Planned to upgrade to DeVore Gibbon X, but concerned about comment of base leanness


was going to pull the trigger on an upgrade from Gibbon Nines to the Gibbon X.  I like the Nines and believe the X will give me a little more of  everything I like about the Nines, especially a much fuller and deeper sound.  I then read the review in the Stereophile Recommended Components 2019 "He also noted that "the midrange driver and woofers are out of phase in the region where their outputs overlap," which might explain the impression of leanness".  I am concerned about the impression of bass leanness. 

Anyone listen to Gibbon X and if so your thought on bass leanness, or overall impression?

Auditioning is a real pain as it will take a whole day and due to a current medical condition traveling can be a real pain.  I may just end up taking a day trip and spending the night in a hotel.  If there is bass leanness that is a deal breaker.... 



mindlessminion
I have not heard them. You can stop reading there, if you want.

Any speaker whose woofer is far off the floor will be subject to floor-bounce cancellation, which typically occurs in the 100-300 Hz range. This can cause leanness and necessitates careful positioning, which still can’t always overcome it.

That effect is very much in evidence in Fig. 3 of the Stereophile review. One thing one should be aware of is that JA1 is really, really good at positioning speakers for best response. (His graphs often compare response in the reviewer’s room to his, and he always gets a better result.)

Some people like a suckout in this range, as it adds perceived "clarity" and "tightness." I for one do not like it. My advice is, listen carefully before writing any nonrefundable check.
I auditioned them 18 months ago with Sugden amp/pre and Line Magnetic CD player and Audience wire. Huge bloom with excellent mids/highs. But, the bass integration left me wanting, a lot. I had high hopes because I wanted a speaker with some efficiency. Had to walk away from that. I think I read the review you mention. Nevertheless, I didn't like the speaker because of the bottom end. The rest was very convincing. If you put this speaker in contention, you owe it to yourself to go and hear them. Then have the dealer place them in your room to see if they will actually work. They are not an inexpensive proposition.

Good luck.
@mindlessminion

TAD Evolution System - E-1 speakers, M2500 amp, C2000 pre/dac. Also Aurender N10. On another planet better than Gibbon X, but also 2X cost and total system cost significantly more.
The Gibbons are an excellent speaker with a lot of attibutes but they have never been a very bass heavy speaker.

At the price point there are a ton of great loudspeakers that will offer similar attributes with far deeper bass. 

If you are stuck on the Gibbons consider a good fast subwoofer like a Rel or look at other speakers.

Dave and Troy
Audio Doctor NJ