[earlmarc]

Has anyone tasted these speakers? I hear they are some the most natural sounding speakers available and a great value considering the level of performance offered. www.devorefidelity.com

[Tweaker]

I have listened to the Gibbon 8's only and was impressed with how such a small loudspeaker could throw such a huge soundstage. Incredible imaging! Overall a very nice speaker but not one I would buy. To me that much money should, (and can), buy a speaker with greater bass extension and dynamics. But that is based on my budget restraints and personal tastes. They certainly have reviewers waxing poetic! The Super 8 and  especially the Silverback could be totally different animals, though.  

[ajzepp]

Funny you should ask

I've owned the Super 8s for about a month now and absolutely love them. I'm going to hold off a little longer before I write up a review since I want to try different positioning and get to know them a little more.

Long story short, I really felt Magnepans ruined me for any other box speaker. I loved my Maggies, particularly their transparency and realism. I listened to some pretty good offerings from other manufacturers during the year and a half I owned the Maggies, and even though the Maggies were only $550 compared to speakers costing much more, I just could never let go of that Maggie magic.

A friend of mine down here in Atlanta who owns a popular concert venue called 'The Variety Playhouse' also is quite active in high end audio. His reference system consisted of some Avalon speakers, Oasis monoblock amps, and some other very high end gear that I'm not familiar with. He said he was pretty sure that the DeVores would be the speaker that would separate me from the Maggies....Well, I pretty much expected to listen to them and hear what I heard with every other box speaker I'd listened to - some sort of coloration of the music and a lack of transparency. (He also is a dealer for Von Schweikert, and while I loved the VR-4jrs, they just didn't do what my Maggies could do.)  Anyway, I was shocked. These speakers were EXACTLY what I was looking for.

I was very close to just pulling the trigger on larger Maggies, but I knew that I would be compromising just a little bit in order to have what I loved in them. The DeVores gave me every bit of that transparency and realism, with the added advantage of greater dynamics. I do think the Maggies get a bad rap for their dynamic abilities, but when I heard the sonic nirvana the Super 8s were creating, I knew that the Maggies were lacking. And that's not just based on my MMGs....I'd spent a good bit of time with the 1.6s and 3.6s, too.

I don't know what you value in terms of audio reproduction, but these speakers are PERFECT for me. I can't say enough about them  

PS. I recently heard the Silverbacks, and they take everything about the Super8s and take it to another level. They are beautifully constructed speakers. To give you an idea of how good they are, my friend is actually considering selling his 30k Avalons and replacing them with the Silverbacks.

[john1970]

Just my opinion, but they seem a bit overpriced @ 15K a pair.  You could buy a pair of VMPS RM30s which are very similar which contain 2 x 6.5" mid-bass woofers, a side-firing low-bass 1 x 10" woofer, 3 x 8" ribbon midrange, and a ribbon tweeter with an upgraded finish (rosewood or ebony) for significantly less money (<5K).  Due to the narrow profile (similar to the Silverbacks) the RM30s should give most of the same benefits.  I have not auditioned the silverbacks (frankly, beyond my budget).  

I do own the VMPS RM40s which are similar to the RM30s with better dynamics and solid bass extension (mid-20 Hz).  My finish is the standard lite oak and while by no means a poor finish it is not as nice as the finish on the Devore speakers.  However, I could buy three pairs of RM40s for 1 pair of Devore silverbacks!

Just my two cents,

John

P.S.  There are other speakers by other manufacturers than VMPS that I also feel are a better value such as Selah Audio, Salk Sound, RAW Acoustics, etc.

[ajzepp]

John: No offense,  but how can you talk about speakers that are of better value when you haven't even heard the speakers you're referring to? lol  Someone may very well choose a VMPS or Salk or something else over the DeVore....we all have different preferences.....but I think it's sort of hard to make a comparison until you've actually HEARD them

If you read some of the reviews and comments at the DeVore site, many reviewers who went to the RMAF, CES, and other shows talked about how the Silverbacks were among the best OVERALL. Point being, there are people who have not only heard the Silverbacks, but also speakers that are in the other direction price wise - some probably costing multiples of what the Silverbacks cost - who consider the DeVores as the true bargain. There are lots of great speakers out there, and the Silverbacks are certainly among them.

[mcrespo71]

Has anyone tasted these speakers? I hear they are some the most natural sounding speakers available and a great value considering the level of performance offered. www.devorefidelity.com

I really liked the Gibbon 8's.  Actually, I found them more enjoyable than the Silverbacks.

[john1970]

To clarrify my point.  I'm sure the Devore are an excellent sounding speaker (they damn well better be @ 15K / pair).  My point simply was that give the fact that there are only 4 active drivers / channel (1 0.75" silk dome tweeter, 1 6.5" poly midrage, 2 8" paper cone woofers) the speakers appear to be a bit overpriced.  

At 15K / pair I would expect a more extensive array of drivers.  


Lastly, I recommend to any one that is seriously considering this speaker to read the review in Stereophile.  You can view it free on-line.  In direct mode John Atkinson noted a severe dip (-28 dB) centered @ 160 Hz in the anechoic response curve.  

To quote Stereohile and JA:

"When I added the individual nearfield responses in fig.5, taking into account acoustic phase and the differences in the distances of the port, woofers, and midrange unit from a nominal farfield point, a large suckout developed between 150Hz and 450Hz (fig.5, black trace). While not as deep as the suckout I found in the farfield power response, this calculated nearfield response indicates that something is not optimal in the Silverback's midrange/woofer crossover in Direct mode."


Just keeping people informed  

[mcrespo71]

Just my opinion, but they seem a bit overpriced @ 15K a pair.  You could buy a pair of VMPS RM30s which are very similar which contain 2 x 6.5" mid-bass woofers, a side-firing low-bass 1 x 10" woofer, 3 x 8" ribbon midrange, and a ribbon tweeter with an upgraded finish (rosewood or ebony) for significantly less money (<5K).  Due to the narrow profile (similar to the Silverbacks) the RM30s should give most of the same benefits.  I have not auditioned the silverbacks (frankly, beyond my budget).  

I do  ...

These speakers don't sound similar at all.  I've heard both.

[zybar]

However, I could buy three pairs of RM40s for 1 pair of Devore silverbacks!

So you would have three pairs of speakers that don't sound as good as the one pair...what exactly did that accomplish?

As others have stated, it really doesn't help anybody to make comparisons when you haven't heard both products.

Lastly, It is pretty narrow minded to just think it is about the number or price of the drivers when evaluating speakers.  That being said, add up the cost of the drivers in your current speakers and look at the list price and tell us with a straight face what a bargain they are.  

George

[mcrespo71]

However, I could buy three pairs of RM40s for 1 pair of Devore silverbacks!

So you would have three pairs of speakers that don't sound as good as the one pair...what exactly did that accomplish?

As others have stated, it really doesn't help anybody to make comparisons when you haven't heard both products.

Lastly, It is pretty narrow minded to just think it is about the number or price of the drivers when evaluating speakers.  That being said, add up the cost of the driver ...

Game, set, match!

[ajzepp]

John, I don't know how much experience you have in this hobby, but NO speaker is perfect.  Further, the largest factor with regard to speaker performance is the room. The Super 8s were designed for small to medium sized rooms. The Reference Silverbacks were designed for LARGE rooms, thus another part of John Atkinson's portion of the review states, "...whether or not this becomes a significant factor subjectively will depend very much on the room. In general, the larger the room and the farther away the listener sits, the more likely the Silverbacks' owner will get a fully fleshed-out upper-bass region."  

But I'm glad that you mention the review, cause while John Atkinson provided the measurement data, the main reviewer was Michael Fremer. He refers to the Silverbacks as, "one of the most enjoyable and highest-performing speakers I've reviewed."  So in keeping in tune with your desire to make sure people are informed, I'll gladly post the link to the FULL review:

http://www.stereophile.com/floorloudspeakers/306devore/

[john1970]

Ajzepp,

Thank you for placing the link to the full review.  I was not trying to bias the review of the Devore.  However, I wanted to make people aware of the odd measurements.  My gut instinct is that Devore has probably updated the crossover to solve this problem.

You are absolutely correct that no speaker (regardless of price, number of drivers, or design principles) will ever replace the realism of a live performance.   I'll take tenth row center seating at the Boston Sympony Orchestra any day!  Unfortunately I just can't get a full-scale orchestra to fit into my living room.  

My comments on the number of drivers in a speaker is pure economics and has nothing to do with acoustics.  In response to Zybar's question the total cost of drivers in a pair of RM40s are ~$1600 for both speakers.  The retail cost of the speakers are $5000.   At a 32% ratio IMO this is reasonable.  However, others may disagree and consider a 10% ratio reasonable.  

Lastly, there are numerous speakers with few drivers are very musical.  One of my favorite speakers for music is an older pair of Linn Index speakers.  It is a simple two-way acoustic suspension design (1" silk-dome tweeter and 8" poly woofer).  Although it does not generate the presence that the larger speakers give it is lovely little speaker.

Cheers,

John