Which would you rather have?

I would not choose either one, given the wide range of options available in the $4,000.00 range.

Limited to just these two, I would go with the Energy Veritas.

I agree with Albert on that I would not pick either.But for very different reasons:this Martin Logan model will give you no real bass,and Energy(any model)sound like crap to my and many other's ears.More expensive and bigger Martin Logans are great even with Monster cables.So,generally your question puzzles me.

Between the two, I also like the Veritas much, much better. Energy makes a pretty good speaker, I've never heard the Veritas sound "like crap" in a proper setup, far from it, but for $4K there are a whole lot of options to look at as well, especially on the used market.

Hey guys (gals?... nahhh)

This is mhubbard responding to the puzzled people. I can get either of these speakers for aprox. 2000.00.

So thats why I ask about these in particular.

also wondering what you think I should be paying for a used pair of Veritas v1.8 speakers.

Look in the the classifieds here, there are 2 sets of 1.8s up for sale, under $2k.