DeVore Silverbacks

Thanks, Audiofreakgeek. And agreed, there are many speakers that will go lower than the Silverbacks and some that have better dynamics. I have not heard Wilson speakers and do not care for B&W. KEF's are very nice IME. Happy Listening! Best regards, Steven

I have the Silverbacks in my reference system. They are the best overall multi-driver speaker I have heard at their approximate price point and below. I have heard them with both SS (Nagra, Audio Research, Luxman, Naim) and tube (Shindo, Leben, Luxman) gear. Although they sounded great with all of those, I felt they sounded best with tubes, particularly Shindo. I am currently running them with a Shindo Masseto pre and a Luxman MQ-88 amp and just love the music they make!

Jdoris - The Verity Leonore and DF Silverback are just about the same price. In comparing the two, I felt the Silverbacks were superior in every way except one. I felt the Leonore's upper end was just a touch better; this was mostly apparent to me for solo piano works.

Audiofreakgeek - Your experience with the Silverbacks differs from mine somewhat. I have always found the bass and dynamics to be excellent and the speakers themselves to be very revealing of musical detail without being clinical. Which pre, amp, and sources were used when you heard the Silverbacks, and was this in a store or someone's properly setup listening room? Was there a particular recording or genre of music you listened to on the Silverbacks that caused you to conclude as you did about their bass, dynamics, and detail? Thanks in advance for any details you are willing to share. Best regards, Steven

I am very, very pleased with the pairing of my Luxman MQ-88 with my Silverbacks. That said, if I were going to change amps, it would be to a Shindo for sure, and the Montrachet would be high on my list. As an aside, the main thing that keeps me from switching to a Shindo amp right away is the fact I continue to lust after the Auditorium 23 Solovox speakers, and if I sell my Silverbacks and go with the Solovox, the Shindo amp that works well/best with the Silverbacks will not necessarily be the best for the Solovox.

Charles1dad - Yes, the Solovox is a single driver speaker, and I would be giving up frequency extremes compared to the Silverbacks. I have multiple systems but only one room where the Solovox could go, and that is the room where the Silverbacks currently are. It would be a radical change for that room, but I continue to lean in this direction after hearing the Solovox. For solo vocals and certain solo instrumentals, and for acoustic jazz and some/much small ensemble jazz and classical, the Solovox are phenomenal. Despite the reduced frequency extremes of the Solovox in comparison to the Silverbacks, the Solovox remain my first choice for the aforementioned music genres. Not an easy decision for me at all. I hope to be able to A/B the Solovox and Silverbacks soon.

The room I had my Silverbacks in ("had" being the operative word as I now have a pair of Solovox in my primary system) was 14' x 25'. The SBs were positioned on the short wall and the listening spot was about 11' away. And they were fantastic positioned that way in that room.

Charles1dad - Thank you. I feel very fortunate to have the Solovox. You are right, the SBs are held in very high regard by many (most?), and I count myself amongst those who find them to be extremely musical. The ONLY reasons I parted with them because I have multiple systems, one of which gives me about 90 percent of the overall musical satisfaction I experienced with the SBs, and of course I had nothing like the Solovox in any other system. I have yet to hear a sub-$30K pair of speakers that can do everything as well as the SBs. That said, for solo vocals, solo instrumental (especially acoustical instruments), small ensemble chamber, jazz, and blues, and even small scale orchestral music from the Baroque and Mannheim periods, I have not heard a more lifelike presentation of those musical genres than what I hear from the Solovox. Nothing else comes close IME. The Solovox completely disappear in the room, and I do mean completely. They obviously do not go as low or as high as the SBs, nor will they shine with large scale or complex music, but I now play those types of music on other systems. To sum it up wrt the Solovox, they are exceeding my expectations. On a side note, several friends who are not into music like we are have commented how remarkably live the music sounds when played through the Solovox. No argument here!
All The Best,