*** 1st pair of Virgo 25 Anniversary Edition speakers in North America - Gloss Black ***
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10/20/10 Update
The Virgo 25's made their U.S. debut at the Rocky Mountain Audiofest over the weekend. Here's what a few of the attendees had to say:
"I was impressed by this system’s low-level resolution, fine inner details seeming to easily emerge from deep in the mix." - Stereophile
"Very smooth, detailed and natural." - Show attendee
"Audio Physic had a detailed presentation with deep low bass." - Show attendee
"The Audio Physic room was as refreshing as a cool drink of water...." - Show attendee
"These speakers sound GREAT........as electrostatic-like as, well, electrostatics!" - Show attendee
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The U.S. MSRP for the Virgo 25's in a standard finish is $12,500. The Gloss Black finish is a $2500 option.
The Virgo has long been the darling in the Audio Physic line, with enthusiastic reviews through all of the generations of the model released over the years. In fact it was the original Virgo that put Audio Physic "on the map."
The Virgo is normally two steps down from the top of the Audio Physic line, but for the Virgo 25th Anniversary Edition, Audio Physic used many of the technological advancements found in their $30K Cardeas flagship speaker. For all practical purposes, the Virgo 25s are really a scaled-down Cardeas.
From the manufacturer:
"The midrange drivers and tweeters are identical to the Cardeas, while the tweeter additionally boasts the groundbreaking SSC decoupling from the loudspeaker cabinet. This means that there is no way that even the slightest resonances of the cabinet can impair the fine and delicate work of the tweeter."
Audio Physic speakers haven't been heavily marketed here in the US, but there is a full page Virgo 25 ad on the inside cover of the current Issue of HiFi+ magazine and Audio Physic also has a strong following in Europe, with several glowing reviews from Stereo.de and Audio.de mags.
Fortunately, Stereo.de magazine (Germany's top audiophile publication) just recently published their review of the Virgo 25. They provide a great rundown of all of the unique technology and design approaches in the speaker, and also provide a nice compare and contrast to the previous gen Virgo V.
Here are a few excerpts:
"Having already applauded the Virgo V for its exquisite reproduction of midrange frequencies, we must nevertheless say that its successor, the Virgo 25, adds a previously unknown natural sweetness to the clarity of the sound.... an absolutely authentic sound."
"The Virgo 25 gains more power in the lower frequencies, whilst still remaining relaxed, defined and unstrained. There’s no trace of sluggishness or sloppiness, the tell-tale signs of loudspeakers with excessive bass. On top of this, (the low frequency output) remained fully prominent, even at the lower frequency measuring limit of 20 Hertz."
"... you can’t actually hear the “Hyper” tweeter, with its extremely delicate resolution, at all, in the sense that it does not add its own sonic signature to the music, not even the tiniest hint."
Read the full review here:
http://www.audiophysic.de/download/virgo25/stereo_2010_06_virgo25.pdf
Note: The 1st two pages of the review are in German, just scroll down for the English translation.
Why I'm selling:
The truth is, the Virgo 25's are some of the best sounding speakers I've had the opportunity to own, but they require more space away from the sidewalls of my room than I can give them. That's not to say that they are hard to place, I just have particularly cramped quarters for the speaker on the right side of the room. If I had another foot or two of space to work with, I wouldn't be selling them.
The speakers have about 100 hours on them, and are currently back in their shipping cartons to preserve their condition. I promise that you'll have a "like new" un-boxing experience.
My comments on the sound:
While I can't permanently place them where they sound best, in a temporarily optimized position (3 feet from the side walls and 4 feet from the front wall), the Virgo 25's make music.
I've been through many of the top speakers over the years (Focal Electra Be, Revel Ultima2, B&W Diamond, Dynaudio Sapphire, and several more) and it is surprising how few of them suspend disbelief enough to give the sense of realism expected from this caliber of speaker. The promise of speaker nirvana is often made by the manufacturer and echoed in reviews, but the reality is often much different in my experience.
Most notably, the Virgo 25's are expansive, dynamic, and remarkably detailed without ever crossing over into that edgy, overly sharp sound that is often part if the package with many "detailed" speakers. The Virgo 25's are also not one of those speakers that restricts you to listening to only the finest recordings. Lesser quality recordings are still easily distinguishable from good ones, but they are still enjoyable.
I'm typically happiest with the sound produced by soft domes and poly cones, but the Virgo 25's are among the very few speakers with metal drivers that sound natural to me, particularly through the midrange. They strike that difficult to achieve blend of the clean, crisp, precise sound of metal; with the smooth, always listenable quality of "soft" materials. I also have a strong preference for big soundstage, and the Virgo 25's live up to the claims made about their "holographic imaging" and their room filling sound.
If you have the ability to place the Virgo 25's 3 to 4 feet from the nearby walls, you are in a great position to be the 1st in the US to own this very special speaker at a very attractive price.
Build quality:
The build quality is impeccable, and some impressive engineering has gone into the cabinet design. I think we've all been lead to believe that the more massive and heavy the cabinet, the better. But thanks to the advances in using computer modeling to assist with cabinet design, the Virgo 25 is proof that there are more efficient and intelligent ways to address cabinet resonances. You can place your hand on any surface of the cabinet while playing bass-heavy music and the cabinet doesn't flinch. There are also several other unique technical design features that Audio Physic has done to isolate and decouple the vibrations produced by the drivers from folding back into the output. I think the extensive measures they've taken here must be at least part of the reason that that the Virgo 25's have exceptional detail without sounding bright.
It is hard to capture the beauty of the speakers with my point and shoot camera, so the first pic is a dealer shot, the three living room shots are of the speakers I own in my home, and the last two are from the product brochure.
Optional:
I also have an unopened set of the optional "Vibration Control Feet" designed by Audio Physic to maximize their efforts to shunt unwanted vibration away from the drivers. The Vibration Control Feet are a $400 option. I'm asking $250 for them.
I am willing to work with a worldwide buyer, though keep in mind that shipping costs can be quite high for speakers of this size.
I will split the paypal fee, lowing it to 1.5%, if you would like to pay this way.
PS: It has been a while since I've posted on this forum, but I regularly post over on AVS under the name of "hifisponge" and have excellent feedback on Audiogon under the name "tdwalker".
