Verity Audio

Redspectral I heard the Verity Fidelio as well as the Tomino and for whatever the reason the Fidelio trumped the tamino in terms of transparency and speed sounding very much like an electrostat across the midrange to treble region ie.seemless.I was- and still intend to make a pair of parcifals mine when funds will allow me to,[for sure]in discussing the sound of these fidelios with Mr Pelchant on the phone he explained to me the reason for this seemless transition was the moving of the crossover to 7 khtz. I believe he stated this was away from our ability to hear this in the midrange then using a underhung midrange driver custom made from audiotechnology providing a fast seemless sound,[ FREE RUNNING MIDRANGE] really about the best speaker Ive heard matched with Plinius SA102s and M8 preamp which is- [Plinius electronics, magnum dynalab, pioneer elite 730hdmi, transparent cables ect...]where I put my money into in the last year feeling a good front end is the place to start;however the Tominos just didnt have that magic that the fidelios had.Contrary to some I believe its the sound of these speakers that set them apart from the pack and they deserve partnering with the best ancillary equipment, the finish is georgeous and Im sure thats figured in but its hard for me to believe anyone sitting down listening to this speaker[fidelios or parcifals ] woudnt be stunned by the sound reproduction- I actually was heading down a hall at a dealerships after auditioning some Eggleston Andras for about three hrs. at another dealers when going down this hall I heard these in a side room and sorta said "WOW" and backed up and listened to these Fidelios with Plinius and a tubed Metronome cd for quite a while; mesmorising and unforgettable experiance/ next up for me!! REGARDS TIM W.

Redspectral, I was thinking you were hunting for a pair of used speakers and the original Parsifal can be had for less than $7000 (not the Encore). I agree also that the Fidelio are a class act and close to Parsifal (not as low) for a lot less ($3500-$4,000). Wilson fail to move me the way a Verity or Avalon does, music does not flow as naturally but this is my modest opinion and may well be gear dependent. $ for $, I would have a hard time picking a Wilson over one of my two favorite brands. Good luck.

Beheme,

Sorry I have been all over the place with my thoughts regarding my speaker selection. I actually am looking to buy new. The two brands I am looking at are Wilson and Verity. I have a really large room they will be in so at first I thought the Tamino but think it will be to small...because of this I will be looking at the Sophia 2, Duette and the Fidelio. Parsifal Encores would be phenomenal but they are a little over my intended budget. I did hear them with a all spectral setup and I thought they were great! :)

What about Tyler Acoustics? with the 30-day trial, I would not buy any speaker without auditioning his but living in Canada makes the whole trial period a nightmare with custom. The Woodmere are said to be as good as any speaker this side of the Milky Way (!) for $12k. Even lower in the line (Linbrook Signature) you get astonishing speakers for the price of ONE Wilson Sophia or Verity Parsifal ($5,500...!). In a room your size, Woodmere must sing like few others.
Check this thread:

http://forum.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/fr.pl?cspkr&1103148827&read&keyw&zzwoodmere

Well I just came back from my audio dealer and had a great time auditioning some of the speakers mentioned. I had a chance to listen to the Wilson Sophia 1 against the Verity Audio Fidelio....I brought my wife also to give a second opinion. Well all I have to say is the Wilson Sophia was fantastic! I auditioned with a full Linn system and the Sophia was just great. It was fuller bodied than the Fidelio, great tight bass, vocals were smoother and just overall soundstage was better. I am sure the Fidelio is a fine speaker but in this case it just was a matter of preference and the Sophia just suited me better.

I had the B&W 802D at my house on demo and the Sophia was better IMO. One thing that struck me is that at lower listening levels the Sophia retained so much detail where as the B&W's really wanted to be cranked up to get their full potential. I thought the bass was tighter and cleaner on the Sophia compared to the 802D's.

All the speakers I have listened to have been great but really a matter of taste as to which one would suit an individual. I am now considering purchasing a new pair of Sophia 2's.....I just have to get the courage to plunk down the cash as this is probably my biggest audio investment. I will be spending this week thinking about it.
Thanks for all the comments and advice!