think that maybe some of the disparity here about the 3a's could be the amplification .
When I was auditioning my De Capo i's they took on a remarkably different sound with a SS amp as opposed to a tube amp . They really did perform much better with tubes and I have heard them with 4 different tube amps . They had more body and musicality with the tubes .
With Cayin and Cary tube amps they were warm and slightly ascentuated in the midrange and upper base . With Primaluna they are about the highs and upper mids with a little more detail and less warmth . This is with stock tubes and integrateds.
And yes , they are a resolving speaker which may lead to the analitical connotation . Again , this could be attributed to the associated equipment . It really is all about synergy .
Just my 2 cents . |
Good point.
Both the nouveau and the parsifal encore are obviously great speakers. I guess what i am trying to find out is whether or not the encore is, relatively speaking,...thin?
Here's how i define thin and this analogy just popped into my head. To me thin is when you get great soundstaging but no visceral impact or in othe words no "physicalness" which lends physical support to the details that your hearing. You hear the musical information in the soundstage, but you dont feel it on your body. What comes to mind are electrostats. My analogy is that of a comic strip. If you stand back the presentation of colors and structure are there, rich and dense but if you look closely enough you realize the picture is made up of a bunch of dots and the form and structure seems to be lost. Well, on a sliding scale with some speakers you gets more "dots" in the presentation than with others. With some speakers you cant see the "dots"(though theyre obviously there) and with some its more apparent than with others. "Dense" would be the opposite of "thin." So, with that definition, with the decapos i feel that, no, to a very high degree they are pleasingly dense, though at times, whether to my cabling, amplification or room or the speaker itself there is a small hint of "analytical" to them, but its to a acceptable degree in my estimation and they DO present the music with relatively good physical impact. In a degree that slightly betters the merlin tsm mm. In this way i felt the merlins were more like the wilson (musical info but not a high degree undergirding everything) and having never heard the encore's i'm wondering if the encore's are closer to the merlins in this respect than what the nouveau's would be? Anyone? |
Cat,
If my previous communications didn't make it clear, in my experience the Verity is far, far "denser" than either the VSM or the deCapo - if I get your analogy. The physicality of music is more dramatic on the P/E. OTOH, individual instrumental lines "float in space" more eerily on the VSM, IMHO. The newer Merlins certainly are superior to previous versions in their ability to convey impact, but don't reach the level of the P/E. You may prefer the VSM or the Verity (a case could certainly be made for either), but by the narrow standard you've identified I can't imagine that the VSM (forget the decapo) could match the Verity. |
|
I have had Verity Parsifal's for 5yrs, and I can't be happier with the sound, the quality of fit and finish (makore in my case), and ongoing customer support (ie advice on placement, tweaks, cables, amps etc.). I haven't heard the other speakers mentioned - other than the Merlins - too long ago, but certainly auditioned them.
I'm no audiophile really, but as I audition new gear for the system, I am never interested in getting a new set of speakers. These things hold their own to $30k speakers out there in my experience.
They are alive, rich and full, yet very detailed (not bright, though). Their detail lends them to application with neutral tube gear. I've never heard "thin" applied to Verity - and my experience is that they punch way above their weight class for presence and filling a room full of music.
If you go Parsifals - consider getting the new plinth b/n the bass and monitor from Verity, and send me a note re other tweaks I've found very helpful.
The other spaekers are great - I can't compare and contrast for you; but I can tell you I've never had a better ownership experience and these are speakers with a wide, gorgeous presence! |
"thin" is not a word I would associate with my VA POs. Fully bodied is... As to the "visceral impact" you spoke of, before my current listening room, I was in a smaller one where the base cabinets were pointed forward and there was more attack. In my current room the overall sound benefited by having the base cabinets rear firing while I did loose some attack, the pros far out weighted the cons.
Keep in mind, that I have the Ovations which my present things differently than the Encores.
My Speaker History goes something like this: B&W DM3000 > B&W 805 Matrix > SF Concertos > SF Grand Pianos > SF Electa Amator II > (life changed big time) > 3A MM De Cappo i > Devore Gibbon Super 8 > Verity Audio Parsifal Ovations.
As you can see, my tastes started off very "detailed" and evolved to a real musical experience, driven by the adage it is more important for me to hear why the performers are on stage, than it is to hear where they are on stage
.
Enjoy the journey!
BTW: The customer service of VA is top notch |
Thanks guys for the input they are at the top of my very short speaker list! |
Anyone in the vancouver area willing to allow a verity speaker audition? |
