A Short Trip and New Speakers
Well, that was fast! I spent the last two days in the car driving from Macon, to New Orleans, and back. This trip was to collect my latest addition to the audio system: my new-to-me DeVore Fidelity O/96 speakers.
I spent this morning setting them up and giving an initial listen. While I think I’m going to need to play with placement a bit more, especially when I have my sound shed built, they sound great in Giles’ front room. The speakers are substantial and bulky, but I was able to move them pretty well by myself—a good thing, since I dropped them off after my all-day drive. I managed to get them inside before I lost all light. I left the set up for this morning.
While they have quite a bit more presence in the room than my Sonettos, the O/96es are not huge speakers. They look big because of the baffles, but they’re only about a foot deep. I managed to get them into the back of my Model Y with no problem—they almost fit without my having to put the rear seats down. With a couple of moving blankets, they were a cinch to transport.
Of course, the first song I cued up was Dire Straits’ “You and Your Friend,” to see how this room and setup compared to my memory of listening to the O/96s for the first time. While they did not have the same magic as my initial experience, I think they will as I fiddle and futz with the system. While not perfect yet, they do sound damn good. In general, I think this room is a bit too small for these speakers; I feel like they need more space to breathe. Hopefully the sound shed will be appropriate.
The synergy with my Cronus amp and Gold Note DAC is a bulls-eye. I did all my listening today in ultralinear mode, but I look forward to sampling the triode setting soon which should be closer to the sound I prefer. I’m even impressed with the Tellurium Q Black II speaker cables I bought from Matt. While thin and minimalist, they seem to do the job well.
I wish I could say the trip was more exciting than it was: New Orleans was nice, but I was fatigued with driving all day. Mardi Gras season was in full swing, so just walking around the French Quarter kept me entertained until I stopped for some étouffée and a virgin Bloody Mary at The Gumbo Shop. I walked a bit more after dinner, catching some music on Bourbon Street, but it was a cold and breezy night, so I made my way back to my hotel room at the Hotel St. Pierre. Oh, there was a plaque outside of my room that said:
| “ | THIS ROOM IS DEDICATED TO THE MEMORY OF LOUIS “SATCHMO” ARMSTRONG WHO STAYED HERE DURING HIS VISIT TO THE JAZZ MUSEUM IN 1965 | ” |
How cool is that? I’m sure the room has changed quite a bit since 1965. I wish I could say that I slept well, but New Orleans is a busy city, and I heard revelers through most of the night. That and my excitement about picking up the DeVores made me restive. Fortunately, plenty of coffee kept me alert for the next day’s drive back to Macon with the speakers tucked lovingly in back. I wish I had had more time to chat with their former owner, Nicholas, as he and I seemed to share many enthusiasms. He and I moved the speakers from his loft to my car with little problem, and I was back on the road after 09:00. I pulled into Macon around 18:00, dropped the speakers at their temporary home, and was chilling out by 19:00—happy for an uneventful trip.
Much more to report on the speakers soon. Hopefully, I will have the sound shed construction to begin documenting as well.
| Reference Audio System (02/2025) |
|---|
| Rogue Audio Cronus Magnum III Stereo Tube Integrated Amplifier • Gold Note DS-10 Plus DAC • Gold Note PSU-10 EVO Power Supply • DeVore Fidelity O/96 Speakers • REL T/9x 10" SE Powered Subwoofer (Racing Red) • PS Audio Duet Power Center • Morrow MA3 Interconnects • Tellurium Q Black II Speaker Cable |