From Vandersteen 2CE to Devore Gibbons 8 or Focal

I am glad you are enjoying the DeVores, they are a great speaker. The guy I was buying the magneplaners from re-negged on the deal. I didn't notice the phono problem right away because I hadn't played any vinyl for a few months. I think the problem is the rear port and the proximity to the rear wall. That and the fact that the Kismet speakers are tuned quite low. The bass I get from the Kismets is muuch deeper and tighter than I got with the DeVores and the subwoofer combined. It definitely isn't a problem with the phono cartridge. I played around with different isolation tweaks for the turntable, but the rumble filter was the best choice for me.

I didn't consider the Vandersteen 3A speakers because after I lived with my 2ce speakers for a long time, I grew irritated by the metal dome tweeter. It fatigued my ears and sounded etched at times. The 3A speakers use the same tweeter so I didn't bother auditioning them. I am really happy with the Kismet reference speakers and these are definitely going to be "keepers".

Enjoy those speakers. On a side note, I was listening to the MFSL Muddy Waters, Folk Singer and it sounded unbelieveable, but I think that the DeVores were a little better with the vocals.

Bob

Hi, I just would like to add that I have a pair of the Super 8's and they provide much better bass then the 8's. In
fact I have heard them in a fairly large room with Naim
gear and they had a tremendous amount of musical weight with
out ever sounding bloated.

I had heard that the Super 8s had better bottom end and were a little more efficient as well. I still feel they are more the Jazz lover and Chamber Music lover type of speaker. Perhaps it was because the Vandersteens being a much larger sized speaker conveyed that largeness that I also missed with the DeVore. Not sure, my room could have sonething to do with it too.

The Kismet References are Killer in my room and I am extremely happy. My being happy with the system doesn't happen too often either :)

Bob

Heard both almost side by side at a dealer. They had the 2CE anniversary and devore super 8. Liked the over all presentation of the devore and the scale / low end of the Vandersteen. Devore Nines---Best of both worlds.

I may have missed it but have you adjusted the tweeter and midrange levels on the vandy's.