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DeVote Fidelity O/96 versus Wilson Audio Sabrina/Yvette

I’ve now completed multi-hour demos in 5 hi-fi shops. I don’t think it was recency bias that my last demo day resulted in my top tier contenders. In the morning, we listened (in order) to the Sabrinas, then Paradigm’s Personas, then the Yvette. We really enjoyed the Sabrinas. I would say we respected the Personas, but preferred the "Wilson sound". Really were blown away when listening to the Yvette, but did not get a chance to A/B them with the Sabrinas. In the afternoon at the second shop, we listed to the smaller DeVore Gibbons, which we could not fault, but did not give that emotional connection like we heard with the Sabrinas/Yvettes. Afterwards, we listened to Orangutan O/96s, which were a solid improvement, but again did not deliver the "wow" factor despite the fact we had nothing negative to say. I’d like to go again and listen to the DeVore/Wilson products in reverse order as by the end of the day we were quite tired and might not have had the energy to be "wowed".

Long intro to get to the question - any thoughts on comparison of the speakers in the title? How much do you think fatigue played a factor?

We listened to the DeVore’s with a $4000 Line Magnetic integrated tube amp - I love the look of the tubes and really am almost rooting for the DeVore/tube amp combo to win. The Wilsons were driven by an $8000 Ayre integrated. Obviously the Wilson/Ayre combo is significantly more expensive, but the DeVore/LM combo really seemed to keep up.

Thanks in advance for the feedback!
bruxesq

Showing 1 response by pingvin

pingvin
46 posts
 
As the other poster says, we know it’s tough to get a fix on what is what. In this case, you were listening to very different systems, so I would caution drawing inferences about the speakers. 

In in my experience — and I should note that I haven’t heard the current generations — Wilsons play best in systems that prioritize transparency, macro dynamics,  frequency extension, and phase accuracy. By contrast, Devores prioritize, IMHO, tonal differentiation and microdynamics (“aliveness”).

I own the O/93s, the little brother to the O/96s. The first time I heard them was with the Line Magnetic amplifier with the 805 output tubes. I found the sound to be attractively full, but lacking sparkle and ultimately a bit dull. The speakers perked up a lot when paired with the Leben amplifier I used to own. No fatigue at all, but lots of life and “flow”.

If possible, try the Devores with different amplification. Most owners will say that a significant reason they bought the Devores is because they consistently draw you into the music.  If they still don’t work for you, then you have your answer — congratulations either way. 
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