DeVore Silverbacks

I auditioned a Calypso Sig and VAC Phi Beta preamp at home using new model Bryston amps and PMC speakers. The Calypso was excellent but the VAC was a serious step up. Of course, the Calypso is around half the price; the Callisto would be the proper Aesthetix model for comparison and I didn't hear it. The Calypso Sig is a terrific preamp, though, and a very good value. I'm sure it mates really well with the Phi 200 amp.

Aesthetix was just as good as the monbrison that I was looking at, IMO. Shindo is great but there are other brands out there that are just as good. The aesthetix maybe didn't have as much soul as the shindo but the detail was better without being analytic. It also pairs well with the VAC. Still very involving but not as "chocolatey" as shindo. The VAC preamps are also suppose to be very good.

Dhattleton, now I have a goal. I have also been considering the new VAC sigma
integrated. Why didn't you go with Shindo for your pre-amp?

Maineiac, the bass on the VAC is awesome. Better than the corton charlemagne monos I tried out, IMO. Think your suggested pairing could be pretty good.

Dchattleton, thank you for your post. This is the exact issue that I have been struggling with recently. I own a VAC Avatar Super which works very well with my Devore Silverbacks; I have always been intrigued by Shindo and happened upon an Apetite integrated which I have had for about 3 weeks. The Shindo has an absolutely amazing noise floor, imaging, staging, and accuracy. The music comes together in a very special way and it is so much fun to listen to. This Shindo does not do bass very well because it is only 15W but it makes me really wonder what the higher powered Shindo mono blocks with a shindo pre would be like. What is also intriguing is how would say a Monbrison pre with a good VAC amp accomplish (for a lot less than the all shindo affair)?

No wonder. VAC and Lamm are considered among the very best and seem to work well with many different speakers.

I wanted to post a follow up to this thread. I just recently, after much time spent listening to shindo gear, purchased a vac phi 200 amp and an Aesthetix calypso signature preamp. To be honest, I loved the shindo gear but to get the truly ridiculous sound with the silverbacks you needed to go monos, which at 17,000 (prior to buying a preamp) was a bit much. I searched...and searched. Eventually I came across the vac gear.

The vac phi 200 is amazing. It has as much soul as the shindo gear while costing about 7000 less. The dynamics and "punch" are probably better than the shindo gear...at least that I listened to. The Aesthetix is no slouch either.

If you own Devore speakers, check out vac as a true alternative to shindo. Really sings.

Thanks so much for sharing your Solovox impressions. It`s gratifying to know these speakers met or even exceeded your expectations. I`m going to the RMAF this year and hope I come across the Solovox or some other PHY driver speaker.

Charles1dad - Thank you. I feel very fortunate to have the Solovox. You are right, the SBs are held in very high regard by many (most?), and I count myself amongst those who find them to be extremely musical. The ONLY reasons I parted with them because I have multiple systems, one of which gives me about 90 percent of the overall musical satisfaction I experienced with the SBs, and of course I had nothing like the Solovox in any other system. I have yet to hear a sub-$30K pair of speakers that can do everything as well as the SBs. That said, for solo vocals, solo instrumental (especially acoustical instruments), small ensemble chamber, jazz, and blues, and even small scale orchestral music from the Baroque and Mannheim periods, I have not heard a more lifelike presentation of those musical genres than what I hear from the Solovox. Nothing else comes close IME. The Solovox completely disappear in the room, and I do mean completely. They obviously do not go as low or as high as the SBs, nor will they shine with large scale or complex music, but I now play those types of music on other systems. To sum it up wrt the Solovox, they are exceeding my expectations. On a side note, several friends who are not into music like we are have commented how remarkably live the music sounds when played through the Solovox. No argument here!
All The Best,

4musica44107,
I see you bought your heart`s desire the Solovox speakers, congratulations. The SB are so well regarded, what are the improvement/differences you hear now? Are the Solovox meeting your high expectations? I have a real interest in the PHY drivers.
Best Regards,

Oh thanks for that info. I also thought about the Solovox, but that's for another thread.

The room I had my Silverbacks in ("had" being the operative word as I now have a pair of Solovox in my primary system) was 14' x 25'. The SBs were positioned on the short wall and the listening spot was about 11' away. And they were fantastic positioned that way in that room.

For what it's worth, my room is 12 x 24 and my S'backs are placed along the short wall. For critical listening I sit approx 9'-10' away and I've been extremely pleased. I do have a door opening (to an 8 x 12 room) inbetween the speakers -so it may offer some depth advantage,though.

Would the Devores (Silverbacks) work nearfield where my Harbeth SHL5s sit and work nicely? (Aerial 10Ts and Wilson WP6s also worked nicely in this space in the past.)
Room is 20x13 feet with speakers on the long wall.
Thanks. I'm just looking for a little more definition than I get from the Harbeths.

My guess is you will want to move to a tube amp w/ the
DeVore's. If you did get them, you could always try a
Mac 275 tube amp. IMHO! You could also check out In Living
Stereo, but you likely have already thought of that. This
all assuming NYC is a convenient spot.

Charles1dad - Yes, the Solovox is a single driver speaker, and I would be giving up frequency extremes compared to the Silverbacks. I have multiple systems but only one room where the Solovox could go, and that is the room where the Silverbacks currently are. It would be a radical change for that room, but I continue to lean in this direction after hearing the Solovox. For solo vocals and certain solo instrumentals, and for acoustic jazz and some/much small ensemble jazz and classical, the Solovox are phenomenal. Despite the reduced frequency extremes of the Solovox in comparison to the Silverbacks, the Solovox remain my first choice for the aforementioned music genres. Not an easy decision for me at all. I hope to be able to A/B the Solovox and Silverbacks soon.

Oops, meant Silverback not Silverbach.

4musica44107
The Solovox is a single driver speaker, correct? would you be giving up the frequency extremes with this change?The Solovox does seem to be a interesting approach. I`d love to hear how it sound reproducing acoustic jazz and vocals as compared to the Silverbach.

I am very, very pleased with the pairing of my Luxman MQ-88 with my Silverbacks. That said, if I were going to change amps, it would be to a Shindo for sure, and the Montrachet would be high on my list. As an aside, the main thing that keeps me from switching to a Shindo amp right away is the fact I continue to lust after the Auditorium 23 Solovox speakers, and if I sell my Silverbacks and go with the Solovox, the Shindo amp that works well/best with the Silverbacks will not necessarily be the best for the Solovox.

I have McIntosh gear (mc252 and c2300). Heard them in NYC at Stereo Exchange and was impressed. Have heard they love shindo equipment but can't come up with a good excuse to switch; however, if I did would the Montrachet be the amp you'd recommend? Thanks for the responses.

I have had devore silverbacks for 3+ years. They have made me almost forget about speakers because they do everything so well. I have been shocked by how deep and tight the bass goes.

Thanks, Audiofreakgeek. And agreed, there are many speakers that will go lower than the Silverbacks and some that have better dynamics. I have not heard Wilson speakers and do not care for B&W. KEF's are very nice IME. Happy Listening! Best regards, Steven

4musica, it depends on what you are comparing them to. I heard them at SBS and no matter what gear they were using, the Silverbacks didn't go particularly low.

I am not saying they didn't do a lot of nice things, it is just not a bass or dynamics crazy speaker like a Wilson, KEF or B&W.

Audiofreakgeek - Your experience with the Silverbacks differs from mine somewhat. I have always found the bass and dynamics to be excellent and the speakers themselves to be very revealing of musical detail without being clinical. Which pre, amp, and sources were used when you heard the Silverbacks, and was this in a store or someone's properly setup listening room? Was there a particular recording or genre of music you listened to on the Silverbacks that caused you to conclude as you did about their bass, dynamics, and detail? Thanks in advance for any details you are willing to share. Best regards, Steven

I to prefer the Silverbacks to the Verity, however, I would recommend that you widen your net.

The Silverbacks have a very natural midrange,and throw a nice soundstage, I will say they are a bit lightweight in the bass and dynamics are good but not spectacular, and they tend to be tonally a bit on the warm side and lack some of the detailing you can get in other speakers.

Just curious where did you hear them and what would your electronics be?

Jdoris - The Verity Leonore and DF Silverback are just about the same price. In comparing the two, I felt the Silverbacks were superior in every way except one. I felt the Leonore's upper end was just a touch better; this was mostly apparent to me for solo piano works.

If anyone can make specific comparisons to speakers at the Silverbacks' pricepoint, that would be great.

Thx,

John

I have the Silverbacks in my reference system. They are the best overall multi-driver speaker I have heard at their approximate price point and below. I have heard them with both SS (Nagra, Audio Research, Luxman, Naim) and tube (Shindo, Leben, Luxman) gear. Although they sounded great with all of those, I felt they sounded best with tubes, particularly Shindo. I am currently running them with a Shindo Masseto pre and a Luxman MQ-88 amp and just love the music they make!

Where did you hear them. What would your partnering amp be.