This review page is supported in part by the sponsors ... · From whisper beats to full-throttle ensemble blowouts, Basie’s big band remains the standard. African influence 50 years

14/09/11 12.306moons audio reviews: DeVore Fidelity 3XL

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This became apparent on yet another classic recording already in my collection - CountBasie’s Chairmen of the Board on Roulette [Birdland Series]. This 1958 date reveals thepower and grace of a classic big band. Propelled by Basie’s finest players including FrankFoster, Thad Jones, Frank Wess, Ernie Wilkins, Freddie Green and Sonny Greer, we’retalking state of the art deluxe edition top notch players at the height of their powers. Andwith Basie that doesn’t mean displaying your chops like a hip-hop mogul flashing gold teeth.It means true grit controlled by grace and power through nuance. Again and again Basieand Co. blast you out of your seat, then gently lift you up further on a pillow of air.

The 3XLs express this dynamic masterpiece aswell as any speaker I’ve heard, sorting outevery musical nuance, jumping to attentionwhen bass drum blasts, trumpet splats andsizzling cymbals call for it while Basie’s nimblepiano fingers bring it all back to terra firma. Thisrecord is alive! As important the 3XLs get thetonality of the crusty LP dead on. The 3XLs aresuper fast and super refined so as the bandjumps into high gear you ride along bedazzled

by the music, never its aggression. It’s all aboutcontrolling and releasing energy and the 3XLsexcel.



Back to the music, Basie is such a blast, hismusic a constant revelation of shiftingdynamics. It’s also the sound of Americanhistory, of swing and jazz and superiormusicianship. Incredible PRaT. Center stage,Walter Page’s boomy upright bass swings a 4/4groove. Flutes whistle, piano dances delicatelybehind the band as it jumps and jumps,suddenly there unleashes a brisk brassensemble roar, then it settles down behindCootie Williams' wonderful muted trumpet solo.

In today’s era of canned music it’s hard to imagine a trumpet player bringing an audience to its feet but Williams—all ofBasie’s musicians really—were masters of crowd control. From whisper beats to full-throttle ensemble blowouts, Basie’sbig band remains the standard.

African influence 50 years on, Group Doueh’s Beatte Harab [Sublime Frequencies] is allbelly dancing beats and hand drum excitation, an acoustic band enthralled by moderntechnology. Digital tomfoolery may be at play but Group Doueh sounds like an all-acousticlive instrumental group caught up in the heat of the performance and if there’s not agorgeous belly dancer somewhere in the vicinity, I’ll download Chicago’s The Box set to yougratis. Unlike the Basie recording where you can hear the hall, all that glorious roomambience of perfectly placed big band instruments, Beatte Harab is a compact condensedbut very focused digital recording defined in a Pro Tools space. Odds on recorded to aZoom recorder then mixed in Pro Tools, the LP is tactile and dynamic, chatteringinstruments dotting circles above, with resonant hand drums below. But the LP’s tinysoundstage reveals the backwards direction digital technology has cornered us into. The3XLs are only the messengers, delivering the 111s and 000s with crystal clarity, Pro Tooledhand drums kicking my shins like a little girl with punk rocker’s boots.



In conclusion the DeVore Fidelity Gibbon 3XL is anextraordinary speaker of refinement, power, projection, delicacy,nuance and detail. If the recording possesses thesecharacteristics, the 3XLs will deliver them, no editorializing, nocoloration.

Is it neutral? Probably not. Is it rich and overly romantic?Definitely not. The 3XL is über detailed, its crystalline treble,warm midrange and full bass response making almost every LPa delight to listen to (sorry no digits this time, I need a new DACfirst). The 3XL casts a wide deep soundstage even in my tinyNew York walk-up apartment. And its unerring sense ofrefinement translates into a sense of relaxation.

At $3.700 (plus $595 for its essential stands which extend thespeaker infinite-baffle style for denser midbass and lowerreach), you have many speakers to choose from. If this BlueMoon award winner is not on that short list, you are onlycheating yourself. And all those LPs you plan to buy in the yearsahead.



DeVore Fidelity website

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This review page is supported in part by the sponsors ... · From whisper beats to full-throttle ensemble blowouts, Basie’s big band remains the standard. African influence 50 years