DeVore O/93 or PureAudioProject Duet15 for a First Watt SIT-3?


Hi
What do you think would be better for a warm organic late night listening (classic music, opera and jazz)?
Stereophile reviewed the O/93 as a perfect pairing with SIT-3 (even is SIT-3 prefers low impedance speakers).
Duet15 seems to me more sensible (97db vs 93db) (and Steve Guttenberg think are top).
My current speakers are 4ohms / 87db Avalon Indra, absolute fantastic at their 80db listening kingdom.

Thanks

ulul

It is the fashion these days to get upset over the tiniest thing. Sorry that DeVore speakers appear to be a trigger. But your basic premise is wrong and you simply didnt like my comments on a speaker which you adore. Pretty silly. 

I have spent over 100 hours listening to the 0/96s and at least 50 on the 0/93s. Both of these speakers were the mains in 2 houses in which we would hold monthly listening sessions. Each month we would bring a different component, cables, etc.

My take away was that the 0/93s were certainly a better value than the 0/96s and sounded more balanced.

On these speakers we used some less expensive solid state (First Watt most recent production, Parasound, Aragon), P.P. tube amps (VAC and older Zesto), SET (mainly 300B Audio Note both single and parallel) and OTLs. Universally the OTLs were preferred. I am convinced that the 0/96 is not a 96db efficient speaker. 

My point is you could not possibly know if I have listened to the DeVores. Had I gushed all over them you would not have questioned my legitimacy or motive. Therein lies the (your) problem.

 

 

 

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these DeVores actually missed or got completely wrong. 

This is incorrect, if so, why so much praise, so many sales, and few resales. This is simply that it didn’t meet a specific person’s preferences.

After demoing many speakers at major audio shows and showrooms, the O/96 are one of the most “musical” speakers. Very surprised to hear of purchasing dissatisfaction after bringing them home, would expect the buyer to know what type of sonic this particular speaker offers. If they were expecting end-to-end linear neutrality, they didn’t do their homework.

So no, these speakers weren’t “wrong”, but rather it’s the insufficient method in which these speakers were chosen.

Not at all. In this case "musical" translates to colored. All you need do is compare this series of speaker with other types of designs to hear exactly what they portray that is not in the original signal. Not to say that this type of sound doesnt have its place and certainly its fans, but if you judge a speaker by how well it recreates the original signal these are a failure on numerous fronts.

What I object to with this series is exactly the appeal to others. This extra body, the thickness and over reaching with a tendency to make Janis Joplin sound like Janis Ian. Designs that pay homage to the speaker designs of the past and dont expose bad recordings. They are much less offensive than other speakers on poor recordings. This too is not a positive attribute. I think that this is the main reason we all preferred the more linear sound of OTLs on these speakers.

The first of the speakers purchased were the 0/96s because this friend wanted a "warm" design which was tube friendly. After discussing several speakers which I thought displayed this attribute, he purchased the DeVores. He was very happy as was the other friend who bought the 0/93 blind based on the 0/96 performance. Both lived happily until I brought over a pair of speakers in the price range of the 0/96s. 

The appeal of the O series is obvious and not without merit. They simply arent a transducer to my taste. That how all this started was me stating an opinion. Do I really need to start playing the game of prefacing everything I say with an "IMO" or similar? To my ears they got many things completely wrong. 

In favor of these speakers. The former owner of the 0/96s when he plays very loud or plays bad recordings misses the speakers. Both pairs sold quickly and at very good prices. All of us miss the looks of the speakers. Support from the company was superb and construction quality was excellent.

So take this as a story  of evolution. After experiencing fine examples of differing speaker designs, my friends choose a direction different from you and the Fred. 

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