Super Nine grają dużym dźwiękiem, a rozciągnięcie basu zadziwi niejednego, kto spojrzy na parę skromnych „osiemnastek”. W ślepym teście zawyrokowałbym z pewnością, że mam do czynienia z konstrukcją trójdrożną, bo też wolumen dźwięku oraz ilość niskich tonów tak je właśnie plasują. Sam bas, poza tym, że potężny, łączy w sobie kocią miękkość i zwinność. Potrafi brzmieć przyjemnie dla ucha, z wyraźnym aksamitnym nalotem, ale jednocześnie ma w sobie tyle energii, żeby szybkie pasaże nisko brzmiących instrumentów pozostały w miarę czytelne.

Super Nine bezkonkurencyjnie wypadają w jazzie i przyznam, że gdybym słuchał na co dzień wyłącznie muzyki synkopowanej, amerykańskie kolumny znalazłyby się na samej górze mojej listy życzeń. Jazz to przede wszystkim nieskrępowane emocje i tzw. drive, a to akurat „superdziewiątki” potrafią przekazać wybitnie. Kapitalnie zaprezentowały się śpiewające panie z różnych okresów – Stacy Kent, Ella Fitzgerald i Anita O’Day. Ich głosy zostały przekazane dobitnie, oddzielone od tła i z pełnią emocji. Co ciekawe, słuchając nagrań operowych i chóralnych, odnotowałem, że średnica wykazuje lekką nosowość, przez co można odnieść wrażenie jej lekkiego wycofania. Tymczasem w repertuarze jazzowym i bluesowym, spod znaku Johna Lee Hookera i Johna Mayalla, owa przypadłość mijała jak ręką odjął. Nie miałem najmniejszych zastrzeżeń ani do barwy, ani ekspozycji wokali. Innymi słowy, dobór repertuaru przesądza o wszystkim.

Nie wspomnieliśmy do tej pory o wysokich tonach, a te zasługują na osobny akapit, a w zasadzie na laurkę. Miałem to szczęście, że w minionym roku dane mi było słuchać kolumn wyposażonych w najlepsze przetworniki wysokotonowe, jakie wymyślił do tej pory gatunek homo sapiens. Były wśród nich AMT, berylowe, diamentowe i jedwabne kopułki; były także topowe głośniki tubowe. I mogę z ręką na sercu powiedzieć, że autorska modyfikacja Johna DeVore w postaci jedwabnej kopułki z okalającym ją pierścieniem plasuje się brzmieniowo w ścisłej czołówce. Wysokie tony Super Nine wyróżniają się detalicznością i ponadprzeciętnie obszerną przestrzenią, w której oprócz samych dźwięków usłyszymy masy otaczającego je powietrza. Temperatura barw to idealne „pokojowe” 18 stopni Celsjusza, czyli całkowita neutralność. Nie znajdziemy tu ani aksamitnych wybrzmień, przypisywanych kopułkom z jedwabiu, ani nieznośnej natarczywości przetworników ze stopów metalicznych. Jeżeli miałbym wskazać jakiś prawdziwie neutralny element w brzmieniowej kompozycji amerykańskich „dziewiątek”, byłaby nim właśnie góra pasma. Akurat w tym przypadku repertuar nie ma znaczenia – zarówno talerze perkusji, jak i barokowe smyczki zabrzmią równie porywająco, a efektowne wysokie tony stwarzają świetną przeciwwagę dla rozbuchanego dołu.

Link do recenzji: DeVore Gibbon Super Nine – Hi-Fi i Muzyka

These speakers are also incredibly dynamic. They have the best startle factor I have heard from any speaker in my room. Although they may not startle as often as some speakers that are speed demons, when something startling came out of the pure beauty of the performance, I literally upset the table by my listening chair.

In addition, the Super Nines were also very dynamic and had very good micro-dynamics. The music was exceptionally energizing, life-size and powerful. They kept drawing me into performances in much the same way live music draws me in. I should add that while I was preparing to write this review, Becky and I heard both Tuck and Patty and Steve Tyrell live. Because I had just heard these artists, I had very recent reference points to compare the sound of the Super Nines to the real deal.

Like the DeVore Orangutan O/96 speakers, the Super Nines had the ability to transport me to a live performance in a way that few other speakers have in my room.

These speakers have plenty of power, scale, refinement and transparency. They brought music into my room and my heart and created a very soul-satisfying experience.

The bass of the Super Nines created a fundamental foundation for the rest of the music to stand on. The upper-bass and lower-midrange was just tight enough to bring the rhythm of the music into the room. They allowed me to hear the wood tones of a standup bass or piano. They also produced air around and within the instruments in a way that made them occupy space and sound like real instruments. At the same time, the micro-dynamics were quick and lively enough to let the plucking of a bass or rimshots of the drum kit and especially cymbals sound startlingly alive.

I was also impressed by how each instrument and singer seemed to occupy their own space. This was especially evident with how I could hear each backup singer on many albums. I went back and listened to Elvis and the Jordanaires like I did when I reviewed Wayne Picquet’s Restored Quad ESL 57s a few years ago.

The Super Nines were just as amazing as the Quads in how I could hear Gordon Stoker and Hoyt Hawkins in their own space. I’m not talking about their voices hanging in space, but the performers occupying space in the room. The Super Nines did this without the beaming of the Quads and with much better dynamics.

Link do recenzji: DeVore Gibbon Super Nine – The Audio Beatnik

Listening With the 40Wpc Unison Research S6 Black Edition, the sound was clear, lush, and physical. Imaging was first-rate, with excellent separation of images and commendable scale. Assisted by the rest of the system, the Super Nines brought those OJCs to life. Music practically leaped into the room.

Jazz recorded in the 1950s at Rudy Van Gelder's Englewood Cliffs studio doesn't have soundstage depth to marvel at, but the DeVores mined everything else Red Garland's mono Groovy and the stereo Here's Lee Morgan have to offer. In the contest among octaves, my award goes to the highs, which afforded brass instruments bite, punch, and energy, carousing in my room like they owned the joint but without ever developing a bad attitude. The tweeter minded its manners. The music felt physical.

The Super Nines' rendition of Coltrane's Sound was rousing. Drums and piano surged in the right channel, while Coltrane's tenor saxophone glowed large and flowed powerfully in the center. Turned up loud, this was a full-bore sonic assault.

With the clarity added by the Levante's solid state output stage, the large mono spot of sound that is Red Garland's Groovy expanded, and instruments became more distinct. Bass took on more weight and better texture. Paul Chambers's acoustic bass on Lee Morgan's Here's Lee Morgan was tighter, deeper, funkier, and more dynamic, highlighting the Super Nines' command over the low end—or was it the Levante's command over the Nines' low end?

When paired with a suitable amplifier, these speakers are exceptionally adept at extracting the full depth and impact of the bass in any recording—impressive for such small speakers.

The DeVore Fidelity Gibbon Super Nine joins the company of other DeVore Fidelity speakers that don't require top-tier amplification but nevertheless thrive with it. Every speaker has a character of its own, but the best still manage to express the character of the partnering hardware—source components, those amplifiers—and each record. That might be the Super Nine's most notable virtue.

Or maybe its most notable virtue is its balance. The Super Nine's treble is articulate and revealing but never bright or harsh. Its midrange is a clear, polished window. For so small a speaker, the bass goes deep, and there's enough of it to satisfy with most kinds of music. A pair of Super Nines projects expansive, precisely layered images across a large soundstage. The music the Super Nines make is rich in tone and timbre. There was a time—and here the original Nine comes to mind—when DeVore speakers had a reputation for being laid-back. Not so the Super Nine. Highly recommended.

Link do recenzji: DeVore Gibbon Super Nine – Stereophile

My initial impressions were that the Super Nines were extremely musical speakers. That doesn’t mean that they were bloated in certain regions to give you the illusion of “great sound”, but at the same time, I wouldn’t call them dry or analytical, either. They fit somewhere nicely in between. I also found that I really enjoyed them at lower volumes as well, which is a bit rare for me. But when cranked up, they could handle dynamic swings as well as my Triton Reference, albeit with a little less low-end impact. But given that the Tritons have built-in 1800 watt subwoofers, I wouldn’t expect them to be the same.

Another note that I wrote was on how dark and quiet the backgrounds were regardless of the music I was listening to. Having this quiet space between the notes really helps with the overall presentation, and you don’t really appreciate that until you listen to playback that achieves this.

But the most outstanding characteristics of the Super Nines were how they presented the soundstage and imaging of the music. They were monitor-like in their ability to throw a completely 3-dimensional soundstage that went way beyond the perimeters of the speakers themselves. At times I was able to hear instruments, voices, and effects fill the room in a manner that no other speakers have to this point.

When playing Perfect Sense Pt. 1, the thunder came from behind me, and then completely enveloped my listening position. On the Ballad of Bill Hubbard, the talking was coming directly from beside me (normally it’s to the side, but a little in front), with some of the effects coming from behind me. On Three wishes, the female voice was not only coming from directly to my side, but it seemed to extend beyond the wall. Creepy! And when the dog barks in that same song, it sounded like it was coming from one of the surround speakers behind me.

The Super Nines at times completely pulled a Houdini disappearing act, yet projected 3-dimensional images throughout the listening space. In all of the times I have heard this album on many different systems, and in my own space, I have never experienced such holographic musical reproduction.
Having this level of fun, and getting totally caught up in the music is what it is all about. For me personally, it’s not about specs or measurements, particularly when you’re referring to nuances about the reproduction that simply can’t be measured other than in smiles and goosebumps!

Link do recenzji: DeVore Gibbon Super Nine – Home Theater and High Fidelity