DeVore Fidelity Gibbon X loudspeaker Manufacturer's Comment

Manufacturer's Comment

Editor: Thanks to both of Stereophile's JAs for a thorough review of our big Gibbons. As Jim Austin explains, the Gibbon X is the successor to our Silverback Reference. Their shared objective is to be a full-range speaker capable of putting a listener right in the recorded space, removing as many colorations, distortions, and distractions as possible.

Jim notes that "The X's dynamics could literally startle" and that "The X also demonstrated startling realism . . . at certain moments with very good recordings, beyond what I'd previously experienced in my home." He even experienced that rare ultimate in hi-fi reproduction, believing a performer was in the room with him: "I looked up, startled by the realism, and finding that [Cécile McLorin Salvant] wasn't actually physically there, smiled, shook my head, and went on with whatever I was doing."

The other JA, John Atkinson, mentions the similarity between the Gibbon X and the Silverback in his Measurements sidebar. While the Gibbon X is the same price the Silverback was when it was reviewed 12 years earlier, the new speaker significantly outperforms the old one in every way—subjectively in-room, as noted by Jim, and in its measurements, as noted by John.

Yes, the X is tuned in a similar way to the Silverback, which again puzzles John. He noted in 2006 that the Silverback included a switch that allowed the measurements to conform to a more textbook definition of perfect. Since then I have heard Silverbacks in dozens of systems around the world, and never once was the Measurement position [of this switch] as good as the Direct position. Designing the Gibbons, it was clear that an evolution of this loading was still the path to the degree of realism I was after. This still shows in the measurements, but, as John notes, "to a much lesser degree."

Lastly, thanks to Stereophile for persevering in these very difficult publishing times. Happy Listening!—John DeVore, DeVore Fidelity
DeVore Fidelity
63 Flushing Avenue, Unit 259, Building 280, Suite 510
Brooklyn, NY 11205
(718) 855-9999
www.devorefidelity.com
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