Devore and Shindo match


I have been a bit hesitant to start this thread because it seems as if there are a couple of other ones going that are very close to addressing the Devore and Shindo. So I thought this may swing the door open a bit wider. I have taken a few trips to dealers, having heard the Devore Nines once. The preamp was a Shindo, the amp was a VTL ran in Triode. I have owned VTL, am familiar with their sound in Triode which in my system and IMO was a bit slow, without much detail and definition. Again, in the context of my system only. What are the general impressions of anyone who has heard this combination. It will be some time until I make it back to a dealers to hear a Shindo amp, so I was hoping to hear a few opinions in the meantime. Please feel free to chime in with any experiences with Devore/Shindo, Shindo only, or even Devore with different gear.
fjn04
The Shindo/Devore combo is quite popular and for good reason, there are good synergies there. I have the Aurieges/Montille combo and used to have the Super 8s. In my room the mids were wonderful, natural very uncoloured. However the bass was lacking but I'm sure it was a function of my room because my friend with a Monbrison/Montille combo once borrowed them and was able to dial them to produce glorious sound - including a very tight articulate bass. I never did hear the 9s with my gear but I did hear the Super 8s vs the 9s with Naim gear and I really liked the 9s, the same lovely highs and mids, but with a more fuller sound with a deeper bottom end. Shindo preamps have a loyal and dedicated following, and for the money I don't think they can beat. If you can swing for also a Shindo amp you should, because the synergies are truly magical.
Thanks for your comments. I have recently added the Monbrison to my system, and it has been very impressive.
To consider one of the Shindo amps, it would also mean that
I would have to chose a speaker as well. Mine is not suitable for 40 watts or below. It's been a while since I have made such a large move system wise, so I want to get
a feel for the Shindo/Devore sound first. I am not sure what other speakers to consider, but am leaning toward a conventinal cone driver right now. It would have been an interesting comparison to have heard the Nines with Shindo after having heard them with Naim. It seems like making a move on the speaker first would be a better.This would then make it easier to check out a wider variety of amps. Especially with a speaker like Devore that has such a stable impedance curve and is 90+ db.
I thought I'll chime in on my impressions with the Devore - Shindo Montille 6v6 match. I did get to hear Mickeyc8's Devore Super 8 in my system for a week (as Mickeyc8 mentioned above) and got some insight into what makes the speakers so special:

I really enjoyed the evenhanded and uncolored presentation of the Devores. They completely managed to disappear - sonically and spatially - and just let the music through. Their presentation does not draw attention to itself at all. It is easy to differentiate between instruments, different tonal structures, and carefully follow the development of a piece. We had a couple of really nice evenings just immersing ourself in music. Beyond that the Devores are very articulate, balanced, with a natural tone and texture. The soundstage is very structured and very wide much beyond the speaker, instruments are well separated and placed, no blurring of images, with a decent sweet spot. In Michael's room they were a little problematic with respect to bass (as most speakers do in his room) . In my 14 x 18 room the Super 8s nicely opened up and with the Monbrison and Montille 6v6 the Devore were far from thin sounding. I find the Devore's very well balanced; the bass is well defined and articulate rather than boomy and exaggerated, and some people may find the Super 8 slightly on the lean side.

In direct comparison, my Abbys still offer a little more midrange detail and texture - the Abbys capture the brassiness of trumpet and saxophone or the resonances of a cello a tad more. Images are taller and larger. Bass extension is similar although the Devores go a little deeper with a more articulate bass. In many ways it is a bit of a trade-off and they are kind of at different ends of musical speakers - the Abbys are more colored but also offer more texture and richness. I haven't heard a speaker that puts a solo cello into the room quite like the Abbys (short of the Shindo Latour of course).

I wouldn't have really considered a two-way like the Devore, but the evenings we listened were quite special and we really did appreciate what they did.
Also, I should mention that I absolutely love the Shindo Montille 6v6 amp - in many ways I was even more impressed by the Montille than the Monbrison, it was such a big change from my already excellent Fi amp.
I haven't had the pleasure of hearing the Devore's, but I have the Montille 6V6 with the Aurieges MM on Altec Model 19's. The Montille 6V6 is a wonderful amplifier and highly recommended with the right speakers. My room is 18 x 26 and with the Montille's input pots at 1:00 and the Auregies volume at 10:00 I get all the volume needed with plenty of quick articulate bass.