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
Late to this thread. I've owned a pair of Xs since early 2019, paired with a Bel Canto Black Ex integrated, and haven't had any issues with the bass. If anything, the bass is a strong point ... well-controlled, firm, dare I say supple? I have a 14 (deep) by 25 (wide) room with the speakers along a long wall. Obviously room size, amplifier and positioning also make a difference. 
I have owned the Gibbon X for over 1 year. I had a total absence between 100 and 300 hz. and too many high frequencies (and I love the mid high and the high frequencies). Unfortunately I had ti sell them
Any high resolution speakers, when poorly set up in a given room or paired with the wrong amplification, can produce incomplete or undesirable results. The higher the resolution of the speakers, the more care that needs to be taken with set up and amp matching. The Gibbon X's are high resolution speakers. You hear what is fed to them.

I've owned mine for about 4 years. When I first got them, I had a 25' x 17' room. I moved house and now I have a listening room half that size (about 15 feet x 16 feet). With a bit of care and experimentation, I have been able to get the X's working as well in this much smaller room as they did in the previous larger room. And I have also listened to a number of other speakers in both rooms.

The X's are not at all bass light or bright when properly set up. The bass is powerful, deep and extended (more extended than the O96's for example). It's in the upper bass (100Hz - 150Hz) where many smaller speakers have a slight hump that the X's can seem ever so slightly lean, but you only notice that in direct comparisons. And when you put on a high quality recording with true low bass and hear the X's bass extension, that thought is gone! And what you notice next is how clean and detailed the midrange is. How boxless the overall sound is. The cohesion between the mid unit and the tweeter is remarkable.

All this assumes sensible set up, decent quality sources, good equipment isolation and appropriate amplification. I've achieved great results with an ARC REF 75SE. And btw, the X's are no fussier than most other equivalent speakers when it comes to set up. 

This is a very subjective Hobby, and we should all know this by now! As a former Professional Musician, in another life LOL!! And who has worked with some of music industry's Best, sound signature in this hobby can and is very personal, to the minimal and maximal budget. IMHO; #1.Speakers #2. Amplification #3. Sq FT (Dedicated listening Rm or Studio) and Music Genre (type) can make or break your listening pleasure no matter what the cost, thank you much.