If you are in the O/96 price range I would be looking at the Kensington's.
I own some Eaton's and prefer them with solid state. I tend to prioritize transients, speed, tight bass, PRaT etc. Imaging is obviously first rate as well which is big for me as it adds to chasing the "realness factor".
I've ran them with LTA and PrimaLuna and while tonally they've been wonderful, did not have the foundation that I was looking for. The newer models are a tougher load than the Tannoy's of old. So far Pass/FW products have been a wonderful match.
I've only heard the JBLs once at a dealer (with SS amps) and found the low end a little too boomy for my liking. I found my Eaton's do low end a lot more naturally, more articulate.
I've never heard these myself - but Coherent Audio of Canada might be worth checking into for you. Similar Tannoy concentric design but much higher efficiency and designed to be used with 2-3W SETs thanks to their Radian Drivers. Very simila finish to the Devore as well. I'd love to try them one day. |
My listening room is 4.5 by 3.5 meters, similar to the Dealers room in which auditioned them, so I believe that I could find a good placement for the O/96. Since starting this discussion I added 2 new speakers to my list: - Audionote AN-E/SPe HE, they seam to have the sound signature that i'm after, based on what i read they are a bit more relaxed than the O/96, may be better with old crappy Jazz recordings, but there's that solid wall corner placement requirement that can't be met in my room and they are unfortunately not availlable for Demo in my country.
- Trenner and Friedl Pharoa, I will set an audition for those and will bring my amp with me.
I'll post back with my impresions on the Pharoa. |
Adam,
I love the Devore 0/96 and considered purchasing a pair.
A little bit of information that might, or might not be relevant for you:The design of the Devore speakers entails that they need at least 8 feet o beyond listening distance to really cohere and sound their best. Also, due to the design (including the slight wave-guide for the tweeter I think) the horizontal dispersion narrower (in terms of maintaining an even tonal balance). In other words, they are something of a narrower sweet spot listening speaker than possibly the other models you are considering.
All that shifts somewhat depending on listener distance of course. But just thought that might be relevant.
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As an owner of the 4429s'. I think that they are excellent speakers. I have not heard either one of the others. Tannoy used to be owned by Harman also. So probably some cross pollination there between JBL and Tannoy. As far as The Gibbon Circuit is concerned, other people have done similar things like isolating the capacitors and inductors in a sand wax mixture. That would be JBL in the 70s'. They don't do that anymore. They use open circuit boards like most manufacturers today. I can understand that designing crossover/speaker systems that don't look reactive to the amplifier is a good thing, although not practical in a lot of cases. High end amps are usually designed to drive highly reactive loads. That requires a low resistance high current power supply, which usually means, it is an expensive amp. The majority of the cost in building an audio amp is in the power supply. Cheap amps do not have high current capable supplies.
Another thought: The D2girls had a pair of JBL 4367s' that they raved about. But, I would ask the question, have they listened to the speakers that you are referring to here. Bottom line: You have to listen to all three of your choices to make an intelligent decision. Our recommendations may not fit your needs or desires for what you think is the kind of sound you are looking for.
Regards,
John |
Thanks again for your replies.
There seams to be a concensus in favor of the Devore, which gets me closer to pull the trigger on them.
To make things a bit more interesting, how would you compare the O/96 to Vandersteen Treo CT ?.
I currently own the Treo CT and was thinking of going the 2 way, wide baffle, large woofer, high sensitivity path, because the Treos seam to open up only at high volumes with reasonably priced and moderately powered ampliffication, making it difficult to have long listenning sessions.
I also think that the large woofer wide baffle with a Class A amp would get me closer to my ideal sound, then again i never fed the Treos with the kind of ampliffication that would make them really sing.
currenly I'm using lm-150ia 100wpc with them, getting the best results yet with this amp, but i can see that it runs out of steam by the positoon of the dials.
Regardless of the ampliffication requirements, which would you say is the best speaker ?, I can't audition them side by side and can only own one of them, so my choices are to keep the Treos and get something like Aesthetix Atlas/Calipso combo, or go for the Devore.
wouldn't want to make the wrong choice here.
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The Devore all the way! The other 2 speakers on your list are not really much to speak of IMO. The Devore hits a very good balance between fun and detail. Very easy to drive but improves with increases in power. Gives a good glimpse into the music but is never tedious. Best amp I have heard on these was the Atma-sphere 60s. In fact the Atmas put the SETs and P.P.s that I auditioned to shame. |
Devores and line magnetic are a match made in heaven.
if you can afford the devores, go for it.
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Extensively demoed legacy series at my place, all 3 models; arden,
cheviot and eaton. I find both cheviot and arden to have to much
bass to my liking, both also suffers from cabinet colloration more
than the eaton making vocals a bit dark and and veiled in compari
son to its smaller brother, i find the eaton much more balanced
overall, a shame really since price differnce between the 3 is very small when you factor the need for the eaton to have a dedicated stand.
I still own the eaton but is already been replaced by a wilson sasha
2 which is miles ahead. The devore is a better speaker than the
legacy since it has a more refined highs, a more romantic mids
and a more silent cabinet making it a more balanced speakers, dynamics and speed plus a classier looks goes to devore as well.
no experience with the jbl though.
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Thanks all for your comments and recommendations.
When you say that the Devores are much Better than the Tannoys or JBLs, could you describe in what way ? what are the strengths and weaknesses of each ?.
Supermerio,
Being an Eaton owner, would you say that you are content with them or thinking of upgrading ?, how would you describe the difference between Eaton and Cheviot ?.
I'm looking for my last pair of speaker (as if there can be such a thing in this hobby), it doesn't have to be perfect but it has to be enjoyable, fun and convey the emotions of the music, I don't want to analize how my setup sounds, just listen and enjoy the Music.
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Dovore 096 is much better than the tannoy eaton legacy which i stil
own. Your line magnetic (which i also owned before) is a great match
to the 096 having been the speakers used by the line magnetic
dealer to demo the amp.
Both devore and tannoy legacy are very good but the devore
is the more refined speakers overall given the price difference. |
the devore 096 is better then the jbl 4429 or tannoy and this is coming from a big time jbl fan
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Is there any reason why you’re considering the O/96 vs two other speakers that are basically than half the price of the O/96?
I’m not sure what country you’re in, but if you can I would look into the Rosso Fiorentino Volterra. They are not as efficient as the other options you listed, but I have heard this speaker several times running off a 30w Mastersound tube amp, and it doesn’t have any issue powering those speakers, so your amp shouldn’t have any issues pairing with them. I think they fit your description very well. If you can find somewhere to audition them, they really are excellent and at a very similar price point to the O/96.
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My vote is for Tannoy. My speakers are from original Cheviots, and are easy to drive, as stated. They perform well using SET 300B, SET 845, and Class D Audio.
I do not know how the drive characteristics have changed from the old to the new, but it's Tannoy for me, and always will be.
Best of luck,
Dan
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