Devore Love
 

Hello folks,

I changed a few things in my systems and the Devore Fidelity Gibbon Super 8 speakers are back in the living room with vintage Mc Intosh gear ( MX110Z and MC225) and the MDA1000.

I read on the web that these speakers are designed for small rooms. Well, I have to modestly disagree.
My living room is pretty large and has a very high ceiling of 6 meters.
The Super 8's have no trouble at all to fill the room and pressurize it correctly. When I am in my office, actually 2 stairs higher, the sound from this system is incredibly full and detailed and nothing is missing for me.
Their only need for placement is to have a wall behind them, not too far. One meter seems to be the maximum in my rooms or the bass simply disappear. This is what happens in my main system room. I cannot place them close enough to the back wall, and the bass simply vanishes.

Once you can place them near the back wall, the Super 8's simply "deliver" the very best in audio according to my personal taste.

They are speakers very easy on associated gear. They sounded wonderful in my home with very various gear, modern or vintage.
You could think from this statement that they are colored and lack transparency. Not at all. It is very easy to hear the differences in the gear associated. Those speakers just let the music flaw.
They are very transparent and refined. They remind me the best ProAc's but they seem to me to be even more natural and sweet while retaining a high level of transparency. Their coherence is simply stunning.

Of course, a great feature is this almost flat 8 ohm impedance, which seems so challenging for most designers to achieve, and allow users to use low powered amps, tube based or not.... Choice is the real luxury in audio imho, like in many other things in life, but please do not tell my wife ( D:).

The more I listen to them, the more I love them and the more I think that the very best speakers for my ears and my taste may well be the Devore top of the line Silverbacks.
The "little" Super 8's give so much that I do wonder what the big ones make ?

The Super 8's, replaced by the Gibbon 88 in the Devore current line, may appear as being expensive for "small 2 way speakers".
They indeed are an absolute bargain.
The music they deliver is gorgeous, involving and relaxing.
Their design is classical and non invasive. The wood veneers are beautiful. The enclosure give an impression of utmost quality.

Obviously, John Devore designs his speakers with the "Musicality First" mind.

Well done sir !

Jerome...I responded in your Silverback vs. O96 thread. The other Devore speaker you can consider is their new Devore X speaker, around $10-11K in the US. It is basically a bigger Gibbon 88 and more resolving. John DeVore is very approachable and nice guy. I know I have emailed him with questions in the past and he has always answered me and been generous with his time. I think you should also email him and ask him your question about Silverback vs. O96 (also vs. Gibbon X if you are curious) with your equipment, as he is very familiar with Shindo having shown his speakers at many a show with various Shindo gear (plus he has Shindo at his factory and often voices the speakers with Shindo, Leben, Line Magnetic, and other similar amplification). Hope this helps.

Jérôme,
Where do the Wilsons fit into in the grand scheme of things for you with your system and preferences at present?

Stephen...my guess is they will make way to finance the Silverback and/or O96 speakers (I think :dunno:).

The X's were featured a couple of years ago at Matt's Greenhaus and wowed us all. They were extremely impressive, but were unavailable for purchase at the time. I can't remember 100% what they were powered by... maybe the Haut Brion. There might be a few posts in the Shindo/Greenhaus section with a review.

I think I have a picture of the Silverbacks from one of the shows...I remember they sounded great.

Cyril, thanks a lot.
The Gibbon X is very interesting. It will be hard to decide without listening.

Stephen,

At present, the main system uses the REGA RS10 speakers or the Wilsons. The new high end DeVore speakers may be in the living room or the main system. Then the Rega will go in the living room. The Wilsons are staying too.
I have multiple rooms with multiple options : a bit like a show room ! And I'm fine that way....
Variety is the spice of life....

No Cyril. The Wilsons will stay.

Jerome,
As you know I love my Super 8s. I use them in a smaller room, 5m x 5m.
I have tried them upstairs in my larger room where the 0/96's live. Although they work well, I feel they are lost in that bigger room. mind you I am driving them with my 15 watt Montille. I'm sure more power would help.