Devores and Omegas - input please
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@jjss49 I love the Devore O series speakers, especially the O/96. Though the O/93 shares the essential traits. I auditioned both models extensively and did much commentary in my thread here: https://forum.audiogon.com/discussions/contemplating-devore-speakers-and-others-long-audition-report... I also owned Harbeth Super HL5 plus, and I’m familiar with the rest of the Harbeth line-up. Also know Proac, been a long time since I heard Vandersteen, haven’t heard the Omega. In a nutshell: the Devore O speakers share with Harbeth, and classic Spendor speakers, the characteristics of "richness" and a full sound, the type that fleshes out vocals and other instruments. But it sort of turbo-charges those characteristics, sounding even more rich and full through the entire audio spectrum. Some can see this as tipping past the point of neutrality. Others, like me, see it as actually getting nearer to real sounds, as, for me, one of the major way most hi-fis differ from real life is the way sounds are squeezed down subtractively. A real life sax sounds massively big and rich compared to the little compressed toy versions through many speakers. So I hear the richness and bigness in the Devore as more authentic, rather than simply coloration. YMMV of course. The Harbeth tend to be very evenly balanced from top to bottom. The Devores are a bit wilder and more dynamic, bigger, richer, reach-out-punchy bass and "pop" on snare drums. Again, depending on your audio "journey" you can hear this as more speakerly coloration, OR you can hear it as sounding more "live" than most speakers. For me it tends to evoke the sense of "live" so I hear the dynamics of how a drummer or pianist is playing more than many other speakers. The energy flow seems effortless and grabs me. But I’ve never lived with the Devores so I don’t know yet if any of this would wear on me over time, or if I’d continue to appreciate it. Finally, the Devores have a very special character that I have always loved in a speaker: they sound open and ’live’ in the upper mids and higher frequencies - not in a shove treble-in-your-face manner, but there is that texture of the real thing in the room, like someone clapping their hands and you can hear the skin texture, or fingers on the guitar strings, or the very papery/skin texture of hands playing a bongo, where it cuts through the air, rather than sounding glazed over and "canned" like a recording. And it does this in a way that sounds not only really clear and vivid, but warm and smooth too. So..."organic" is the word that comes to mind. I’ve heard many speakers that have incredible high frequency resolution, but through which organic instruments still have an electronic glaze, sounding canned and artificial. The Devores sound more like real life to me. The Devores throw more of a "wall of sound" as some people describe it, vs a super huge, deep soundstage. They CAN throw a huge soundstage in terms of width and image size - their image size is bigger than the typical speaker. And they DO make instruments come to 3D life in the room. But they are a bit more about sounding live, hear and now, transporting you to the live event, rather than massive recorded soundstages The Devores are in interesting combination of dynamic and laid back in that respect. They are very rich and punchy through most of the range, especially the bass. But the upper frequencies, while staying full sounding, are vivid yet relaxed. I think this is why you can read different takes on the Devore O series. Some people latch on to one aspect and find the Devores super dynamic, live and exciting. Others may latch on to the relaxed quality and think they sound a bit laid back and polite, and they want more bite and energy. . That of course is why listening for yourself is always necessary. Someone may describe the sound accurately, but you won’t necessarily know your reaction to it until you hear it. I ended up buying Joseph speakers that I dearly love, but my Devore obsession isn’t totally over and I’ll likely be auditioning the O/96 in my room some point this spring. |
