Welcome to the Fleetwood Sound Owners Forum!

[Jonathan Weiss]

We just got in the big brother to the Technics SU-G700, the 1000, and will compare the two next week, but don't assume that more expensive amps are necessarily better than lower priced options. I have heard many expensive tube amps with the DeVille that don't really sound all that great- more effort was put into making them look cool or marketing them than actually engineering for sound quality with a really transparent speaker. The DeVille is just incredibly transparent to the source, and reveals that many tube amps don't have properly done power supplies or have been engineered for conventional speakers which are veiled. You may find you need to spend much less on an amp than you thought!

At our Dumbo, Brooklyn showroom you can hear the DeVille with our tube amps at 2.5w, 10w, 18w and 50w in both PP and SET designs. Good reality check to compare against the GaN digital amp architecture (remember, the Technics amps are digital amps, which is a whole new category made possible by GaN transistors higher switching speeds.)

Jonathan

 

[WillR]

Back in the late 70's somehow I came up with $250 plus tax and went to some store (not known for hifi; Sears or Alexanders) and bought my first stereo..... two boxes..... included the TT, cassette, tuner and a pair of speakers.... it looked like something out of Star Wars - real Darth Vader like..... when anyone came into my room..... it was a conversation piece.... until they asked me to turn it on...... in truth, there were some tracks which made it sound good..... but most of the time it was relegated to background music or just plain 'off'.

I kept that system through grad school......

My second job (after selling Futons for a couple of months) was at Tech HiFi in Harvard Square...... Although most of the stuff we sold was less than mid-fi, Tech HiFi is where I got the bug..... over the next 40 years, I went from Onkyo, to Yamaha (remember the first Surround Sound processor) to Adcom (loved Adcom.... it was a big step up and every piece was around $1000) and beyond.

Klipsch Heresy 2 ended up in my system at some point, thanks to Tweeter etc...... I thought I was ballin' at that point...... and at that stage I guess I was....

I have been through many speakers in over 40 plus years.... and even more electronics..... I remember falling in love with quite a few pair of speakers along the way..... but I ended up in a speaker slump..... nothing made me happy..... I used to own speakers which cost 4x the DeVille and they were absolutely boring..... and weighed almost 200 pounds (Fleetwood weighs 36 pounds).... not mentioning names.... I also had a MAJOR speaker manufacturer remove their speakers and blamed my room for the poor sound..... was it me? I don't think so...... after that removal, I went through a few other famous brands.......

One night while surfing the web, I came across a short video, where an audiophile was describing his speaker journey, which was similar to my history..... he spoke of meeting Jonathan in Brooklyn, and falling for these speakers which were not EXPENSIVE and didn't take up his entire space..... it had a great back story...... horns.... designed like the good old days, etc......

I think it was a Sunday late afternoon, early evening....

I hopped on the Fleetwood sight to get a contact.....

I wrote an email explained to Jonathan I was a dealer and very interested..... I don't think he realized just how interested I was...... I was ready to drop the plastic and purchase a pair........ and so I did..... I think they arrived two days later..... by that time I was so enthused, I remember meeting my UPS driver at one of his other stops...... I tracked his truck down.....

I remember unpacking them and just like that new car smell, upon opening the box, the smell of the PA Ash brought a smile...

I think I was using Gryphon Audio at the time..... not 100% sure.... but since using various brands/types of electronics, I realize it didn't really matter as long as the upstream gear was good.....

Out of the box, I did not get punched in the face with this obviously great sound ( nothing was harsh or too far forward and stood out and made my eyes/ears pop).... it took a few tracks or perhaps the next day before the stunning quality of this speaker sunk in.... there is no long break in. period.....

And over the course of a week, I remember falling deeper and deeper..... also I started really listening to music which I previously only listened to as I was driving..... ie, pop songs/artists....

With my DeVille, I now listen to EVERY genre....... yes, even hard rock, which I am not a fan of (try Tool, Fear Inoculum) ..... but the DeVille has me listening.....

The speakers throw a wall of resolving sound.... height, width and depth...... nothing offensive... nothing dull..... pure.... rich..... and low level details for days....... piano sounds like piano.... singer songwriter, has you hitting repeat on you're streamer...... voices are open and life like.... no honky horn sound...... not to worry..... I am told it is because of the conical design.... late night, low volume listening is just crazy good....

I even bought a third speaker to use as a center channel for my HT.

I have a YouTube channel.... most of my later videos use the DeVille.... if you have headphones, look up Delve Audio on YouTube......

I use good mics, so its worth using good headphones.... yes, I know it's not like the real thing.... you can't hear the depth or imaging, etc.... but you get a great idea of what they are.

Jonathan is very passionate about these and so am I. If you can get an in-person demo, don't miss out..... a sub is NOT needed, but if you add a pair of subs at low volume; xover at around 40hz, it increases the width even further.....

Yes, I am a dealer..... but these are the words of a fan.....

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC1_X2TwszYD33FMcqsZumgw

Best

Oliver at DelveAudio

Hi Oliver, I watched your video on YouTube (I enjoyed it) and am wondering if you've experienced a particularly good amplifier match for the Devilles.
Cheers,
Will

 

[Fred Zheng]

We just got in the big brother to the Technics SU-G700, the 1000, and will compare the two next week, but don't assume that more expensive amps are necessarily better than lower priced options. I have heard many expensive tube amps with the DeVille that don't really sound all that great- more effort was put into making them look cool or marketing them than actually engineering for sound quality with a really transparent speaker. The DeVille is just incredibly transparent to the source, and reveals that many tube amps don't have properly done power supplies or have been engineered for conventional speakers which are veiled. You may find you need to spend much less on an amp than you thought!

At our Dumbo, Brooklyn showroom you can hear the DeVille with our tube amps at 2.5w, 10w, 18w and 50w in both PP and SET designs. Good reality check to compare against the GaN digital amp architecture (remember, the Technics amps are digital amps, which is a whole new category made possible by GaN transistors higher switching speeds.)

Jonathan

Hi Jonathan,
Love to hear your impression G700 vs R1000.
Fred

 

[fooolish1]

We just got in the big brother to the Technics SU-G700, the 1000, and will compare the two next week, but don't assume that more expensive amps are necessarily better than lower priced options. I have heard many expensive tube amps with the DeVille that don't really sound all that great- more effort was put into making them look cool or marketing them than actually engineering for sound quality with a really transparent speaker. The DeVille is just incredibly transparent to the source, and reveals that many tube amps don't have properly done power supplies or have been engineered for conventional speakers which are veiled. You may find you need to spend much less on an amp than you thought!

At our Dumbo, Brooklyn showroom you can hear the DeVille with our tube amps at 2.5w, 10w, 18w and 50w in both PP and SET designs. Good reality check to compare against the GaN digital amp architecture (remember, the Technics amps are digital amps, which is a whole new category made possible by GaN transistors higher switching speeds.)

Jonathan

Jonathan
I've been into high end Audio now for over three decades. I've had many speakers from ribbons, to panels, to conventional and the list goes on. I demoed the Devilles at my local dealer and was really smitten with them. After taking them home for a spin I ordered a pair and have had them for about six months. I'm a single ended tube guy and my Devilles are driven by a pair of 50 watt parallel single ended amps from Triode Corp. of Japan TRX-M845 monos. My preamp is Veloce (your guy Vitas!). Your positioning statement as "the last pair of speakers you will ever own" is dead on. The Devilles do it all with grace and splendor. From the beautiful mid-range of the human voice, female in particular, to the accuracy and delicacy of a plucked string, to the attack of a piano note, and the impact of a brass instrument, they simply do it all. Add to that the incredible imaging which throws a huge wall of three dimensional sound with depth, height, and pin point placement of instruments and vocals on the stage they are truly the best I've ever owned regardless of price. I do supplement them with a pair of Magico A-10 Subs for the lowest of bass notes and they integrated with the Devilles quite well without too much fuss. Congrats to you and the team for bringing a world class speaker to the market at a very reasonable price. My listening room is where I charge my battery and feed my soul. Thank you. I hope to visit your NY showroom some day. Keep pushing the envelope!

Paul

 

[Studio 33]

Hello everyone, happy to be here!
We are Enzo and Fabio from Rome, Italy. Together with Ana Gugić, we are long time owners of OMA and FSC loudspeakers, sources and electronics.
Our longlasting passion for Jonathan's and Cynthia's work on audio aestethics has driven us to create a space in central Rome where we can showcase OMA's sound here in Southern Europe. So the friendship has turned into collaboration.
Studio 33 is our real life testimony of the many times we have experienced sound, food and laughter in the showroom or mill.

We'll be happy to share our own audio experiences here, together with some interesting reflexions made by the people who come by the Studio to listen to this marvelous, life-like sounds.

Looking forward to reading other owners' stories as well,
best to everyone!
Enzo&Fabio&Ana

 

[Audiophile Bill]

Hello everyone, happy to be here!
We are Enzo and Fabio from Rome, Italy. Together with Ana Gugić, we are long time owners of OMA and FSC loudspeakers, sources and electronics.
Our longlasting passion for Jonathan's and Cynthia's work on audio aestethics has driven us to create a space in central Rome where we can showcase OMA's sound here in Southern Europe. So the friendship has turned into collaboration.
Studio 33 is our real life testimony of the many times we have experienced sound, food and laughter in the showroom or mill.

We'll be happy to share our own audio experiences here, together with some interesting reflexions made by the people who come by the Studio to listen to this marvelous, life-like sounds.

Looking forward to reading other owners' stories as well,
best to everyone!
Enzo&Fabio&Ana

Love the room. Welcome to wbf.

 

[badgerdms]

Hello Everyone,
Nice to meet everybody, I'm Dave and probably got the high-end bug as a corollary to being a huge fan of music at a very young age. Think first Beatles single at three, access to a DJ who would always bring me a bunch of the latest 45s from his radio station at six , and making my father take to see Steppenwolf at seven.
When my dad came back from Vietnam (by way of Japan) he came back with a new receiver, speakers and reel-to-reel tape deck--which I almost immediately starting using as much as him. I was hooked.

First thing I bought myself (lawn mowing money) was a Pioneer SX-650. Went through turntables by Garrard, Phillips and B&O; speakers from Pioneer, ESS, Dahlquist, and Snell; receivers from Yamaha and NAD. After a misstep into home theater I decided to up my game about 20 years ago and ended up with Merlin speakers and Joule Electra Electronics which I really loved. But I had to keep them locked in a music room that my toddler son could not explore and eventually other things took over and I didn't use them enough (in addition to the room jumping at least 10 degrees with every extended listening session with the VZN-160s in full glow). I downscaled to some solid state with Magnepans, was bored out of my mind and sold off everything but my TT and CD player.

I had a larger desktop system in one of the upstairs bedrooms (Manly Stingray, Nola Boxers and Bel Canto DAC) that was where I did all of my listening for a long time. At some point my wife wanted to reclaim that bedroom and so everything moved into a very nice, but very large basement. I needed bigger speakers that would fill the space (but that were efficient and would work with the Manley).

I'd never considered horns until I heard the original Volti's at Capitol Audio Fest a few years back. I couldn't afford the Volti's at the time and found a screaming deal on a pair of mint Klipsch Forte IIIs which I drove up to Connecticut to buy--and they ended up being a lot of fun. Not the most refined things in the world but they were dynamic, sounded "live" and didn't sound at all mechanical (which is what I missed the most after selling the Merlin's). Then COVID happened. Not spending money on too much and getting a refund for a canceled European family cruise opened up the checkbook. Greg from Volti was looking for for a pair of Forte IIIs to demo against his new Razz speakers, so I traded him the Forte IIIs + cash for a new pair of Razz speakers, which were then traded back for a new pair of Rival speakers about six months later. I love the Rivals, they pretty much sound good on any type of music I throw at them (I came of age during punk rock, so lots of poor recordings in my collection) and got immediately to finding the right stuff to go with them (A Linear Tube Audio Z40 integrated amp, Innuos Zenith MKiii music server and Border Patrol DAC)--which took care of my big basement space (until I drop a turntable out there).

But my dedicated listening room didn't have anything other than my old Turntable and CD player. I had heard the Fleetwood Deville's at the the Capitol Audiofest in 2019 and really liked them in a very limited listen. Part of me wanted something other than horns as that's what I have in the basement, but after auditioning some pretty nice speakers from Marten, QLN, and Joseph Audio I just kept coming back to the Deville's (which I had found at a dealer and had the chance to listen to several more times). So I took the plunge on a pair of beautiful torrefied wood versions at the beginning of this year. In addition to finding the right equipment to go with the Deville's, I had been dying to replace my VPI Classic for a long time, and took the plunge on a Pure Fidelity Harmony right after I got the Deville's. I know, it's a belt drive table but I still love it . Still owning three or four thousand records this was my first priority. I have since settled on a McGary SA1E amp with a Backert Labs Rhythm 1.3 preamp and last week bought a Merson DAC1 for my digital front end.

I had seen Jonathan's video on the new "SQ" version and reached out to see if my speakers could be upgraded (seeing as they were already the solid torrefied wood body versions). Paul Rhodes got back to me with a reasonable price for the upgrade so I loaded up my speakers two Friday's ago and made the drive up to Fleetwood PA. Paul and his crew got the changes made in a few hours and I was back at 3::00 to pick them up (after a couple of great stops nearby suggested by Paul and his daughter, Codi). Jonathan happened to be in town, so had the chance to meet him and get a tour of the Fleetwood facility. Jonathan, Paul, Codi and the rest of the staff could not have been nicer and all I will say is you have to see that facility to believe it. It's hugely impressive and you can see the attention to detail that goes into everything that they do. Highly recommended for anyone inclined to go visit. Now I have to visit the Brooklyn showroom! Oh yeah, and the upgrade is great!

I'll post some pictures later, but that's more than enough of my story for now.

 

[Fred Zheng]

We just got in the big brother to the Technics SU-G700, the 1000, and will compare the two next week, but don't assume that more expensive amps are necessarily better than lower priced options. I have heard many expensive tube amps with the DeVille that don't really sound all that great- more effort was put into making them look cool or marketing them than actually engineering for sound quality with a really transparent speaker. The DeVille is just incredibly transparent to the source, and reveals that many tube amps don't have properly done power supplies or have been engineered for conventional speakers which are veiled. You may find you need to spend much less on an amp than you thought!

At our Dumbo, Brooklyn showroom you can hear the DeVille with our tube amps at 2.5w, 10w, 18w and 50w in both PP and SET designs. Good reality check to compare against the GaN digital amp architecture (remember, the Technics amps are digital amps, which is a whole new category made possible by GaN transistors higher switching speeds.)

Jonathan

Hi Jonathan,
While waiting for your review on Technics SU-R1000 with Deville SQ, here are several integrated amp brands on my radar, no particular order,
1. Mola Mola Kula integraged, can have both DAC and phono stage as add-ons; from what I read online, its DAC seems much better than the one in the Technics;
2. Linear Tube Audio ZOTL Z40+ integrated, or ZOTL Ultralinear+ integrated, has phono stage as add-on;
3. Luxman L-509X, L-590AXII or L595ASE integrated, has phono stage as add-on;
4. Pass Lab INT-25 integrated, no DAC no phono;
5. Allnic Audio T-2000 30th Anniversary integrated, no DAC no phono;
6. MBL N51 integrated, has phono option, wife likes the look.

Any of the above you may prefer over Technics?

Thanks,
Fred

 

[Jonathan Weiss]

It's important to note- the Technics has no DAC. At all. None. That's because it's a DIGITAL AMP. The signal enters the amp as a digital stream and is amplified as such, it never goes through a digital to analog conversion, except at the output at which point it's magically analog. Don't ask me how that works, Technics have published numerous white papers on this subject. This is a very significant innovation in digital technology, it seems to me. Might make some DAC manufacturers rather worried. GaN transistors are the other thing that makes this amplifier an important piece.

I've heard some of the amps you listed, not all. I'll stick with the Technics at a fraction of the price, at least until we release our own electronics for the DeVille, which won't be too long in the future.

Yours,

Jonathan

 

[Fred Zheng]

It's important to note- the Technics has no DAC. At all. None. That's because it's a DIGITAL AMP. The signal enters the amp as a digital stream and is amplified as such, it never goes through a digital to analog conversion, except at the output at which point it's magically analog. Don't ask me how that works, Technics have published numerous white papers on this subject. This is a very significant innovation in digital technology, it seems to me. Might make some DAC manufacturers rather worried. GaN transistors are the other thing that makes this amplifier an important piece.

I've heard some of the amps you listed, not all. I'll stick with the Technics at a fraction of the price, at least until we release our own electronics for the DeVille, which won't be too long in the future.

Yours,

Jonathan

Your upcoming electronics for the DeVille, will they include an integrated? Will it be solid state or tube? How soon in the future?

 

[Jonathan Weiss]

OMA never made a preamp and a power amp, all of our amps have been integrated. Fleetwood will be the same. We've been working on this for more than three years, should be done by beginning of next year in terms of delivery. We are working on several topologies, mainly involving hybrid designs with both tubes and solid state, but totally different from how other makers are doing this. Different topology.

Yours,

Jonathan

 

[badgerdms]

Hi Jonathan,
While waiting for your review on Technics SU-R1000 with Deville SQ, here are several integrated amp brands on my radar, no particular order,
1. Mola Mola Kula integraged, can have both DAC and phono stage as add-ons; from what I read online, its DAC seems much better than the one in the Technics;
2. Linear Tube Audio ZOTL Z40+ integrated, or ZOTL Ultralinear+ integrated, has phono stage as add-on;
3. Luxman L-509X, L-590AXII or L595ASE integrated, has phono stage as add-on;
4. Pass Lab INT-25 integrated, no DAC no phono;
5. Allnic Audio T-2000 30th Anniversary integrated, no DAC no phono;
6. MBL N51 integrated, has phono option, wife likes the look.

Any of the above you may prefer over Technics?

Thanks,
Fred

Hi Fred,
Thought I would chime in as I have a LTA Z40+ in my house and have used it with the Devilles. It's very good, excellent bass, lots of detail, very organic sounding as a combo. It's a little more "between the speakers" than my current setup (Backert Labs Rhythm 1.3 & McGary SA1E), but the Backert Labs is $3K more by itself than the LTA Integrated. Not sure one combo is better, they are just different. The LTA is usually in another room.
With the LTA stuff, the Z40+ and the Ultralinear+ are very different sounding amps. I'm in the DC area so Nicholas was actually nice enough to set up extended demos with all three LTA integrateds in my home with my Volti set-up. Ultralinear+ offers more detail, the Z40+ a bit more bass (and more engagement in my system).
When Jonathan mentioned the Technics to me a couple of weeks back, I looked into trying to snag one to try out, but it's a pretty decent wait to get one right now. Hopefully I get to try one later in the year.

Good luck.

Dave

 

[Fred Zheng]

Hi Fred,
Thought I would chime in as I have a LTA Z40+ in my house and have used it with the Devilles. It's very good, excellent bass, lots of detail, very organic sounding as a combo. It's a little more "between the speakers" than my current setup (Backert Labs Rhythm 1.3 & McGary SA1E), but the Backert Labs is $3K more by itself than the LTA Integrated. Not sure one combo is better, they are just different. The LTA is usually in another room.
With the LTA stuff, the Z40+ and the Ultralinear+ are very different sounding amps. I'm in the DC area so Nicholas was actually nice enough to set up extended demos with all three LTA integrateds in my home with my Volti set-up. Ultralinear+ offers more detail, the Z40+ a bit more bass (and more engagement in my system).
When Jonathan mentioned the Technics to me a couple of weeks back, I looked into trying to snag one to try out, but it's a pretty decent wait to get one right now. Hopefully I get to try one later in the year.

Good luck.

Dave

Hi Dave,
Thanks for the information. Audio Advisor currently has an open-box unit https://www.audioadvice.com/technics-su-g700m2-digital-integrated-amplifier-silver-open-box
Fred

 

[Jonathan Weiss]

We do have the Technics GaN amp in stock. The only problem with it is price. It's just too inexpensive for most audiophiles to take seriously.

Yours,

Jonathan

 

[jamesdowningelliott]

We do have the Technics GaN amp in stock. The only problem with it is price. It's just too inexpensive for most audiophiles to take seriously.

Yours,

Jonathan

Honestly, this little technics amp is insanely good with devilles - there was definitely a psychological war that happened in my head when I heard it in my room as I considered how much expensive gear I have been through to arrive at my system. The technics blew it out of the water, and made me make some additional system changes. I still have it because it is truly a reference level product and worth playing as just an amazingly clean and musical piece. That said, I do think I prefer the Zanden Mola Mola combo to the technics, be we are taking same level of performance here for about 7-8% of the price and far less heat generate and space required.

 

[Low325]

Soooo…kinda curious @Fleetwood Team. When are we going to see more of the Excelsior? I think I want one for my loft…my wife gave me the clear to get some ’spunk’ in the tunes section up there to replace the Apple HomePod Mini

 

[Jonathan Weiss]

I'll have the new Excelsior at our Dumbo showroom from tomorrow (Aug. 30) so it's available for demo, and will go on the market from September. We're not going to have many in production until later in the year or 2023. Will post some pics and videos later this week, you are going to love this thing. It's truly amazing!

Jonathan

 

[Low325]

Thanks Jonathan! These are exciting products coming out of the mill. Looking forward to more info and videos!

 

[Ron Resnick]

Dear Jonathan,

When will the Deville be landing in a salon in Southern California for audition?

 

[Ron Resnick]

Hello everyone, happy to be here!
We are Enzo and Fabio from Rome, Italy. Together with Ana Gugić, we are long time owners of OMA and FSC loudspeakers, sources and electronics.
Our longlasting passion for Jonathan's and Cynthia's work on audio aestethics has driven us to create a space in central Rome where we can showcase OMA's sound here in Southern Europe. So the friendship has turned into collaboration.
Studio 33 is our real life testimony of the many times we have experienced sound, food and laughter in the showroom or mill.

We'll be happy to share our own audio experiences here, together with some interesting reflexions made by the people who come by the Studio to listen to this marvelous, life-like sounds.

Looking forward to reading other owners' stories as well,
best to everyone!
Enzo&Fabio&Ana

Welcome to WBF, Enzo, Fabio and Ana!