Spendor D7

Side firing doesn't work for a lot of people.  I just know they are great speakers and are outside of the "usual suspects" of PSB, KEF, Revel, Musical Fidelity, B&W, etc... which I assume you have already heard.

DeVore makes wonderful speakers.  I have had limited exposure to them.  I have heard them in passing but never really had a chance to do any critical listening the way I have with the Spendors.  My understanding is they require some effort with amp pairing.    

What equipment will you be driving these new speakers with?  What is your room like?

I use a Leben cs 600 amplifier which apparently is one of Devores favorites.  I believe the Leben works well with the Devore O series, I am not sure how it fares with the Gibbons- but will find out shortly.  The room is 19 by 16 with an adjacent kitchen area . Ceilings are 9 foot and lots of glass. Not the best acoustics.
I found a Scansonic dealer in Boston, and may actually go take a listen. Perhaps the side firing might work.
Mike

Given your amp, I would stand by Scansonic as a potential.  I had Raidho’s for a stretch and the key with Raidho’s and Scansonics is having that minimum of 9’ between them and a solid 3’ from the back wall.  

The Leben is definitely awesome with DeVore’s from what I hear.  That makes a lot of sense that they would be a strong match.  

I am fascinated to hear your POV if you hear the Spendors driven by that Leben. Leben is not ultra-warm like some lower powered tube gear so I think it will be great.  

The one other you might want to look into is Legacy Audio’s Signature SE.  the nearest dealer to you is up in NH but the AMT they use is very tube friendly and might be pretty spectacular.  

I didn't know there was a Legacy dealer in NH: Legacy directed me to the dealer in NJ who was a bit pushy a la NJ/NY fashion ( I grew up in NJ do I am entitled to comment as such).  Who is their NH dealer?

The Scansonics probably won't work as I don't have 3 feet from back wall.

With respect to the Spendor/ Leben pairing.  The Leben definitely woke up my SP-1s.  Was a very striking pairing.  I home auditioned a bunch of amps both SS and tube; and there was something magical with the Leben.  

The other interesting speaker is the Joseph Pulsar 2 and there perspective 2 ( which is a bit of a price reach).  I heard the Pulsars and they were beautiful.  But my wife vetoed the stands.

The problem with all of these options is the distance from RI.  The Spendor dealer is in Nashua but he sold off his D7s and is thinking of getting the new version and/or the Classic line.  I was interested in hearing the Classic line but didn't have the time or energy to travel to NE Philadelphia to listen to them.

So what do your speakers sound like?

I was wrong...it is not a dealer in NH, it is a Studio for Legacy.  I know the guys you are talking about in NJ.  For a stretch, the whole NY Metro area didn't have a legacy dealer.  At least they picked up one.  

I have two very distinct speakers, neither is ideal for the Leben as it is at the very low end of recommended power and would probably only pair well in a relatively small room.  

The Blackthorn is precise with a big soundstage. If you are comparing it to the most accurate speakers, it will stand up and deliver a decidedly uncolored sound.  The key is that the cabinet is completely dead as it is super rigid and the honeycomb core has a ton of surface area.  The issue is it has an 84dB SPL.

The Nightshade is less precise and maybe gives up a hair in detail compared to the Blackthorn.  It has a bigger soundstage and female voices in particular sound lush and soulful.  The cabinet is fiberglass with the same core.  Tons of surface area but not quite as rigid.  It has an 85dB SPL.

Both need a little power to achieve the right volume but are extremely easy to drive with minimum impedances at or above 7.3 ohms so they are very tube friendly.  

I am working on two other products that based on your above comments, one might be of interest to you.  PM me and I can offer up a couple details and hopefully will be listening to and tweaking the crossovers this weekend.  I don't want to discuss this particular bit of new product development in a public forum.