Differences between Devore O96 and Silverbacks ?
 

Hello my friends,

A question for DeVore lovers, experts and dealers :

I decided to order a " high end " pair of DeVore's.
Probably for my main system so to be used with my Shindo gear. I have no way to listen to them first : no importer / dealer in France but who knows I may apply as a dealer /importer if I get fed up of my job one day ! :D
What are the differences in sound between the two most expensive models ? Are their placement needs similar ?
Due to my room configuration, with electronics on the front wall, the speakers are near 2 meters from the front wall. Is this a problem for one of those speakers ?

Thanks a lot !

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Jérôme,
I just spent about an hour and a half or so sitting to the Devore O93's last night with a very nice Conrad-Johnson system set up, after we'd spent a couple hours listening to the Harbeth 30.1s. The 093s were about 2 meters out into the room from the back wall, so I think that configuration would work fine. If you want, I can describe the differences between the two speakers as I heard them, and as the rest of us heard them, but if I were using Shindo amplification, Devores would definitely be at or near the top of my list.

Jerome...I have heard the Silverbacks many a time and I have talked to my dealer about the O96s but have not heard them. The way I understand it. The 096s will give you more midrange density, perhaps a faster and slightly wider dynamic envelope (given the higher sensitivity and easier load presented to the amp), and are voiced to sound a bit fuller/more dense.

The Silverback's (which by the way there is a Mk II coming or may already be out there not sure) is a more neutral presentation across the frequency spectrum. Can still energize the room (i.e., has plenty of low-end presentation) but it's bass is punchier, more articulated (i.e., cleaner). The speaker is more resolving and more transparent. Finally the Silverback's will present a much clearer and more resolved soundstage (width and depth) and will have cleaner image definition within the soundstage. The 096s don't do soundstaging and imaging as well (not their forte) and my guess is the much narrower front baffle of the Silverback's is one of the reasons why they image like a 2-way monitor vs. the wide front baffle of the 096s.

Both will sound wonderful with your Shindo (this is a combination made in heaven) but the sonic outcomes will be quite different. I hope this helps.

According to my dealer the O96s are a music lover's speaker and if you don't care about hifi artifacts like staging/imaging, ultra see-through resolution, then this is your speaker. It boogies. It swings. It sings at the core of where most music resides - in the midrange.

The Silverbacks to me are also very natural sounding but they do deliver the hifi artifacts, such as see-through resolution, allowing you to hear deep into the track and to uncover layers of detail (but in a totally natural and not hyper unrealistic way). And they have a cleaner and more articulated bottom end. And to me they also throw a highly resolved and see-through soundstage with clean image lines. They may not be as snappy as the O96s in terms of dynamic swings though.

Pair on the agon, just sayin

Jerome, I had this discussion with Jonathan before I ordered my 0/96's. His opinion was these were developed for Shindo type gear and to order the 0/96's. I realize your amp's are more powerful than mine so the Silverback may work well for you.
I have not heard the Silverback but I can say I love my 0/96's. BTW soundstage is great.

I think the ones on agon are the O/93's

Thanks a lot my Friends. Very very useful informations !

Correct.

Stephen, how would you compare the Devore with the Harbeth's ?

Jérôme,
Busy with domestic errands presently, but I will comment a bit later today once I add my comments about my wonderful demo with the Harbeths last night.

In a nutshell, they are very similar, but slightly different; I will discuss in more detail in a bit.