Verity Audio and Nagra have been showing together for some
time, but the system they put together this year in a penthouse at the Mirage bettered
those we've heard from them at other shows by a considerable margin -- no small task.
Perhaps using two pairs of Nagra VPA amplifiers was the cause, but we suspect
that the new Lohengrin II
($67,995/pair, $81,495 as shown) -- Verity's top speaker -- had something to do with it as
well. The Lohengrin II is a major reworking of the original Lohengrin. Among its changes
are a new tweeter, a larger lower midrange driver and a redesigned crossover. Electronics
for this system were Nagra's new CDP CD player ($13,495), VPS phono stage, PL-L preamp and
those four VPA mono amplifiers. Cables and power distribution were from Nordost.
The sound was both beautiful and beautifully extended. We played a cut with massive low
bass, and the Lohengrin captured it. We quipped that people in the casino 30 floors below
were probably hearing it as well. We were unsure of the room -- it was ringed with marble
tile, which is never good for sound -- but this system still provided Standout
performance. [www.verityaudio.com] [www.nagraaudio.com]
