Three inch aluminum midrange, build quality and the overall presentation and acoustical coherence of this loudspeaker.o

If I had to pick something, it would be the fact that Energy put the ports in the rear and they really should have put them in the front. The rear-porting can make for difficult room placement as far as bass response goes, especially in smaller rooms where the speakers are close to the wall.?

After auditioning new loudspeakers for almost a year, The Energy Veritas 1.8's made it an easy choice for me. Bass is extremely articulate and tight with the dual six and a half inch drivers. The highs are extended and airy with the one inch aluminum tweeter and the mids (oh, those mids), is where this speaker really excels. The three inch aluminum dome midrange has a fantastic power handling and doesn't break up at concert-like levels at all. Voices, stringed instruments, acoustic guitar and pretty much everything with a musical presence came across very lifelike. This speaker will do all kinds of music exceptionally well. It is also a killer home theater speaker, especially where it comes to well recorded classical movie soundtracks. Speakers compared were the PSB stratus gold i, the Paradigm v2 studio 100, The B&W nautilus 803-804, The Dynaudio contour 1.8-3.0, Martin Logan Aeon just to name a few. All of these speakers are pretty great in their own way with the exception of the psb gold i. That speaker was quite a disappointment and does not deserve to be placed in the $2000+up category. It did not have the coherence of the other speakers. In the end, it was that lucious midrange of the Veritas 1.8's that had me sold. It's accuracy is hard to beat. Ô

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See above article.

YOU KNOWWWW!!!!...you get the point..Articulation, intelligibility and life like music detail

Weaknesses? give me a break....

I been holding off purchasing the energy 2.3,2.4 as fronts to alongside my Veritas 2.0C just from a sheer price/performance value. My extensive search ended when I came across the V1.8 (new) at a bargin basement price of $1750/pr (no tax). Of all the speakers I''ve listened to (anything offered by Good Guys, Fry''s, Circuit City,local Hi-fi shops,etc..) nothing comes close. Sometimes legacy is better..The mid and high are to die for w/ great dynamic range. Alongside my Sony 777ES receiver I believe I have the perfect combination for my usage.

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None worthy of comparing to the veritas

Reproduces Accurate highs, hand made...built solid

Lack of clarity in the mid/low-low fez., Poor depth, dynamics, price

I owned a pair of v1.8 speakers for about nine months before I was forced to sell them. Yes the tweeter is impressive reproducing accurate highs but with dense low frequency information or when listening to less than top quality recordings or CDs, the bottom end falls flat on it's face. There's not doubt that the mid and low unit on the v1.8 are no where close to the same level of high qualty as the tweeter unit. The depth and dynamics take big hits because of this. Also this creates a problem if you listen to different types of music because the quality level shifts dramatically (depending on the amount of dynamics present in the song). As far as hometheater goes....it doesn't, its not a hometheater speaker and I personally never used it as a hometheater speaker, I strickly used it as a home audio speaker only. The price on the v1.8 is on the high side if you ask me but at the same time I'm not sure I know anyone that has paid full retail for the v1.8's. Yes there are better speakers in the v1.8's full retail price range. I think it would be better suited if it were in the 2,000 to 2,500 price range. I sold mine because the lack of quality over all the different types of music I listen to. I ended up going with a cheaper speaker with good dynamics...the PSB stratus goldi. The goldi retails for 2,600 and I picked it up for 2,200 so maybe nobody pays full retail for a pair of speakers therefore Energy should lower the full retail price to make there speaker more attractable, just a thought.

Value for dollar

Not many.

Sounds like someone is out to pan these speakers intentionally from the comments below.
I don't normally post to forums but this will be an exception as I feel this speaker is being intentionally misaligned and I must put in my two cents.
I have owned a pair of these in the mahogany finish for about two years now and have grown to love them and they provide real excitement, realistic dynamics and sound very real. They do have an extremely long breakin period and do take on entirely different characteristics when tri-wired. Careful placement is mandatory (as is normal with any speaker of this caliber) to prevent bass bloom. Careful selection of electronics and cabling is important too as they are revealing of any flaws upstream in the signal path. Sweet spot is very wide though and several people can enjoy the soundstage at the same time and the dispersion is exceptionally smooth. The tweeter is the finest I have heard at any price. The only weak point is that the depth of image is not all it could be but Energy offers the step up V2.8 with sharper slopes on the crossovers that improves on that. (Athough, I'm just breaking in some new Kimber Silver Streak interconnects on the electronics and they seem to be bringing out a depth that was never there before; keeps getting better every day!)
When I bought mine, I think I must have listened to all the speakers available (at least 12 brands) in my area around $5000.00cdn and, while there is a lot of nice stuff out there, it was always a matter of trade offs; one brand would have super soundstage but no bass or have lots of bass but no detail, or something that I could not live with. The V1.8 represented the best overall balance of all factors plus can play at realistic levels without losing their finesse and I'm still convinced that they are best bang for the buck. They make every listening session an event.
Audio Ideas Guide uses these as their reference speakers and every speaker they review gets compared back to the V1.8.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but are they not on Stereophile magazine's annual recommended components list too?
When I see reviews like the ones below outright attacking these speakers, it makes me think something fishy is going on.

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Many

Last week I had my first chance to listen to the V1.8's at a friends house. My friend is totally in love with these speakers, I can't say that holds true for me as well. For me one huge drawback to the V1.8 speaker is that it can't do hometheater like other speakers can in the same price range. Although the audio end of the speaker is not terribly flawed it not that great either. The speaker is hand made but that certainly does not make it a great sounding speaker and I can't think of one speaker in the $4,000 price range that is not hand made? After hearing these speakers I have come to one certain conclusion that the V1.8 is highly suspect and controversial at best. The bottom line is that there are better more versatil speakers out there at the same price.

After I told my friend what I honestly felt towards his V1.8's he became upset and very defensive but after we went to town to listen to some other speakers in the same price range, the first thing he said is " I guess I didn't do my homework or at least not very well" The good news is that he does have a speaker that does sound good but he did pay to much for it and could have had a better speaker. I personally believe that this review site is also very defensive naturally because they bought this speaker and are trying to convince themselves that they got a good deal, I guess its human nature. If you are looking to buy the V1.8 please do your homework and if you still think the V1.8 is the best speaker for you then by all means buy it.

Great imaging, deep bass, top notch build quality

None

I am in total agreement with Marc and Keith, these speakers are among the best I've heard. My room is 20' x 24' with cathedral ceilings, and these speakers produce enough bass to rattle the glasses in my kitchen! I listen to everything from Bach to Metallica, and unless the recording is just plain bad, the v1.8's reproduction is nothing less than phenominal.
I have one suggestion for those few individuals who are saying the performance is not up to par with it's price tag: Put down the crack pipe, trade your Technics receiver for a "real" amp, and upgrade your lamp cord with some decent speaker cable and listen again.

My equipment: B & K Reference 20 (Pre)
B & K Reference 4420 (amp)
Monster M1.4 Biwire cable
Monster M950 Interconnects
Pioneer PD-59 (cd)

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B & W Nautilus 802's, Martin Logan Request

Very neutral, outstanding vocals, great soundstage, excellent finish and build quality

Requires a large room

I've had these speakers for over a month and couldn't be more impressed. I don't understand the negative comments below that these speakers have no bass (it's spelled bass, not base). I have mine in a large room, 18'x27', with cathedral ceilings sloping to 16' and the bass reproduction is outstanding. I can make the house shake if I like. You must move them out from the wall at least 2 feet. Small adjustments can make a big difference with these speakers. I'm running each speaker bi-wired on it's own Sony TA-N55ES amp in mono mode. This puts 400W @ 4 ohms into each speaker. I tried running them off of my TA-N9000ES amp at 200WPC but these speakers are power hungry.

Jazz reproduction is amazing. Female vocals are reproduced perfectly. Classical is also very impressive. When I want to rock, these speakers are ready. Home Theater is very satisfactory. As one reviewer notes below, Energy is updating the Veritas line and will bring out a new Center and Surrounds. Go to www.soundscapeav.com/energy/veritas2.html to see photos and pricing of the new line.

The finish quality of the black lacquer is perfect. My wife is very picky and she loves the way they look. You can tri-wire these speakers if you like. Lot's of different configurations to play with.

In summary, these speakers fulfill all of my requirements. They definitely deserve a thorough audition and require careful placement. 1 Star? I don't think so. Enjoy!

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B&W, Klipsch, Magneplanar, Snell

To Gene and Dave. It seems like you guys were not happy with these speakers... That is fine but, I think you guys need to get more info before bashing a product "Energy speakers" are brand made house by API a speaker manufacturing company. Mirage is their more costly line overall but their V-series energy’s start at $4000 a pair to $6000 a pair and they are hand made for you. These speakers do not sit in a warehouse until some dealer need to replace stock. If a dealer has them in stock they were made for that dealer prior to ship date. B&W speakers have highs for day on end but, no low bass mid range is fine but, a competitive speaker in B&W against the V1.8 speaker is the Nautilus 805 for 1749.99 per speaker great mids not bass. Or you can try their 803 speakers same out come. Then you have the 802 nautilus for $4000.00 per. Well if you can find an amp to make their subs more with some type of movement then you might be happy...

Build

None

Just to let the past reviewers know, I dont agree with the remarks the Veritas line is not worth the money.The Veritas are hand made to order, and are perfect sounding speakers, they require a good 150 hours to break-in. Also the Veritas are not being disscountinued, but added too, there will be V2.3, V2.2, V2.1, a Veritas center 2.0, and Veritas 2.5 center as well as Veritas rears, 2.0 and 2.5. This line should be on the market by Summer! I would think this will be replacing the aging Con-series, or at least the C-8's, and C-6's. You can email me for a Canadian contact, he will ship anywhere, and with the US exchange, you get quite a discount from the US street price.

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PSB

Nice clear Highs and mids.

Does not have great dynamics that you would come to expect at this price range. Small soundstage and sweetspot.

When I first heard the Energy v1.8 I was fairly impressed until I really started looking at high quailty speakers in this price range. I quickly found out that the V1.8 was way over priced compared to other hi fi speakers. V1.8 has Nice highs and good mids but little to no low end base. V1.8 has good imaging and depth but I have heard better in cheaper speakers (B&W, PSB and Vandersteen). Overall dynamics were okay at best. When listening to R&B, Pop or any music that requires lots of dynamics these speakers can't hold up agaisnt other speakers in this price range. If all you are going to listen is Hard rock when the V1.8 might be a good choice but if you listen to a varity of music, there are better speakers out there (Several that are cheaper!).

In summary if you are thinking about buying the V1.8 do yourself a favor and listen any of the speakers I have listed above. I personally believe there is a reason that there are only three reviews of this speaker. Why? There are far better choices out there and the V1.8 is simply not one of them. If you still like the V1.8 then at least look at the Mirage series of speakers which are made by the same company that makes Energy. Mirage is there higher end speakers, most of them are much nicer than the energy's.

On a side note Energy is discontinuing there V line of speakers..... I wonder why? :)


Value Rating 1 star ( I found several speakers that preform much better and are much cheaper, B&W, PSB, Vandersteen, Magnepan. Needless to say I rather not say what I found at the same price range :) )

Overall Rating 1 star I expect a speaker in this price range to at least be comparable to other speakers in the same price range. I found many speakers that out preformed the V1.8 in very aspect.

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B&W, Vandersteen, PSB, Martin Logan, Magnepan, Def. tech., Mirage, Mission, Snell