Audio Physic: Virgo or Libra???

Beware of room & amplification, Sunnyjim! I successively had Virgo, Libra AND Avanti -- and, also auditioned the Medea -- AND met J.Gerhard (Mr A Physics). I spent 2 happy yrs with Mr Gerhard's products.

IMO the difference in quality justified the price incremental. (Glide3 -- *wow* is word for the new Avantis... but wait till you hear the Medea)
HOWEVER, G. at the time mentioned the following caveats:
a) Amplification. I'm not sure you can drive Avantis to their best with the present gear... so you'd be looking at a biggger investment than the speakers' price differential!!
b) for your room I think Virgos is probably as far as the room will take.
My room is larger (~25...), so the Avantis were perfect, the Medeas just over the limit. BUT: in order to control the Avanti's (i.e. to get my money's worth out of them) I had to use solid state MONOS (Symphonic Line RG4).

Hope this helps -- if I can help further, don't hesitate.

You can buy a pair of Virgos for $3000 on this site, for this price you can't lose. I just got a pair and they are great, I am selling my beloved Maggie 1.6.

I'd talk directly to the US importer about their synergy with your room.(www.immediasound.com)This website also describes in deatil Immedias views on the optimal way to set up the AP speakers. Yamamura cables are also an excellent match. As for the US retail I believe it is $9500

I want to thank all who responed to my question. I can recognize two things. That the Virgo with the right electronics can supercede the performance of the Libra. I have an Aragon 4004 and Conrad Johnson PV-8. I think these pieces can do it. I had never heard of AP and Wireworld combo. Finally, and let me make this the follow-up question, can the Avantis work in a 14X13 space and with equipment, I've mentioned, and are they worth $8500, or is it 10K???

The Virgos would be great in your room. As mentioned earlier the Avanti III's a very fine speakers...I had a chance to hear them at both Singers and Immedia and wow! If there is anything better in this price range I have not heard it.

I have now had Audio Physic Virgos for the last 2 years and think they are terrific. I auditioned the Libras and decided to stick with the Virgos. I am now considering the new Avanti III's, which are just out as of the first of this year and are rated almost as efficient as the Virgos (89 spl vs 90). I heard them at Singer and found them a little bright with the Krell FPB 300; not at all bright with a 70 Watt VAC but that amp clipped much too soon, allbeit softly. I would very interested in other's views of these three Audio Physic models. Incidentally, I very much agree that they go well with Pass (Aleph) amps and with Wire World cable.

I would go for the virgo's in your smaller room. They don't go THAT deep (31khz or so), but they go there with complete authority. If you want stronger bass, you can either go with a monster solid state amp or pick up an audio physic terra subwoofer later. The subwoofer will give you considerably stronger bass than the libra, and will be adjustable. The midrange of the virgo is the best I've heard. I've never heard the libra. I think soundstage.com or stereotimes.com may have reviewed it. Stereophile has an online '95 review of the Virgo I.

I had both Libra and Virgo and I think that Libra is better but more difficult to drive and likes/prefers bigger room.
If you consider Libra go out and listen to Avanti III they are perhaps best speakers under 10K today....Unfortunately they can be tough to drive (2.7 ohm) you will need nice solid state amp, I had great experience with Pass and Goldmund products. In your room you may still have to install some wall treatment.
AudioPhysic hint they sound best with Wireworld cable.
Enjoy it :-)

I would also consider the Avanti's. The special edition Avanti Centuries use the Caledra Tweeter and sound a lot better than the Libra's or Virgo's. Good Luck!

I considered both these, although I went with something. I spent several listen sessions with each . The main difference in these speakers is bass. The Virgos are a better value but if you need deep bass in a large room you will want the libras. Libras are less efficient so amps also need to be considered.