Verity Audio midrange drivers?

I agree with Buff. Skaaning are in another league compared to the others. 2 inch voice coils and large magnets with decent Xmax - they should sound very clean with low distortion compared to almost everything else on the market.

The Leonore looks like a great speaker, but should I not be a little concerened about the Scandinavian designed tweeter made in Indonesia?

No. Tweeters are not that important in the scheme of things. Midrange and Bass drivers are much more important.

Have you considered Active PMC's - they come with Bryston amps - so a good portion is Canadian and they are world class.

Duh! For that kind of money take a long weekend and plan a visit somewhere - so that you can audition.

Mark,

FWIW I would stay away from the 803d model unless you like a midrange scoop. The tweeter is crossed over at 4 Khz. Inevitably this means that the large 6 inch midrange will beam at the frequencies between 1 and 4 Khz.

This is definitely not world class design and like the 802d it is an expensive speaker to have such a gaping midrange hole (look at Figure 5 and you can see the off axis grand canyon response across the midrange).

B&W do make some absolutely awesome speakers - however finding the gems is a little tricky as they have more models than Imelda Marcus has shoes.

Caveat: Some love the midrange scoop because of the extra emphasis and sizzle that this places on the highs and lows (sounds very detailed or resolving and with a bass emphasis that is extremely impressive - although you can easily achieve this with tone controls on a more precise speaker should you prefer that kind of sound).

Mark,

My remark was not in favor of Verity versus B&W. Both are similar designs and suffer from Grand Canyon midrange scoop. (large midrange that beams)

As an example of a better design (staying with B&W) take a look at this smooth on and off axis response of the B&W Nautilus 805 - now that is world class with the tweeter crossed over lower and closer to the point where the large midrange starts to beam like a flashlight.

Verity Audio is a small Canadian company, and to have almost their entire product line discussed or reviewed recently in Stereophile makes a very strong statement.

In the October 2009 issue they included the Parsifal, Sarastro, and Rienzi in their listing of recommended components.

Verity Audio is a small Canadian company, and to have almost their entire product line discussed or reviewed recently in Stereophile makes a very strong statement.

I read reviews with a jaded eye, but with Verity Audio I think that they may be on to something.

I don't think you can really conclude anything ("a very strong statement' and that "Verity are on to something") from Stereophile. They rarely say anything negative about anything and their recommended components list is huge.

Like cars, nearly everything you see discussed in the rags is "best in its class" or the best thing since sliced bread. What you can be assured of is that Verity at least make an excellent product... but attributing that they are really something "special" or head and shoulders above the rest may be a stretch.

What is generally most reliable about Stereophile is John Atkinson's final paragraph on the measurements. If he drops a few hints that the measurements are "idiosyncratic" or uses another euphemism like that...

I have been enjoying the Verity Audio Parsifal Ovations for several months now

Agreed they have a wonderful laid back smooth sound. Soft mids and some warmth in the bass.

Interestingly Redbook can sound as good as SACD to me when it is well recorded. Some Chandos and Hyperion recordings from the early 90's sound superb.

Yes Chandos and Hyperion are high quality CD's. Since you like piano and Jazz - try also Dave Grusin's Homage to Duke.