Planned to upgrade to DeVore Gibbon X, but concerned about comment of base leanness


was going to pull the trigger on an upgrade from Gibbon Nines to the Gibbon X.  I like the Nines and believe the X will give me a little more of  everything I like about the Nines, especially a much fuller and deeper sound.  I then read the review in the Stereophile Recommended Components 2019 "He also noted that "the midrange driver and woofers are out of phase in the region where their outputs overlap," which might explain the impression of leanness".  I am concerned about the impression of bass leanness. 

Anyone listen to Gibbon X and if so your thought on bass leanness, or overall impression?

Auditioning is a real pain as it will take a whole day and due to a current medical condition traveling can be a real pain.  I may just end up taking a day trip and spending the night in a hotel.  If there is bass leanness that is a deal breaker.... 



mindlessminion

Showing 1 response by mike_in_nc

I have not heard them. You can stop reading there, if you want.

Any speaker whose woofer is far off the floor will be subject to floor-bounce cancellation, which typically occurs in the 100-300 Hz range. This can cause leanness and necessitates careful positioning, which still can’t always overcome it.

That effect is very much in evidence in Fig. 3 of the Stereophile review. One thing one should be aware of is that JA1 is really, really good at positioning speakers for best response. (His graphs often compare response in the reviewer’s room to his, and he always gets a better result.)

Some people like a suckout in this range, as it adds perceived "clarity" and "tightness." I for one do not like it. My advice is, listen carefully before writing any nonrefundable check.