From Vandersteen 2CE to Devore Gibbons 8 or Focal

I agree with the posts above......I would not consider the Vandersteen character to be "too bright." My 1C's, with 55 watts of EL-34 tube power, sound slightly "on the warm side of neutral." Have you tried playing around with the treble contour control on the back of each speaker ? I found that bringing each speaker's treble setting down one notch really helped.

If, after 17 years, you've had enough of the Vandersteen sound and indeed want a change, that's fine. To my ears, the Focals are too bright (although that may have been due to the Krell amplification which drove them.) With your concerns, I would recommend listening to the DeVore speakers. I had an extended listening session with the Gibbon 9's, driven by Leben electronics, and the music was absolutely beautiful. I have not heard the Gibbon 8's, but I'm sure that their character must be very similar to the 9's.

Good Luck, and Happy Listening !!

There was a great deal for a pair of DeVore Gibbon 8 speakers on Audiogon, so I bought them. I am driving down to the gentlemans house on Wednesday to pick them up. I will keep everyone posted once I get them set up on Thursday. If anyone else has any comments about the 8's, please post them.

Bob

Use your own ears. After you get a feel for the new speakers, and have experimented on your own to maximize their potential, then maybe listen to others. Every room is different.

I too share the suspicion that your problem is not the Vandersteens.

Those DeVores look interesting. Too bad there is so little info on their website about the drivers, crossovers, etc. I can't tell if the Gibbon 8 is ported or not, or if it is a 2-way or 3-way.

If anyone can find that info, could you post it?

I too, don't find the Vandy's to be bright. Along with the other excellent responses, I wonder if your 7' listening distance might be just a bit close?