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DeVore Fidelity Gibbon Super Nine Loudspeakers at Vinyl Sound Toronto Canada

The Gibbon Super Nine is a 2.5-way floorstanding loudspeaker from DeVore Fidelity (Brooklyn, New York, USA), available at Vinyl Sound in Toronto, Canada. Designed by John DeVore to bring the performance of the larger Gibbon X into a more compact and room-friendly package, the Super Nine was debuted at the Rocky Mountain Audio Fest 2017 to immediate critical acclaim. It incorporates the same 0.75-inch proprietary textile dome tweeter first introduced in the Gibbon X, paired with two long-throw 7-inch paper-cone woofers made by SEAS of Norway in a solid bamboo, plywood, and composite enclosure. With a 91 dB/W/m sensitivity and a stable 8-ohm nominal impedance, the Super Nine is designed for a wide listening sweet spot and works equally well with tube and solid-state amplification. The Audio Beatnik, Home Theater and High Fidelity Magazine, Enjoy the Music, and Stereophile have each singled out the Super Nine for outstanding critical praise since its debut.

A 2.5-Way Design Engineered for Room Flexibility and Dynamic Realism

The Gibbon Super Nine is a 2.5-way reflex-loaded floorstander, a topology that uses both 7-inch paper-cone woofers across the full bass range while crossing one of them over earlier, allowing it to support the midrange before handing off fully to the tweeter. This arrangement gives the Super Nine a bass extension to 28Hz from a cabinet only 8.5 inches wide, while maintaining a wide and stable sweet spot that John DeVore specifically designed to work without toe-in. The 0.75-inch textile dome tweeter is the identical proprietary driver first developed for the Gibbon X flagship, with its design philosophy informed by DeVore's years of experience with the horn-loaded Orangutan tweeters. The crossover is a proprietary point-to-point hardwired Gibbon circuit with no circuit boards, using paper-in-oil and film capacitors, potted for isolation, with internal wiring in a custom copper and silver cable featuring an air-and-Teflon dielectric and built-in vibration damping. Cardas solid unplated copper binding posts complete the signal path.

Bamboo, Plywood, and Composite: Cabinet Engineering at Every Layer

The Super Nine cabinet is built from butcherblock-style solid bamboo sheets bonded to multiple internal plywood braces, with a 1-inch thick composite front baffle and a 0.75-inch composite rear baffle. The cabinet walls vary in thickness from 0.75 to 1.5 inches, with each panel individually tuned so that no two panels share a resonance mode. This multi-material, multi-thickness approach distributes resonance energy across different frequency bands rather than allowing it to concentrate, a technique DeVore has described as tuning the panels to complement each other. The drivers are attached to the baffles using T-nuts and machine screws for a precision metal-on-metal connection. The custom feet are machined from solid brass with a polished nickel finish. The enclosure is available in three bamboo finishes: Cherry, Mahogany, and Mink.

Key Features

• Gibbon X Tweeter: The identical 0.75-inch proprietary textile dome tweeter first introduced in the flagship Gibbon X is used in the Super Nine, with its design drawing directly on DeVore's experience with the horn-loaded Orangutan tweeter series for improved dynamics and lower distortion.
• Dual 7-Inch SEAS Paper-Cone Woofers: Two long-throw 7-inch paper-cone woofers built by SEAS of Norway to DeVore's specifications provide bass extension to 28Hz, with John DeVore citing paper as the optimal cone material for simultaneous midrange and bass reproduction.
• 2.5-Way Configuration: A 2.5-way crossover topology allows one woofer to cover the full bass range while the second assists in the upper bass and midrange before handing off, providing broader bandwidth and deeper bass from a compact, narrow cabinet.
• Point-to-Point Hardwired Gibbon Circuit: The proprietary crossover uses no circuit boards, is point-to-point hardwired with paper-in-oil and film capacitors, and is potted for isolation, a level of crossover construction rarely found outside of much more expensive designs.
• Custom Copper and Silver Internal Wiring: All internal wiring is a proprietary cable custom-made from copper and silver with an air-and-Teflon dielectric and built-in vibration damping in the insulation.
• Cardas Solid Copper Binding Posts: Solid, unplated Cardas copper binding posts are used at the speaker terminals for an unadulterated electrical connection.
• Multi-Thickness Bamboo and Plywood Enclosure: Cabinet walls ranging from 0.75 to 1.5 inches in thickness, in solid bamboo over plywood bracing with composite front and rear baffles, with each panel individually tuned to avoid shared resonance modes.
• Machined Brass Feet with Polished Nickel: Custom-machined solid brass feet with polished nickel plating provide a stable, resonance-controlled interface with the floor.
• Wide Sweet Spot Design: The Super Nine is voiced for minimal or no toe-in, producing a wide and stable listening window that works well in group or family listening environments as well as dedicated audiophile setups.
• Best Product Debut, RMAF 2017: The Audio Beatnik Bongo Award for Best Product Debut at the Rocky Mountain Audio Fest 2017.
• Stereophile Best Sound of Show Nomination, RMAF 2017: Herb Reichert, Stereophile, named the DeVore Super Nine room his second nomination for best sound of show at RMAF 2017.
• Handbuilt in Brooklyn, New York: Every pair is assembled by hand at the DeVore Fidelity workshop at the Brooklyn Navy Yard, New York, USA.

Technical Specifications

Awards and Critical Recognition

• Audio Beatnik Bongo Award, Best Product Debut, Rocky Mountain Audio Fest 2017
• Stereophile Best Sound of Show Nomination, RMAF 2017, Herb Reichert
• Jim Saxon, The Audio Beat, Jimmy Award 2018: "Brooklyn's finest."
• Neil Gade, The Absolute Sound: "DeVore Fidelity Gibbon Super Nine produced loads of output, smooth tonal balance, and tons of value."

Press

• Jack Roberts, The Audio Beatnik: "For the first time in almost 11 years, I have a new reference speaker. I have my doubts that I will find a speaker that makes music in my system and room sound better anytime soon."
• Jack Roberts, The Audio Beatnik (listening notes): "The Super Nines produced the widest and deepest soundstage I have ever heard from my system. These speakers are also incredibly dynamic. They have the best startle factor I have heard from any speaker in my room."
• Todd Cooperider, Home Theater and High Fidelity Magazine: "I can confidently tell you, my dear readers, that the DeVore Fidelity Super Nine speakers are of reference quality, and deserve all of the high praise that they can receive."
• Herb Reichert, Stereophile: "The DeVore/Tone Imports room and new gibbon Super Nine loudspeakers get my second nomination for best sound of show."
• Greg Weaver, Enjoy The Music, Capital Audiofest 2018: "The lush, vibrant mids and meaty, full-bodied sound in this room was just to-die-for, with surprising extension at the bottom."
• Rafe Arnott, Part-Time Audiophile, RMAF 2017: "For price point, simplicity, and sheer unbridled musicality this room was a true standout at the show."

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the DeVore Fidelity Gibbon Super Nine?

The DeVore Fidelity Gibbon Super Nine is a 2.5-way reflex-loaded floorstanding loudspeaker, handbuilt in Brooklyn, New York, and positioned between the Gibbon 88 and the Gibbon X in the DeVore Fidelity Gibbon Series. It uses the same 0.75-inch proprietary textile dome tweeter as the flagship Gibbon X, paired with two long-throw 7-inch SEAS paper-cone woofers in a solid bamboo, plywood, and composite enclosure. The Super Nine delivers a 91 dB/W/m sensitivity, an 8-ohm nominal impedance, and a 28Hz to 30kHz frequency response, and was named Best Product Debut at the Rocky Mountain Audio Fest 2017.

How does the Gibbon Super Nine compare to the Gibbon X?

The Gibbon Super Nine was explicitly designed by John DeVore to deliver as much of the Gibbon X's performance in a smaller, easier-to-place cabinet. Both speakers use the same 0.75-inch proprietary textile dome tweeter. Where the Gibbon X is a three-way design with dual 9-inch long-throw woofers in a four-chamber plywood enclosure reaching to 23Hz, the Super Nine is a 2.5-way design with dual 7-inch paper-cone woofers reaching to 28Hz in a narrower bamboo-and-plywood cabinet. The Super Nine is also significantly lighter at 55 lb per speaker compared to the Gibbon X's 85 lb, and its slimmer 8.5-inch wide profile makes it substantially easier to integrate into a domestic listening room.

How does the Gibbon Super Nine compare to the Sonus Faber Olympica Nova III or the KEF R11 Meta?

The DeVore Fidelity Gibbon Super Nine, the Sonus Faber Olympica Nova III, and the KEF R11 Meta are all premium floorstanders aimed at serious music listeners, but they differ substantially in design philosophy and amplifier compatibility. The Sonus Faber Olympica Nova III uses a ring-radiator tweeter and a natural wood and leather cabinet construction with a sensitivity around 90 dB. The KEF R11 Meta features KEF's Uni-Q coaxial driver array at a sensitivity of 88 dB. The Super Nine at 91 dB/W/m and 8-ohm nominal impedance is meaningfully more sensitive and more amplifier-friendly than either alternative, making it compatible with a wider range of tube and low-powered solid-state amplifiers. Its solid bamboo enclosure, point-to-point hardwired proprietary crossover, and SEAS paper-cone woofers also reflect a different construction philosophy from both competitors.

Can the Gibbon Super Nine be driven by a tube amplifier?

Yes, the Gibbon Super Nine is well suited to tube amplification. Its 91 dB/W/m sensitivity and stable 8-ohm nominal impedance work comfortably with push-pull tube amplifiers in the 15 to 100 watt range. At RMAF 2017, the Super Nine was demonstrated to wide critical acclaim driven by the 40-watt class-A Sugden FBA800 solid-state power amplifier, but reviewers including Jack Roberts at The Audio Beatnik also used the Super Nine with the Pass Labs XA30.8 class-A solid-state amplifier and noted that the bass character varied meaningfully between different amplifier topologies, confirming the speaker's ability to reveal amplifier character clearly.

What is the 2.5-way crossover topology and why did DeVore choose it for the Super Nine?

A 2.5-way crossover uses two woofers with different upper cutoff frequencies: both woofers operate across the full bass range, but one is crossed over at a lower frequency so that the midrange is handled by a single driver before handing off to the tweeter. This approach gives the Super Nine a deeper bass extension and more dynamic output at low frequencies than a single 7-inch woofer would provide, while keeping the midrange handled by one driver for better coherence through the vocal range. John DeVore chose this topology to achieve as much of the Gibbon X's bass authority and dynamic capability as possible within the Super Nine's narrower, more domestic-friendly cabinet dimensions.

Where can I buy the DeVore Fidelity Gibbon Super Nine in Toronto or Canada?

Vinyl Sound in Toronto, Ontario is an authorised DeVore Fidelity dealer and carries the Gibbon Super Nine loudspeaker. Vinyl Sound Canada provides in-store listening sessions, amplifier pairing guidance, and full after-sales support for the Super Nine and the complete DeVore Fidelity Gibbon and Orangutan speaker lines. Contact Vinyl Sound Toronto to discuss current availability and bamboo finish options.

Does the Gibbon Super Nine need to be toed in?

No. The Gibbon Super Nine was specifically voiced by John DeVore for minimal or no toe-in. DeVore described the speaker at its RMAF 2017 debut as a group-friendlier design with a wide listening window, and reviewer Jack Roberts confirmed in his extended home review that the Super Nine sounded best aimed straight ahead with no toe-in. This characteristic makes the Super Nine particularly practical in typical domestic living rooms where the listening position cannot always be precisely centered and other listeners may sit off-axis.

What finish options are available for the Gibbon Super Nine?

The DeVore Fidelity Gibbon Super Nine is available in three solid bamboo finishes: Cherry, an amber-toned natural bamboo; Mahogany, a deeper warm brown stain; and Mink, a dark anthracite grey. All three finishes are applied to the same solid bamboo butcherblock-style enclosure. Contact Vinyl Sound Toronto for current availability of specific finishes.

Learn more about this product in our detailed video review: