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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
edorr
714 posts
 
Jeff, the way to get more bass with the Verities is get two JL Audio 113's subs, an external crossover and a discrete 2 channel SVS sub equalizer. This will give you completely flat bass response from the subs, and very good integration with the Verities (which drop if nice and steep around 35Hz - at least mine do base on in room measurement). I do this at home using a cheap Xover and only using the low pass signal to the subs. The verities run at full range. You can also get a better Xover and use a high pass filter for the verities. I personally prefer not to have the additional filter in the main signal path.

There are a few advantage to this approach:
Although by no means cheap, it is far more cost effective than going two three models up in the main speaker product line, which is what it would take to get this amount of additional bass extension.
Since the subs are active and 2x 1,500watt class-D works just fine for subs, the savings on amps is also significant.
You have full EQ on the bass, which is where most room response problems occur. The mains signal stays pure and clean in the analog domain.

If you wish you can listen to the results of this setup, because I live very close to you. I have the old partifal encores.
countingbackwards
138 posts
 
Soniqmike...to my understanding, "incremental benefits are not great" is the same thing as saying that the differences are insignificant. We're talking pedantics here. But if there's a significant difference to the comments, then we can let the readers determine that.

Back on topic...I would say that IMHO, the Leonore's main role is to be a high-efficiency design of a speaker similar to the Rienzi, so if you don't need that enhanced efficiency, the Leonore is a poor value at nearly double the price of the Rienzi. But, I say this looking at specs only and not having heard the Leonore in the flesh, so take that for what it's worth. But of the 3 Verities I've heard (Finn, Rienzi, Parsifal), the difference is notable and easier to grasp than some other brands that I've heard when moving up the line.
rgbyhkr OP
32 posts
 
Edorr,

Thanks for your very detailed response. I've been a guy who long prefers fuller range floorstanders over sub integration. I know I could achieve sime incredible results, but I just prefer to listen to music without them. Part of that is a sub integration issue that I have played with at various times and never been able to get quite right and part of it is a room location issue so that my wife doesn't feel like the room is overrun. It's just a preference, though I have admittedly heard some excellent music setups using 2-way monitors plus a sub.

Jeff
rgbyhkr OP
32 posts
 
Countingbackwards,

As for the differences between Verity models I will say one last thing. Had I had the chance to hear the Parsifal Ovation, I would have gone that route instead of jumping to the Amadis. My expectation for them would have been similar to the Amadis based on specs, comments from reviewers and owners as well as the price step up. There's still the question to be answered for me about value for the Amadis. As in, even if I like it, do I like it at that price? That will be one I'll have to answer myself and compare that listening impression and associated price with others, including the Burmester B30 at about half the price.

Speaking of the B30, your comments on the differences between Parsifal and Sarastro are interesting. I absolutely found theB30 to be a "fun" speaker to listen to. It was perhaps less adept at critical listening than its B80 big brother, but that fun aspect made for an appeal all its own. I wonder how the Amadis will sound in that regard? I expect that the Sarastro would be more on the critical listening end for me than a fun speaker. If the Amadis is somewhere in between, that could make for a very good mix.

Jeff
countingbackwards
138 posts
 
Jeff,

One thing I should point out...the difference between the Parsifal and the Sarastro that I noted may not be entirely attributable to the speakers. Keep in mind that the Sarastro's were being powered by a 300B tube integrated by Nagra - I'm powering my Parsifals with a far punchier, less exotic amp in the Ayre AX7e. So conclusions can really only be made on one system vs. another. Of course, the speaker is the most significant contributor to the sound...but the amount of drive present can certainly be traced to the amp as well.

For better or for worse, Verity does seem to be going in the high-efficiency direction...all their recent models are higher efficiency than what came before (or are just all-new high-efficiency models). As such, I'd expect the Amadis to sound more like the Sarastro - by the specs it's just a Sarastro for a smaller room and a soft-dome tweeter in place of a ribbon.

I agree about preferring my speakers in a 2-channel setup to be full-range (or as full-range as possible). I prefer the experts to design the crossovers, and not to mess with it myself. For those who are happy to get involved with crossovers though, some $$$ can be saved by getting subs with cheaper speakers - you could just get Parsifal Ovation monitors for a lot less money than any Verity full-range system, and add a pair of subs.

The Burmester B30 is the one I heard at the show last week - it sounded very good to me, but I wouldn't classify it as being any more or less "fun" than the Sarastro - both were phenomenal speakers, among the best at the show and better IMHO than the more expensive MBL's that were on display. Neither seemed to lack for fun nor for critical listening, their differences being as much driven by the different amplifaction each was using as anything else.
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