Really funny you should say that Bjesien, I am looking at a VAC Avatar right now.
Watch this space.....
Watch this space.....
Joseph Audio RM-33LE vs DeVore Gibbon 8, my experience.
As some will know by now I do have a habit of changing my equipment fairly regularly, sometimes buying an item and then selling it very quickly. This is usually because to me I just did not like the SQ, and I am not of the belief that give it time it will grow on me, that is more likely just being accustomed to it, not actually growing to love it! My mindset is that if I do not like it right away well I am likely NEVER going to like it period.
With that being said here goes with two sets of speakers I own.
First, and the longest owned, the Gibbons.
Nothing really much to fault with these stunning 2 way compact floorstanders. Obviously they do not go super low on bass but do run down to 40hz or so in usable output and as I listen to mostly rock and acoustic rock where the low E on the bass guitar is about 40hz I am not lacking in much. Saying that I did augment them with a small 10" sub just to fill in that bottom octave which it did very well indeed.
Their best attributes imho are their absolutely clear and neutral presentation of vocals and female vocals especially. Acoustic guitar and piano are also portrayed very vividly, not in your face but distinct, clear and easily picked out of any mix. They are non fatiguing in any way and I listen to them for hours on end.
So why look elsewhere, well grass is always greener on the other side!
Enter the Josephs.
Obviously these win hands down in bass output as well they should, not bloated in any way just solid tight fast punchy bass all round.
But to me they did not quite have what it takes in the mids to rival the vocal presentation or acoustic instruments of the Gibbons, not bad but not quite as drawn into the music as with the Gibbons. And they may have the tweeter from the Pearl but cymbal splash was very noticeable and slightly tizzy compared to the Gibbons.
So is this is case of David beating up Goliath?
Not quite, read on.
The above was reviewed at levels of 78 to 82 db on average, once I cranked up the juice to higher spl around high 80,s to low 90,s db then Mr Hyde crawled out of the Josephs and grabbed the music in a deathgrip and would not ease up!
Now the bass was truly visceral, feel it in your gut quality, not bowel inducing but much more palpable all round.
The mids took on a new quality and vocals and acoustic instruments shone like they should ( for my tastes), soundstage and the feeling of being with the music took over and I listened in a near dream state for a LONG time.
Does this make the Gibbons bad? Heck no but at the elevated spl the Gibbons did not really change nature much which is actually a very good thing and probably more a reflection of their ability to sing at lower spl rather than a failing at higher spl.
This makes it a very tough decision as both have outstanding qualities and if I really want to rock then the Josephs win out, but for more mellow sessions I prefer the Gibbons as they just do everything right seemingly no matter what the spl or subject material.
For now I am keeping both sets as it is too close to call right now.
Just some thoughts......
With that being said here goes with two sets of speakers I own.
First, and the longest owned, the Gibbons.
Nothing really much to fault with these stunning 2 way compact floorstanders. Obviously they do not go super low on bass but do run down to 40hz or so in usable output and as I listen to mostly rock and acoustic rock where the low E on the bass guitar is about 40hz I am not lacking in much. Saying that I did augment them with a small 10" sub just to fill in that bottom octave which it did very well indeed.
Their best attributes imho are their absolutely clear and neutral presentation of vocals and female vocals especially. Acoustic guitar and piano are also portrayed very vividly, not in your face but distinct, clear and easily picked out of any mix. They are non fatiguing in any way and I listen to them for hours on end.
So why look elsewhere, well grass is always greener on the other side!
Enter the Josephs.
Obviously these win hands down in bass output as well they should, not bloated in any way just solid tight fast punchy bass all round.
But to me they did not quite have what it takes in the mids to rival the vocal presentation or acoustic instruments of the Gibbons, not bad but not quite as drawn into the music as with the Gibbons. And they may have the tweeter from the Pearl but cymbal splash was very noticeable and slightly tizzy compared to the Gibbons.
So is this is case of David beating up Goliath?
Not quite, read on.
The above was reviewed at levels of 78 to 82 db on average, once I cranked up the juice to higher spl around high 80,s to low 90,s db then Mr Hyde crawled out of the Josephs and grabbed the music in a deathgrip and would not ease up!
Now the bass was truly visceral, feel it in your gut quality, not bowel inducing but much more palpable all round.
The mids took on a new quality and vocals and acoustic instruments shone like they should ( for my tastes), soundstage and the feeling of being with the music took over and I listened in a near dream state for a LONG time.
Does this make the Gibbons bad? Heck no but at the elevated spl the Gibbons did not really change nature much which is actually a very good thing and probably more a reflection of their ability to sing at lower spl rather than a failing at higher spl.
This makes it a very tough decision as both have outstanding qualities and if I really want to rock then the Josephs win out, but for more mellow sessions I prefer the Gibbons as they just do everything right seemingly no matter what the spl or subject material.
For now I am keeping both sets as it is too close to call right now.
Just some thoughts......
73 responses Add your response
I think I am now deeply in love with the Joseph’s! I purchased two 13 ft lengths of Western Electric 10g bare speaker cable and made up two very nice looking cables with spade ends and a nice braided outer cover. They sound absolutely stunning, dead neutral, precise, tight, no hint of the top end fizz heard with the Nordost cables. Vocals have taken on a complete new life and these have truly moved into the next dimension! Really, really happy right now. Still may tinker with a tube amp down the road but for now it’s just enjoy the music and happy holidays! |
@ozzy62 If they’re the ones currently available for $2300, I’d have a hard time coming up with another near full range speaker better than those for that price. I’m a big JA fan though so admittedly I’m a little biased. |
@ozzy62 , Be hard to pass up that deal... |
@ozzy62 As I recall that Stereophile review was very positive and may have even earned a Class A rating for whatever that’s worth. I’d expect the LE to be an improvement over the model they reviewed if maybe only marginal. Hard to see going wrong with these IMHO, and if I was in the market at that price level I’d go for them. But that’s me. Only downside is if for some reason you don’t like them, which I would think pretty unlikely, they might be a little tough to sell as they’re a lesser-known model in the lineup. Let us know if you pull the trigger — love to know your thoughts on it. |
@ozzy62 , If it has a passive radiator, I don't know where they put it. A bit more info on them: The seller bought them 4 years ago and the asking price was $2975 I don’t know if that’s helpful to you, but knowing he didn’t pay any more than that and maybe less, it seems after 4 years you can whittle some off his asking price if you are getting serious about them, especially for 20+ year old speakers... |
It’s weird that there is almost zero information about these speakers on the internet. No owners manual, no reviews, no specs. I would like to know if they are as hard to drive as John Atkinson said the 33si version was. But I can’t find anything. And it makes me wonder if my 100 wpc SMc audio amp will drive them. |
Well it looks like they sold locally. The seller was very slow to respond to emails. I made my offer this morning and he replied to my initial inquiry from last night after that email, ignoring my offer. That was 10:00 am this morning. I get an email from him at 7:00 tonight saying he had another offer. Strange for sure, but it’s his prerogative to sell to whomever he prefers, I get that. |
@ozzy62 Congrats! Heard nothing but great things about the IQs so would be very interested in your thoughts if you could share. |
@ozzy62 , hope you like them as much as I do my Pulsar 2’s. I, too, am curious about how they compare to the IQ’s, a speaker I’ve long admired from a distance. |
@ozzy62 may pull the trigger on the QUALIO IQ Ultra next week. |