Verity vs B&W

B&W's usually sound good when you first hear them, but the tweeter's usually wear you down over time; diamond or aluminum. Not every one feels that way, but if you can't get a really good, long demo, just to be sure, I would pass. Do you like the sound of the Verity? I assume you do, but you don't say.

Oh yes, I really like the sound of the Verity. What impressed me the most was its ability to recreate the venue of the performance...in other words, they image like crazy. I have to say that your two comments confirm what others had told me about B&W's. In fact, I am also considering a pair of Sonus Faber Amati...on the used market they go for more money but the only time I listened to them I found them to be pretty impressive...although one has a hard time disentangling sheer physical beauty and sound quality. They are so superior to anything else as an object that that might bias your listening experience.

I am not sure you will get an accurate response to your question since their are many varying opinions. For example, this statement "but the tweeter's usually wear you down over time; diamond or aluminum (Zd542, 2014)", is not my impression and certainly not with the N800 series, which is the pre-diamond series.

I find the sound of the B&W N800's excellent and very pleasing to my ears, so my opinion is the polar opposite of some others. Note that the N800's are not the same types of tweeter as the newer 803D's; so my impressions are based on that particular model; however, I would suggest you make your own informed decision based on critical and fun listening sessions.

The only way you are going to get a good impression of the speakers you are interested in is listening to them in different stores, audio shows, and bringing your own listening material for your very own reference. Home tests would be the best scenario. For every B&W speaker I have listened to over the years in a variety of venues, I have occasionally found a reason to not like that speaker for some other reason, the room acoustics, source and amplification. The same can be said of other speakers, so you will have some homework cut out for you. There are many reasons why a particular speaker will sound good or bad based on listening conditions.

I find myself getting lured into a relaxing state of mind with my B&W N800's, and can listen for hours on end. The only other speaker which gave me the feeling of being relaxed like my B&W N800's, was my friends Magnepan 3.6's.

There, some more variables added to the equation. Good luck and happy listening.

Ciao,
Audioquest4life

"04-25-14: Audioquest4life
I am not sure you will get an accurate response to your question since their are many varying opinions. For example, this statement "but the tweeter's usually wear you down over time; diamond or aluminum (Zd542, 2014)", is not my impression and certainly not with the N800 series, which is the pre-diamond series."

I could have sworn I put this in my first post right after the sentence you quote: "Not every one feels that way, but if you can't get a really good, long demo, just to be sure, I would pass."

Well, at least we can agree on Audioquest cables.

Seriously, though, I should have been more detailed in what B&W's I was talking about. I've had a few pairs over the years but the most relevant for this thread is the 802's with the Al tweeter. A good friend of mine has the 802D's. I've spent a lot of time with them, as well. I love the midrange on both speakers. B&W usually does a great job with the mids. Bass is OK. Not the best, but if you otherwise like the speaker, you can make it work. For me, the problem is the tweeters. I do prefer the D, but only because its not the Al. One thing I should mention is that I'm very sensitive to high frequencies. In order for me to be happy with a system, the highs have to be just right (Just right for me. As Caio states in his post, just right for you may be something else). B&W also image very well, but that will depend on placement and your choice of electronics.

Verity. No comparison in my opinion. Go listen to your 10 favorite tracks. Smoother, more detail, better mids, more dynamic. Hard to believe you are caught between these two speakers because they are pretty different. What else have you heard or what others are you interested in?