Opinions need about Energy Veritas 2.3i/2.4i [Archive] - Audio & Video Forums

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iviustang50h
05-16-2005, 07:18 AM
I have narrowed my search to two speakers:
Vandersteen 2CE Signature and the Energy Veritas series (2.3i or 2.4i). I have not yet demoed them, but I am in the process of setting up an appointment. The 2.4's are over my budget but can be had for 2 grand or so, used from audiogon. The dealer that I will be demoing at does not have them on the floor and will have to order a pair in hopes that I like them and buy them. But the thing is, is that I will not be buying from them so I feel bad about making him order a 3-4 thousand dollar speaker.

To be sure that I should even consider these speakers, who here has had experience with the veritas series, preferabley the 2.3i/2.4i, or who owns them and what is your opinion? I will be comparing them to the Vandersteen 2CE Sigs and would like to know which may be better suited for music. If the veritas are just that much better than the Vandees, I may stretch my budget and search for a pair of them for the best price. I do know that there is going to be someone who is going to tell me to just go out and listen to them, but I don't want that. Like I said, I will eventually give them a demo, but I would like feedback from those who know them. Thanks!

46minaudio
05-16-2005, 09:53 AM
I wish I could help you out on this one..I have owned the 2 sigs and now the 3s..Vandersteen IMO makes an outstanding product.You will find it is a love hate type of thing on this board.Some think there are great some dont.If I had to guess the 2.4s will play louder than the 2 sigs.I say this because I also own V2 studio 100s.Different rooms hell different houses.The 100s play louder than the 3 sigs.I have used the 3s powered with a 795a Yamaha and they sounded great.I am now uasing Aragons 2ch and a 3ch amps to power them with a Lexicon DC1 pre.At normal levels I had a hard time telling them apart.Good luck in your search.

topspeed
05-16-2005, 11:05 AM
The Veritas speakers will have a more forward presentation than the 2ce's and will also be more dynamic at equal listening levels. However, one problem I found with the Veritas was that they tended to exhibit some sibilance which I found fatiguing after awhile. If there is one thing you'll never hear said about Vandy's, it's that they are fatiguing.

As 46 noted, Vandy's tend to foster either a love or hate response. I'm in the latter, but that's not to say they aren't good speakers. Just not my cup o' tea.

BTW, I would do whatever necessary to not make your dealer put $3-4K speakers on the floor without an honest intention in buying them from him. Unless you live in an area populated with wealthy audiophiles, there's a good chance you dealer will be stuck with those things on his floor for quite a while. That's just not cool. If enough people did the same thing, the end result will be fewer and fewer dealers left to audition quality gear at because they all went out of business stocking unsaleable product! It's bad enough that most of them are converting to cheap receivers and mass market HT stuff. At the very least, drive to a dealer that has the speakers in stock.

Hope this helps.

iviustang50h
05-16-2005, 08:17 PM
The Veritas speakers will have a more forward presentation than the 2ce's and will also be more dynamic at equal listening levels. However, one problem I found with the Veritas was that they tended to exhibit some sibilance which I found fatiguing after awhile. If there is one thing you'll never hear said about Vandy's, it's that they are fatiguing.

As 46 noted, Vandy's tend to foster either a love or hate response. I'm in the latter, but that's not to say they aren't good speakers. Just not my cup o' tea.

BTW, I would do whatever necessary to not make your dealer put $3-4K speakers on the floor without an honest intention in buying them from him. Unless you live in an area populated with wealthy audiophiles, there's a good chance you dealer will be stuck with those things on his floor for quite a while. That's just not cool. If enough people did the same thing, the end result will be fewer and fewer dealers left to audition quality gear at because they all went out of business stocking unsaleable product! It's bad enough that most of them are converting to cheap receivers and mass market HT stuff. At the very least, drive to a dealer that has the speakers in stock.

Hope this helps.

Oh I fully agree with you. I do NOT want to screw the dealer by doing that. No one around here carries them, which is why I created this post. I want the honest opinions of people like yourself who have heard both speakers. I may just order whichever the masses choses, even though it may be the veritas which I may never hear until they are delivered.. Worst case, I will order them from an online dealer who offers a 30-day money back gaurantee. Do any of those even exist?

Either way, those have have heard these speakers. Please post your findings. Which did you like best and why? Thanks!

topspeed
05-16-2005, 10:24 PM
Worst case, I will order them from an online dealer who offers a 30-day money back gaurantee. Do any of those even exist?
Glad to hear you're an honorable person. Audioadvisor.com has a 30 day return policy and they carry Energy, just not the whole line all the time. Check there.

Tarheel_
05-17-2005, 07:48 AM
I have narrowed my search to two speakers:
Vandersteen 2CE Signature and the Energy Veritas series (2.3i or 2.4i). I have not yet demoed them, but I am in the process of setting up an appointment. The 2.4's are over my budget but can be had for 2 grand or so, used from audiogon. The dealer that I will be demoing at does not have them on the floor and will have to order a pair in hopes that I like them and buy them. But the thing is, is that I will not be buying from them so I feel bad about making him order a 3-4 thousand dollar speaker.

To be sure that I should even consider these speakers, who here has had experience with the veritas series, preferabley the 2.3i/2.4i, or who owns them and what is your opinion? I will be comparing them to the Vandersteen 2CE Sigs and would like to know which may be better suited for music. If the veritas are just that much better than the Vandees, I may stretch my budget and search for a pair of them for the best price. I do know that there is going to be someone who is going to tell me to just go out and listen to them, but I don't want that. Like I said, I will eventually give them a demo, but I would like feedback from those who know them. Thanks!

I have heard both the 2.3i and 2CE and found they are quite different sounding speakers (from memory). You did not list your music preference or if they may become part of a surround sound setup so these may factor in....FWIW --- i preferred the 2CE's for Jazz, but overall my notes had more positives to say about the Energy's especailly if you consider a future HT setup. Good luck and be sure to post your findings and which you choose.

iviustang50h
05-19-2005, 05:47 AM
I have heard both the 2.3i and 2CE and found they are quite different sounding speakers (from memory). You did not list your music preference or if they may become part of a surround sound setup so these may factor in....FWIW --- i preferred the 2CE's for Jazz, but overall my notes had more positives to say about the Energy's especailly if you consider a future HT setup. Good luck and be sure to post your findings and which you choose.

My music preference is mainly rock and heavy metal.
I may, in the future sometime, turn this into a HT setup as well, but for now these will be the speakers that get put into my dedicated music room. But yes, eventually HT will come into the equation.

What did you like better about the veritas? My main focus will be music.

RGA
05-19-2005, 02:45 PM
The Energy is very open and powerful sounding -- the entire Veritas line -- Still they can also sound a little fatiguing and a little rough around the edgs for the money The big floorstanders which were going for abou $7k were better than the standmounts which are a bit overpriced to me. Not a fan ov the Vandersteens I've heard which seem to be nearly polar opposites and what I heard would be terrible for rock or heavy metal but then I personally don;t think very many standmounts are best suited for this as it is.

What else can you audition in your town? If you're not in a rush then take some time and explore other avenues. When i was auditioning i had some Aerosmith Pump, AC/DC and Motley Crue and they're just as viable for auditioning as other genres -- many that could do oboe and Flute solos to astionishingly wonderous levels would just collapse when presented with Rock music -- The highly regarded Castle Eden was quite excellent on small scale classical but fell apart with Tina Turner - and many speakers have this problem.

iviustang50h
05-19-2005, 04:40 PM
The Energy is very open and powerful sounding -- the entire Veritas line -- Still they can also sound a little fatiguing and a little rough around the edgs for the money The big floorstanders which were going for abou $7k were better than the standmounts which are a bit overpriced to me. Not a fan ov the Vandersteens I've heard which seem to be nearly polar opposites and what I heard would be terrible for rock or heavy metal but then I personally don;t think very many standmounts are best suited for this as it is.

What else can you audition in your town? If you're not in a rush then take some time and explore other avenues. When i was auditioning i had some Aerosmith Pump, AC/DC and Motley Crue and they're just as viable for auditioning as other genres -- many that could do oboe and Flute solos to astionishingly wonderous levels would just collapse when presented with Rock music -- The highly regarded Castle Eden was quite excellent on small scale classical but fell apart with Tina Turner - and many speakers have this problem.

I have heard the Vandies, not bad with metal at all. I am still in the process of auditioning the Veritas. This is what I have auditioned thus far.

B&W 704, 703, 604, 803. Of these, I liked the 803 the best. Too expensive though as my budget is 2500 tops. The 704's are nice, maybe a bit bright, and lacking in the bass department. 703 was great, but too expensive.

Definitive Technology BP7002. Not bad but the bass muddies the mid and treble. A little too laid back as well

Paradigm studio 60, studio 100, and monitor 9. I liked the 60's and 100's. My only issue was that while listening to metal, sometimes certain instruments overpowered others. For example, the drums and cymbols overpowered the guitar and vocals.

Monitor audio Silver 6's. These were in the same league as the Paradigm 60's IMHO. They weren't the new RS series, so they were being sold for only 800 per pair. NICE. Althought they were pretty nice, I don't think that deal is around anymore. I would definitely have to go back and forth to see which I liked better; Silver 6's or Studio 60's.

Linn (don't remember the model). Way too bright. Rock and metal isn't recorded the greatest and on these, it showed, but too much. I want to hear it all, but not this much.

Finally we have Vandersteen 2ce Signature. I liked these the best I would say. I could hear all the details and nothing overpowered anything else. The CD player and Receiver costed 15K for the both, so I hope that is not why they sounded so nice.

So now you know what I have listened to, and what I have a taste for. I like clear and a little airy. I don't like too muddy OR too bright. I want something that won't fatique my ears, but at the same time I don't want to miss hearing anything in the music. So, now that you know my tastes, would I like the Energy Veritas 2.3i or 2.4i?

Oh and when I demoed these speakers I used:
Metallica
In Flames
Suidakra
Dream Theater

Thanks!

Krusty
05-21-2005, 02:18 PM
I purchased a package deal from American Theater Systems. An internet dealer, but they also go by "The Record Shop" which is an authorized dealer. I demoed the speakers at a Good Guys, then purchased by internet. They claim that I have full warranty and they did give me receipts from The Record Shop which is located in New Jersey.

Try this link.
http://www.amsound.com/speakers.html and speak to Cathy.

I got a pair of 2.4i, a pair of 2.0Ri and one 2.0Ci for $3775 US. The Good Guys laughed at me when I tried to get them to price match. They wanted over $5000 for the set.

I demoed B&W, Definitive, Polk, Klipch & Energy. I am not an expert, but I am very happy with what I purchased. For the value, I couldn't pass on this deal. Had them for 6 months and no problems.