[CFz]

I had a chance today to A/B my Altec Flamencos and Devore O96. I’m going to give my thoughts on these two great speakers and would love to hear any feedback. Ultimately, I haven’t decided which to keep, perhaps both, because as you well can figure out each has its own strengths and weakness given its design.

First a bit about my setup and room. My official room size is 14 x 18’6, with one short wall completely open and the long wall on which the speakers are setup are open after about 8 ft. I have vaulted ceilings, about 11-12 ft high. I ran the Altecs 8 ft apart, about 26” inches from the rear wall, and I didn’t measure from the one side wall. I had them toed in at various angles but found the best to be where I could barely see the inside panel on each speaker. The DeVores were about 36” out from the rear wall and 7.25 ft apart. I sit on a couch with my head against the rear wall, about 12 ft away from the Altecs and 11 ft away from the Devores. The DeVores were toed in much less where I could see a about 1/3 of the inside panel from my listening positioning.

My components are Macbook Pro utilizing Tidal Hifi, PS Audio Directstream DAC, Shindo Vosne Romanee, and Leben CS600. Interconnects are Shindo silver and the speaker cables were 4 meters Auditorium 23. The equipment console was unfortunately in the between the speakers but against the wall. Ultimately I’m moving towards a Shindo amp but not sure yet which one, that will depend on the speaker.

My room is definitely not optimal, and my components are a bit Frankenstein which is against the Shindo mantra, but I’m working my way to a Shindo amp and TT (I promise!) I can fully admit right here that this is a problem with any review including a Shindo component outside of a Shindo system, but I will say that running the Leben CS600 with the Vosne Romanee improved nearly everything with the Leben. Texture, tone, soundstage, and that all important Shindo timing..all improved with the VR and the Leben running in power amp mode. My Leben tubes were the 6n3ce. I also had previously moved my DeVores to the short wall and admit it had more focus and coherence but unfortunately there is sub-optimal seating on the short wall, so the long wall is.

In terms of an executive summary, I can summarize by saying that the Altec’s play smoother, bigger, and play better at lower volumes. They have great presence and I almost never tended to want to crank up the volumes past moderate listening levels, and when I did I was penalized for doing so. The DeVores by contrast, needed to be cranked up to get those lively dynamics. The O’s had better imaging, depth, resolution, and texture. I could picture where on the stage each instrument was positioned and could hear deeper into the music as a result of the increased detail.

One thing I learned quickly was utilizing the Leben volume knob in power amp mode does more to increase the high frequencies of the Altecs as opposed to equally increasing all levels of volume. I attribute this to the supposed higher efficiency of the high frequency horn in the Altec getting more from each volume notch of the Leben. So, for those tracks with excessive treble like cymbals and high pitch guitars notes, I found myself turning down the volume knob on the Leben and cranking up the knob on the VR to balance things out.

For jazz, I tried Dave Brubeck’s “Take Five”. The Altecs again have incredible scale and good timing. The wind instruments sounded breathy and the overall coherence of the track was excellent. This was one of those moments were I stopped analyzing and just enjoyed what the Altecs were doing. However, equally impressive was the DeVore. While it didn’t have the same scale as the Altecs, the drum solo halfway through the track was presented with more detail and nuance. As the drummer moved his sticks around the drum you could feel the different positions being hit with greater precision and believability than the Altecs. The detail here was extraordinary and something I’ve come to take for granted after having my DeVores for a little over a year now. I thought back on how John DeVore was/is a drummer and so he knows how they should sound. Indeed, this track proves his prowess in reproducing percussion. This was one of those tracks that I enjoyed on both speakers but the laid back and more moderate volume level of the Altecs would be my preference for Jazz in general, although the more detailed DeVores may have more accurately portrayed the music and given it more depth.

I’ve been on a Rod Stewart kick lately, so I tried one of his softer songs “I Don’t Want To Talk About It”. On the Altecs there was an engrossing smoothness with this track. The guitar riffs just mended well with Rod Stewart’s straining voice. Here again my preference was to listen at a lower volume because of the sheer ease that the Altecs have at portraying the musical event with less sonic energy. Just flesh and blood, no gimicks. The DeVores by contrast again were more detailed, the guitar riffs were more rhythmically engaging and Rod’s voice was more centered and clear than it was with the Altecs. Damn, it’s hard to have a preference as both speakers did an outstanding job in different ways with this material.

One of the benefits of Tidal streaming is that they have “Masters” files, or HQ files that stream at or around 96KHz/24bits. I’ve been having some fun trying different albums and music that I normally wouldn’t listen to, just to see if I can note the differences between HQ audio and normal CD quality. In that journey I stumbled across Joni Mitchell’s Blue album, which does show up on my PS Audio DSD DAC as 96/24 source. Before I acquired the Altecs last week I had been playing this album quite a bit with the DeVores.

One of my favorite tracks on this album is “California”. The DeVores present Joni’s voice with a sweetness and clarity that is eerily present in my room. The Altecs by comparison have her voice spread out across a wider area, not as precise, and subsequently lost a bit of it’s sweetness. This is one album I can say that the DeVores felt more intimate and had my preference. But here again, this is at the expense of listening a little bit more loudly then my usual preference.

My favorite album is Alison Krauss and Union Station “Live”. I learned that the vinyl version of this album can run for $800 and can understand why. I’m happy enough streaming the digital version and find it to be the most excellently recorded live material I’ve heard that appeals to me. For the comparison, I listen to the Jerry Douglas dobro track “Tribute to Peador O’Donnell/Monkey Let the Hogs Out”. I’m intimately familiar with the DeVore’s presentation of this track. Through the DeVores the plucking of the dobro by Jerry does nothing less than make me shut up and listen. So realistic, rhythmic, and musically right. It elicits an emotional response from me everytime because I know I’m witnessing one of the most talented musicians of our genre put on a spectacle right here in my own living room. I was hoping the Altecs would have the same magic but for me, they fell a little short of the nirvana that this track usually takes me to. The Altecs sounded wider by comparison and realistic enough but slightly flatter. The DeVores here have that special sauce that gives it the edge. I should also note that the Shindo VR enhanced this track for me by digging deeper into the texture of the dobro and the leading edge, decay, and timing improved by an appreciable amount.

After all this I’m still undecided as to which is staying and which is going. One thing that is undoubtable is the value proposition that a vintage Altec Flamenco or Valencia can present (or some highly regarded vintage speakers in general like the 604 and the various models that use that driver). I find it refreshing that a speaker nearly 50 years old still holds its appeal and has its own virtues in today’s market that is ripe with $10k+ competitors, even in the high-efficiency market place in which the DeVores compete. I can definitively say that anyone considering a high efficiency speaker should try and locate a vintage Altec if able. The notion being that while the Altecs are a good bargain, they are getting harder and harder to find, especially in good condition.

I would put it this way, if I had purchased my Altecs first I would have never purchased my DeVores as the value simply wouldn’t be there for me. Now that I have the DeVores and had the opportunity to A/B for a couple hours today it’s important to know that each has its own virtues, but considering all those virtues the DeVore is the more expensive speaker by a wide margin so the value proposition comes into play. I love my DeVores, and my wife likes their styling more so than the Altecs. The other proposition (for me anyway) it to sell the DeVore and invest more heavily into the Shindo family which is weighing heavily on my mind. Something like a Cortese with its optimized 16ohm load should play nicely with the Altecs. The other important thing I’ll note is my wife preferred the sound of the Altecs, so there you have it! Easy decision

What I wonder about is the improvements and modifications you read about for the Altecs. To name a few, the Werner crossover that has been popular these days, the Belden speaker cable, putting the Altec on stands, remagnetizing the drivers, reconing them, and putting clay on the horn so it doesn’t sound so shrill. I’ve read that the Werner XO adds to the overall smoothness and coherence of the Altecs, in addition to lowering some of the shout exhibited by the Altecs when there is a flurry of loud HF sound in a song. In my initial listening to mostly acoustic and jazz I never thought this was a problem, until I decided to rock out with some Incubus and played “Anna Molly” and was quickly told by wife “Turn that off, it sounds awful!”.

I wonder too in terms of price, whether the middle ground between an Altec Valencia/Flamenco and a DeVore speaker can give the best of both worlds. To that end, I’ve given thought of the Great Plains Audio 604 driver in an Altec 620 enclosure. It seems that kind of custom speaker can be had for less than an O96, but probably more than a Craigslist pickup Altec, and could potentially sound better than either. I’d love to hear the 604 in my room some day.

Anyways, I hope my perspective can help anyone interested. I’m all about the exchange of ideas and opinions, I’d love to hear anyone else’s thoughts on these speakers. Thanks for making it this far!