What is best tweeter height for the Devore O/96?

To clarify, my intent here is not to criticize the Devore O/96 which I think is a remarkably fine speaker. It’s an extremely musical and involving speaker which has much to offer, especially for enthusiasts of low power tube amps, SET amps, and low power solid state Class A amps. I just found the tweeter height to be an interesting choice by John Devore and wondered about his reasons for this. I’ll forward my question to him for a response.

Also had a question for owners of Audio Note AN-E speakers, which shares some design principles with the Devore O/96. Certainly they are different with AN-E designed for corner loading of bass, but the general philosophy seems to share some similarities, 2-way design, wide baffle, larger lightweight woofer cone, higher sensitivity, etc. Have AN-E owners experimented with speaker height to bring tweeter up to ear level? What are peoples experience with that speaker? Thanks.

I heard back from John Devore, who kindly replied to my question about this. He explained that the tweeter height is set low on purpose for the O/96s, with the ideal listening height being slightly above the top of the speaker cabinet. The system is aligned for that listening axis. With the Gibbon Xs, the listening axis is right around the tweeter height or slightly above, so the cabinets are taller.

Based on my own experience with the O/96 and Gibbon X, this is what I’ve observed also. I’ve noticed that the sound of the O/96 has added dimensionality and clarity when the listening height is slightly above the speaker cabinet.

Does the Audio Note AN-3 has a similar listening axis?

I think dchang1981's post was pretty damn funny. I can only assume he's talking about Clem Devore who is a retired plumber and doesn't seem to be in the speaker business at all.

I currently own a set of devore's, and like the way they sound.  listened to the o96's plenty of times and would own them if i could afford them.  I am being earnest when I say I don't know what kind of background someone has graduating from RISD and being a audio salesperson has in designing speakers.  But i guess that's a moot point when they sound great.  

While it is uncommon, it’s not wrong to see a tweeter below the mid/woofer too, with the mid-woofer at ear level.

As a speaker designer and sometimes maker, yeah, the optimum twetter location can vary quite a bit, based on it’s off-axis frequency response. For instance, a tweeter may rise or ring at the top octaves, while off-axis becomes perfectly flat. Putting the tweeter off axis essentially equalizes it, without actually using more parts, and maintains good off-axis response as well. All in all a win-win.

A speaker designer who takes this approach demonstrates good balance of techniques and better than average contemplation of the drivers being considered.  This is a variation on tilted baffles, and speakers designed to be toed in less than average, or not at all.

The speaker designer must take into account while making the crossover and cabinet, but it’s a perfectly good design choice, and in some cases better than the traditional.

Depends. :)

Best,


Erik