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

I have 2 friends which owned both the O/93 and O/96 DeVores. They replaced them both with speakers which conform more to the current standards of design. First order crossovers, narrow baffles, more inert cabinet construction, etc. It didnt take them long after getting the new speakers to discern exactly how much these DeVores actually missed or got completely wrong. 

Fred,

I thought you were dead!  Sorry but not going to bite. 

That is the power of telling the truth. You dont care if anyone believes you.

Short of giving you names and addresses how could I prove that I am being honest?

I think you should post proof that you own 0/93s. A copy of the receipt will do.

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.

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. 

Well going from what look to be Avalons to DeVores will certainly be an awakening. Completely different DNA. You have a problem with the placement of your speakers. They are far too close to each other. If you could bring them further into the room and put a greater distance between them this would help a great deal. Great looking room just not particularly audio friendly at this point. Something to consider is spending some time and a bit of money on the acoustics before changing speakers or any component. Room treatments are easy to make and there also exist a great many premade items. 

All of you raise legitimate points in favor of the Orang. line of speakers. Of course it is really juvenile to get upset at a fellow enthusiast who doesnt share your opinions. What is ridiculous in calling into question the motives behind the criticism. Fred stepped out of line questioning the existence of these "friends" for which he sort of apologized. Lemon you are completely out of line suggesting that I have any agenda other than to voice my opinion about a speaker sound which I do not like. You all can find many posts regarding brands like Harbeth and similar I have posted in the past.  It is perfectly acceptable, in polite society, to voice your opinion as some have done, but then others resort to personal attacks over something so trivial. Different tribes I guess.

Yes I am a dealer. Should be obvious by my name. Also should be noted in my profile and if not then my mistake. I dont proof my posts so errors in spelling are possible. Show me in any of my posts where I suggest you buy a product I sell as an alternative to items being discussed. 

The crux of our problem exists simply because I spoke negatively about a product you own and like. 

I would be happy to list my system but am not spending hours trying to figure this out on Agon.

No dynamic speaker can reproduce transients like a capable horn system. If they could this would be the most significant reason to abandon horns altogether. In fact it is the far superior dynamic/transient capabilities of horn based speakers that prevent me from completely writing them off. 

The audio get togethers started before I became a dealer. In fact all the product that we carry is product that my partner and I owned previously or had vast exposure to. 

Suggesting the superiority of first order crossovers is nothing new, nor is the concept of time alignment. Most speakers I have owned over the years have been first order and I strongly prefer sealed enclosures although Atohm is ported.

Every dealer need an entry level turntable line. Rega has been wonderful to work with and fills this segment nicely. My personal table is the top of the line Merrill Williams with a Triplanar. I think M.W. now has a composite platter which I should investigate. 

For the money, I would get the O/93s. I think they are more cohesive and balanced. I noticed little to no difference in efficiency.

Fred, thanks for the comment. No problems on my end.

I reread your original post and I think you are proceeding on an erroneous assumption. First I hate it when people say that one speaker is better with a certain genre of music than another. This makes absolutely no sense. Other than output levels, the best rock speaker will be the best jazz speaker. I also think that your choice of amp will have more influence than the type of speaker on low level listening. Tube amps have better low level resolution and are more linear. Of course assuming a speaker that is relatively tube friendly which your Avalons are not. 

We spent a great deal of time listening to the O/96s with single and parallel 300B SET amps and these did not have nearly enough power. The speakers opened up with about 30 watts plus and decided that the best sound came from a pair of 60W OTL monos.

I am convinced that the lower wattage went into a very soft clip quickly that actually made the sound a bit larger than normal. The sound thickened. So I (we) felt that actually the lower powered amps gave some perhaps more of what they liked but this certainly did not do justice to the source. So in my experience, the worst amp for these speakers were push pull designs followed by the lowered power single ended. The speakers were best served by a more neutral tube amp of higher power that wasnt a push pull type. 

Hours of direct comparison were needed to really sort this out. Most of this was done on the O/96s and some on the O/93s. The only components changed were the amplifiers. These sessions were extremely valuable and really elevated our listening acumen. Of course it also ruined about 10 songs due to overexposure.

With these speakers, the only type of single ended design I would consider would be an 845 or 211 type. There is no denying the quality of single ended midrange, but I tend to like these amps when paired  with a less "meaty" sounding speaker. Perhaps too much of a good thing.

So what tone and attitude would you suggest? Dont tell me you appreciate the information and then voice your displeasure at the delivery. So tired of this passive-aggressive nonsense. Simply admit that you dont appreciate my opinion because it runs counter to yours and leave it at that. 

Only you and a few others have pointed out my posts as interpersonally challenged. And, surprise, these were all DeVore owners. Put criticism of the components you own in the proper perspective. Your speakers are not your children, hell they arent even your dog.

Just voicing my opinion. Believe it or not, the post you first commented on was listed to help, but evidently it served as a trigger. Take some time and find your safe place.