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Verity Audio Amadis Owners, Listener Impressions?

I was wondering if anyone who owns these speakers or who has spent some time with them could chime in about them. I'm waiting to hear a pair and it will probably be another couple of weeks at least before they will be available. The demo pair I will get to hear is currently being built by Verity, hence the delay. In the meantime, I was curious to get feedback from any owners out there or folks who have spent some time with them. I've done a good bit of searching on various forums and come across a couple of folks who have heard them but not a single owner. This is still a relatively new model from a pretty small manufacturer and at a significant price point, so I guess that's not surprising.

My local dealer has the Finn, Rienzi and the Leonore at a on display and I thought they had some very impressive qualities about them. In a second demo I had with the Leonore, I began to understand the view that I had seen various folks comment about Verity in general which is that while they may not necessarily grab you right away, spending time with them substantially increases appreciation for them. That was my experience and II am very much looking forward to hearing what the Amadis brings to the table in the way of additional bass output and overall sound refinement. I had been interested in hearing the Parsifal Ovation as a next step up from the Leonore, but there are no demos available from the distributor or from Verity directly because of the age of that model. So, the Amadis was suggested as an alternate. In speaking with Julien Pelchat, he had high praise for the Amadis (as you would expect) and takes the position that the ring radiator tweeter it employs is very close to the ribbon used on the Sarastro II. I haven't heard the latter, but it seems that there is quite a bit of good sentiment out there for the Sarastros so if the Amadis is close, I should be in for a real treat. I'm certainly interested to hear how the Amadis improves upon what I've already heard from the Leonore.

Since I know folks will ask if I have looked into or suggest alternatives, note that I am indeed looking at a variety of choices (as we all should be when considering new speakers, especially at this price point where so many good choices exist). My interest in this thread was to get some feedback on this specific model while I wait. Patience has never been my strong suit, but this seems like a good way t pass the time. Thanks in advance for any thoughts or feedback.

Jeff
rgbyhkr
rgbyhkr OP
32 posts
 
Those additional responses and impressions are interesting.  Hopefully, I'm only a couple of weeks out from the Amadis arriving here and at this point I'm not quite sure how it will play out.  My expectations are high, as they should be for this price category, so we'll see how they measure up to what hasbuiltup in my head over time.  Since the pair will be new, there's also the break-in period.  I'm going to give them a serious listen and likely more than one because of that factor but I won't get them if I don't love what I hear after a few sessions.  I hope I do love them because at that point I can stop looking and just enjoy a great choice.  That being said, I have this small but persistent feeling that given how the wait has served to further build up the anticipation, a let down might not be put of the realm of possibility. 

Soniqmike's comments do hit home to a certain degree as I kind of felt that way during the progression upward from Finn to Rienzi to Leonore.  The big jump in reaction to the sound never happened and the ROI on the Leonore compared to the Finn just didn't seem as good.  It was to me as if the sonic improvements just did glee pace with the price.  I certainly understand diminishing returns but to me this seemed magnified with those 3 models.  With the Amadis, I'm certainly expecting a very noticeable improvement and again, for good reason. If that doesn't happen, then I'll know for sure that Verity is just not for me.  It wouldn't be the end of the world but certainly would be disappointing to have waited just to get that result.  The good news is that I have a very strong alternate choice in the Burmesters and there's still listening to be done on the Silverbacks, Nolas, Focal Scalas and MBL 120 and 101 (those last 3 are new additions that I will get to hear at next week's AXPONA show here in Atlanta).  So, wait may have side benefits to either confirm the Amadis choice or perhaps instead offer up very good alternatives. 

Jeff
soniqmike
140 posts
 
Jeff, I think you are right on the money with the Verity break-in period, and since you already like the Verity sound, you should be very pleased with the Amadis- it all depends by how much ''more'' there is of the good stuff you already like!
rgbyhkr OP
32 posts
 
Hey Soniqmike,

I really am hopeful that the Amadis is what I want it to be and with any luck, it will be. I just got confirmation of another demo, but from a local owner this time instead of a dealer. I guy who lives near me has a pair of Avalons and invited me to come take a listen. I will be doing that this weekend so that certainly should round out a pretty darn good comparison. The next 2-3 weeks will be interesting.

Jeff
countingbackwards
138 posts
 
Based on the 4 different Verity speakers I've heard, I'd say that there is definitely a house sound. But, I would disagree that the differences are insignificant.

I found that the Rienzi is noticeably better than the Finn - even if they have very similar specs, the Rienzi has much better detail retrieval and richness throughout its bandwidth. Tonally, the Rienzi much more closely matches the higher-line Verity's than the Finn does.

The Parsifal retains the basic tonality of the Rienzi, while offering (again) enhanced low-level detail retrieval and richness due to its world-class mirange. Another big advantage over the Rienzi is that it's really a full-range speaker (down to 25 hz) that is equally adept at all parts of the range, and that difference is easily noticeable. The Parsifal just sounds much bigger than the Rienzi.

The Sarastro, IMHO, is a different beast than the Parsifal...not better or worse, just different. It's a high-efficiency design that excels at playing music at low volume levels - the Parsifal, while still excellent at low-level listening, is more of a dynamic and "exciting" sound - which makes sense based on the expected amplification of each speaker. The Sarastro has an incredible smoothness to it that is very beguiling...but it may need a bigger room to maintain this ease/flow.

I've never (knowingly) heard the Leonore, but my local dealer has told me that they usually don't recommend that model (and they don't stock it for auditions). They prefer Rienzi or Parsifal in terms of what they do for the $$$. With a dealer, YMMV, but based on what I'm reading here, it sounds like others may agree with him.

soniqmike
140 posts
 
Counting backwards, you wrote that ''But, I would disagree that the differences are insignificant.''

Who ever wrote that this was the case? I wish you would read the whole thing before jumping to quick conclusions. Insignificant or not is not for me to judge, I was meaning that the incremental benefits are not great, and that diminishing returns kick-in rapidly - but it is by no means ''insignificant'' and even if it was, for a lot of folks in this crazy hobby - ''insignificant'' improvements is good enough to warrant shelling out a lot of cash for. It is what drove me away from this hobby on to more sensibly-priced gear, with not as big a loss in overall quality. But that's a different topic altogether....
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