DeVore Fidelity speakers?

Just auditioned the DeF 8 and I can tell you that it's a great speaker. I originally went into the shop (Stereo traders in Jenkintown PA) to listen to the new Kestrel 2s. The Kestrels are great by the way. Turning back to the Def 8s. These speakers blew me away. They are among the better small floor standers I have ever listened to, with a crystal clear midrange and highs, tonally uncolored, and with stunning bass response. We used the 20 WPC Cary triode amp to drive them as well, with absolutely no problem. I am now trying to figure out whether I liked the Kestrel2s or the Def 8s better.

I have owned a pair of 8's for a year and a half now. I heard them at the Stereophile show in May, 2002 running off of VTL electronics and was blown away. I bought them soon after (the 12th pair made)from Sound by Singer(where John used to work)after A/B'ng them with similarly priced Meadowlark speakers. The Meadowlarks put you in the in the middle of the concert hall and throw a deep stage behind the speaker, whereas the 8's put you in the front row, and the music is literally right around you. I have been very impressed since. They are extremely emotional speakers; they get to the heart of the music. There is no break-in time and it doesn't matter how close or far from the wall they are. The only drawback is they are a little fuzzy or muddled in the treble. I also own the Gallo Nucleus ref's and even my 8 year old son can tell in one second that the 8's sound much bigger than the Gallo's, but the Gallo's sound more detailed although without passion compared with the 8's. If you're looking for a very emotional speaker that doesn't take up much space, you can't go wrong with the 8's. Associated equipment: Spectral DMC-10 Delta pre; Rogue 120 Magnum Mono's; VPI HW19IV/JMW10/VDHGoldFrog; Acoustic Zen wire, Cardas GC phono wire. One last thing, John Devore reminds me alot of Mark O'Brien from Rogue. He makes you feel you're his only customer, and will take as much time as you need to understand how the things work, how they can fit into your system, and anything else you ever wanted to know about audio equipment. Good Luck.

I auditioned the 8's last month. I wasn't as impressed as others. The treble was too tipped-up for my tatstes. It may have been the Simaudio amp used. The midrange and bass were both excellent. A pair of Reference 3A De Capo i's and Cain & Cain Abby's both amp'd with tubes were clearly superior in tone and frequency balance. YMMV