Like every other company based in Brooklyn these days, DeVore Fidelity takes an artisanal approach. Unlike the big guys, it doesn't change drivers or concepts every year or two. In fact, the Gibbon X (or 10) features the company's first new tweeter since 2004. It's also the first three-way Gibbon model. The driver arrangement is unusual: woofers in a ported enclosure, a midrange in a transmission-line enclosure, and the new tweeter below and to the side of the midrange. With a claimed flat 8-ohm impedance and 91.5 dB sensitivity, the Gibbon X should work well even with an 8-watt single-ended tube amp. I found the sound incredibly detailed, effortless, and focused, with behind-the-head wraparound imaging I've previously heard only in electrostatic speakers. Price: $11K/pair, which ain't bad when you consider it's built right in Brooklyn.
