I run the entry level Duevel Planets in my Great room system and for what they are I can't complain, they look like a piece of art and fill a pretty good sized room with pleasing full range sound. Duevels don't have much of a footprint here in the states so I can't imagine anyone has heard the Venus and would have direct comparisons to the Obelisk. If you haven't checked Shahinians prices lately you may want to do that as they are really getting up there. Shahinians rarely show up used so that speaks well for them and I'm not sure I've ever seen Duevels here on Agon so take that for what it's worth. I've heard Obelisk's just once at an audio show here in metro Detroit, Blue Circle was using them in their demo room and I was mighty impressed. Big, effortless full range sound and very dynamic, not sure if this helps but it's all I've got, good luck...
Duevel's "Venus "Speaker or Shaninian's "Obelisk". Which offers the best sound quality?
This thread might rehash, the old argument of Omni directional speakers vs tradition forward firing box speakers.
However, the main question is which speaker:... the Duevel's "Venus" speaker or the Shaninian "Obellisk" offers the best or most CONVINCING sound quality??.
Also, if anyone knows how either might compare to any of the older Audio Physic speakers, like the Virgo I and II, the Libra, Tempo I.... or even the more current AP Scorpio 25.
Thank you, S.J
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Polarin, Thank you the information and comments. There is a pair of Obelisks on sale on U.S.Audio Mart and one (I think) on Audiogon You are right of Duevel having a "small footprint" in the U.S. I would amend that to almost no footprint. I e-mailed Marcus Duevel 3 X times in Germany about the "Venus" model and warranty service areas. I have yet to get an answer. To me, this is just bad customer service which is always a red flag to me. I even contacted their Canadian distributer, Pascal Ravich who he claims he is now retired and has no information about Duevel or their products Their pricing, (like Audio Physic) is inflated and may be the reason they have little traction in the U.S. Shahinian seems more accessible, but you are correct, their prices are off the scope. At the same time, I am sure no member wants to throw away money buying a USED speaker, they may not like or come to dislike, especially Omni's whose sound is often been considered problematic BTW, were you able to purchase Duevel "Planets" speaker in the USA, or from an international dealer?? Thank you for the response.
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I must've been the last person to deal with Pascal as he was traveling quite extensively and had mentioned he was getting ready to hang em' up. I was a bit reluctant to purchase the Duevels through a Canadian distributor that I knew nothing about, but after speaking with Pascal I decided to pull the trigger. Plus, it did't hurt that the Canadian exchange was very attractive at the time, I paid about $1,100 U.S. (Dec 2016). I read everything I could find on the Planets and hadn't seen a single negative thing written about them. Prior to the Planets I was running Ohm Walsh 3's as I've grown accustomed to the omni sound, but the wife and I are empty nesters now and we just moved in to our new condo which is very modern and the old Ohm's looked pretty out of place. Now that I have a dedicated "man-loft" (Maggie's) our main great room system doesn't have to be the last word in resolution. I can see you're in a bit of quandary as it seems that Marcus doesn't seem too interested in expanding his interests here in the states which sucks for you as the whole Duevel line has gotten rave reviews. Keep us posted as to what you find out... |
Polarin, Thanks for the additional comments. I read a review of the Duevel "Enterprise" on the internet blog "Enjoy the Music" by Paul Candy. one of their senior editors. I ask him if he knew anything about what Duevel is up to, and if he has any contact info on them. I will let you know if he replies. In the meantime, the quest continues...... Good Luck with your new digs. SJ. |
I guess I would like to respond to this post, to give my own take on Duevel here in the US. My first e-mail to Pascal of Mutine/Canadian distribution for North America, somehow never made it to him. After a single e-mail to Duevel themselves, they in turn, got in touch with Pascal immediately, and Pascal then got in touch with me. In a matter of a couple of days, and great correspondence with Pascal and a quotation, I now have a pair of Maple veneered Venus on order, set to be delivered early to mid June timeframe. I have no reason to doubt that anything is amiss with Mutine nor impending delivery of my Venus. I will follow up on this thread once I do take delivery, but for now, all I can say is that Pascal was extremely great to deal with, but also, I knew what I wanted and didn't waver over decisions or give that "let me think about it" for weeks or months on end. If you are interested in Duevel, not that just price alone should be a deterrent of course, it should be the music, but now is a very favorable time to do so with regard to the US dollar. FWIW.... Certainly it would be nice to have dealers located here in the US, whereby you can just buy a pair and go on with things, but then again, I also like that my pair was made to order just for me. Some things are worth the wait, but we live in such an instant gratification society these days...anyway...off the soapbox, follow up in due time. |
I just wanted to follow up on my post from May. I have received my Venus loudspeakers, import etc. all taken care of by Pascal Ravach of Mutine. While customs tried to throw us a bit of a curve ball, just because they can, all I can say is that Pascal took care of things from start to finish, he was tireless in his time trying to get my speakers through customs and to my door. My many thanks to him. So yes, all seems well with getting Duevel, and probably all of the other products that Mutine distribute. While certainly it isn’t quite the same as going to a brick and mortar shop or doing online where you get things next day, all I have to say is this, sometimes very excellent products are worth the wait, and are worth going to a dealer/distributor that really puts forth the effort to have matched, great sounding systems. Thanks again Pascal, I love my Duevel Venus! Well done. Tim |
Hi Guys, Just a few precisions (after staying away from forums for 20 years...but Tim's kind comment pushed me to come here):- I am NOT retired; my website says "Semi-retired"... funny how, amongst the many countries I sold to, only the US seems confused :)- I had a US and Canadian dealer's network... the best of them gave up, seeing how much "bargain hunting" happened with North-American customers; also many customers took their time then looked at the used market... My new direct distribution allows me, since 2008, to offer very low price with full warranty, and in 10 years I heard only but compliments from the end users.- Duevel relays us all enquiries; the reason they asked us to take care of the US market is that they didn't find a distributor they like... that's their right, it's a personal thing.- The most important: since I started in 1978 in Europe (I ran 6 distributions companies, and 2 manufacturing ones), I ALWAYS advocated direct listening-based decisions. Hence it is VERY unfortunate that the customer's bargain-hunting PLUS most dealers' lack of integrity (so many claimed to be serving their customers with passion, I saw so many pure money-makers) ended up with this lack of local representation. I received many proposals from good-willing people, but now that my prices are so low, there is no room for them. - About Duevel: I sold 5 brands of omnis in the 80' - 90'... then gave up because, as much as i loved so many things, they didn't focus properly... or lacked coherence. 10 years ago I abandoned my own brand, Equation, because Duevel fixed all this, and sounded closer to a live event than everything I tried in 19 years, at all prices... Kind regards, Pascal Ravach Mutine |
The Planets, as mentioned above. Price depends of - finish (black in permanent stock) - value of the euro - speed of delivery if not for a color in stock (means grouped or special order). Have a look at www.duevel.com then let me know by email, with your full address info for the shipping calculation. Best, Pascal |
Hi Pascal, nice to see you drop by, and also give some more information out to the masses. Well, maybe not masses... i have to say, I am very pleased with my Venus, music coming along nicely at around the 250 or so hour mark. More to come in due time. i realize that this thread was started talking about comparisons of Duevel Venus to Shahinian Obelisk, I owned Obelisk 2 for a period of time a few years ago. Both speakers do things a bit differently of course, and while I liked the Obelisk, I could never quite get them to sound right in my current room. The Duevel Venus just seems to fit and was much easier to implement. I wont go into it all, so many things come in to play, there isn’t necessarily a one “size” fits all. I am very glad that I decided to give the Venus a try though. Thanks again Pascal, for helping me get there! Tim |