Devore Gibbon 3XLs: anyone have these?

Very nice nearfield monitors. I would describe the sound as smooth and heavily weighted around vocals. In the price consideration area, other speakers I have heard and really like are Verity Finns out of Canada and Zu Souls out of Utah. I would recommend all three speakers if you have tube amps. All three will have the WAF.

If you want a more clinical and analytical sound, I would recommend ATC speakers. These are professional reference speakers. You can pick up their model 19 for the same price and with 100 watts of solid state power, will likely trump the Gibbons.

In Living Stereo in NYC is a wonderful place to audition these. I just did this in the city recently, where I heard these exact speakers driven by a Leben 300 SX tube amp. Amazingly organic and sweet sounding experience. I demoed Stevie Wonder, Bob Marley and Radiohead. Really a pleasure to listen to these. I also listened to the Verity Finns hooked up to the same amp.

Very few speakers position well in small rooms. These are one of them. The stands match perfectly and they would rock in a den or bedroom setting. I love Devores that they are actually made onshore in Brooklyn, next to NYC, and believe they have this urban nearfield feel locked in better than most speakers. BTW, the ENTIRE Devore line has the best woodworking I have ever seen in a speaker line. Their flamed cherry is the single most beautiful speaker I have seen and is featured in the Nines and Eights. I call this the "drool" factor.

If your tastes run toward classical, the speaker with the closest sound profile to Devore are Opera speakers out of Italy. They are oftened partnered with Unico amps and I would imagine that these would also pair well. I can also recommend Luxman (N100 tube amp or the 550 class A solid state).

I'll be building an all new 2 channel system, and I will be looking to drive these with either a Leben or Shindo setup, so, the recent posts have been very helpful. I have an old Marantz receiver and I've fallen for its sound, so I think I'd prefer something with tubes. And luckily, I'm not far from Pitch Perfect Audio, so I should be able to hear them all together when the time comes.

I'm also looking at the Soul Superfly, so thanks also for that rec, Bongo.

Bongfury - Like you, I have also heard the Finns, but never the Finns and 3XLs in a head to head comparison. Aside from the obviously deeper bass with the Finns, would you care to comment on the similarities and differences between the two speakers? And I agree about the wood fit and finish of John's speakers. His craftsman (Anthony from Box Furniture), who is a master carpenter, gives new meaning to the term master carpenter.

Finns cost twice as much but probably not twice the enjoyment. I would choose the Gibbons.

If price was key, I would probably look at active ATC 16s with a nice pre amp or the Zu Souls with tubes as legitimate contenders.