Verity Parsifal or Magico V3 or Wilson Benesch ACT

Dhaan,

This is one of those agree to disagree things.

I have never seen any set of specs that acurately correlates to my experience of in room performance - including on-axis frequency response and power response measured at the listing position (I have done both). Certainly no manufacturer's spec comes close. I'm not suggesting magic - just that the speaker and room together are the relevant system, and no manufacturer can predict that (though some try!) unless they do room correction. Further, FOR ME no single in-room spec captures all the relevant data.

My comment about the uniformity of opinion re: Verity was not restricted to owners. (BTW, I'm an owner and, ironically, prior to you, I thought I was the most "Verity critical" voice on the forum, though mine was more "nits"). Scan the threads and you will find TONS of Wilson bashing and Sonus Faber bashing to use your 2 examples. OTOH, you are the first I've found to dismiss Verity.

I will not take issue with your comments regarding design flaws in the Parsifals, I am not qualified. OTOH, design and performance, though related, are not the same thing. You say the car will not go far, I say the bumblebee indeed does fly, even if you don't want it to! In this regard, you should acknowledge that your theory of "objectivity" puts you in an odd position:

If the performance of the Verity is obviously flawed, there should be a community of opinion pointing that out - just as there are for Wilson and Sonus Faber (not that I agree or disagree with their position). For Verity, you seem to comprise that community. Hence, my characterization "outlier". Gallileo was an outlier. You may be Gallileo or you may be wrong.

Marty

I think we should all thank our lucky stars we have Dhaan around to point out these huge design flaws that the folks at Verity obviously missed! I’m sure that Dhaan could teach all of us a thing or two about speaker design. I’ll bet he’s read enough Time Life how to books, not to mention measurements at Stereophile, to qualify for a speaker building degree at one of the prestigious online universities.

I’d just like to thank Dhaan for letting us little people in on his expertise. I’m astonished that the CEO’s at the big companies like Revel or Wilson or Paradigm haven’t already hired Dhaan away as Chief Speaker Designer. Gosh, what are those guys waiting for?

hmm pls tell us more it really get interesting now!

I will gladly tell you more but first, let’s make sure you understand the difference between creating sound from a violin and reproducing sound from stereo system.

Marty, I agree, I've heard someone, other than Dhaan, not like the Verities (that doesn't mean that they don't sound good to him, could be). I did not know that opinion was actually divided on Merlin, certainly not from Merlin owners. One of the most remarkable statics of seen are the from the Audioreview.com site where 121 owners of the Merlin speakers give them an overall rating of 4.97 out 5 - that is pretty overwhelming evidence that some folks really like the Merlins.

Pubul,

Many contributors to these threads maintain that the speaker is top heavy (insufficient bass). The VSMs IME are very sensitive to room and partnered electronics. Their impedence curve probably contributes to the latter. In my home, particularly before I had the SEs upgraded, a number of people made the same comment - generally after direct comparison to the Verity, which is a bit warmer. However, the vast majority like both.

Over the years, I have wavered between them, switching them in and out of my system. Over time, I migrated more to the VSMs. Recently, I have added a couple of new speakers into the rotation, so both the P/Es and VSMs are sidelined for a while. I assure you, when they return to action both speakers will once again delight with their respective strengths and satisfy with their common lack of significant weaknesses.

Marty