Price Paid:  $2000.00 from avalon av

Summary:
sound - this was the first 'audiophile' speaker i owned and thought they were good. have since purchased and own audio physic virgos and sonus faber signums and they blow these impacts away. have had friends, who could care less about audio euipment, ask what was wrong with my system when i temporarily switched from the audio physic back to the impacts i.e. even to an unprompted ear, the difference in quality (soundstage, clarity, depth, detail, etc...) was extremely noticeable. not very desireable for speakers that cost over $2000. they do play vocal and acoustic very well but i listen to all types of music and i just can't listen to rock music with the impacts. they seem to muddle when there are more than three instruments being played at the same time. it's not that they sound bad, it's that compared to audio physic and sonus faber, i felt they were lacking, especially since they did cost me $2k.

size - these are big and heavy (100 lbs ea) and living in an apt in nyc, kinda tough to live with. if they sounded better, it would be more acceptable. but the very average sound doesn't warrant the above average size. actuslly tried to sell these real cheap to some friends in nyc and no one wanted them because they were too big.

service - i blew a tweeter driver on one of the impacts and it took over 4 months (with over a dozen emails and unanswered phone calls) to get it replaced. 4 months without working speakers prompted me to go out and get new speakers - the virgos, which i am glad i did (a silver lining?). check this out - the impacts are made in pennsylvania, i purchased from a dealer in nj, and i'm in ny. i also blew a tweeter driver on a sonus faber signum, made in italy, purchased from a dealer in new zealand (yes, new zealand), and i had a replacement within 2 weeks. that's 2 weeks covering 3 continents. with impact, i couldn't get 3 adjacent northeastern states in under 4 months. anyway, i heard impact is discontinuing these speakers and is only making extremely high end (>$20k) speaker systems. $2k doesn't seem to warrant good service. i just hope whoever forks over $20k gets better service.

the conclusion - i took the risk (the mistake?) of going with a lesser known speaker, the impact vento. there are literally dozens of very well known speaker manufacturers out there, i'm sure all with very decent speakers in the $2k price range. i would definitely go with a speaker that has an established reputation. i can vouch for audio physic and sonus faber. i would not hesitate in purchasing their speakers in the future - superb sound and also very attractive, great build quality. unfortunately, i cannot say the same for the impact ventos, based purely on quality/price, ignoring the service issue. i give two stars because they are okay speakers - i just think there are and must be way better speakers out there for the price.

Strengths:
plays acoustic/vocal music well

Weaknesses:
size, weight, service, limited musical range

Similar Products Used:
audio physic virgo, sonus faber signum

Summary:
I have owned the Ventos for about 5 months. They are just breaking in. They need about 80 to 100 hours. They present a very detailed soundstage. The limits of my room prohibit them to "air-out" completely. I had what I considered a good pair of VonSchweikert speakers. However, I hear things now that were never presented to me. The bass response is very tight and musical. Incredible vocals and sense of air. I listen to rock/alternative. These speakers are very hard on up-stream components because you hear the flaws. Also, poor recordings sound just like poor recordings. But when you have decent source/amp components mixed with a well recorded CD the results are dramatic. I shopped the B&W upper lines and Thiels, etc. Nothing came close to the excitement transmitted in these speakers.
I rate them a 5 in performance and build quality. They are 100 lbs. each.