It took 15 years of search to build this wonderful system. The system is based on YBA electronics and Devore Fidelity speakers. Both brands put the music first.

I first came across the supremely musical YBA amps and CD players around 5 years ago.

It took a lot longer to find that special brand of speakers that can play music in the most natural way.

After listening to the Devore Nines I knew that the quest for that magical speaker had ended and am a very happy man...enjoying music like never before. It feels like the musicians are in the room.

The system is all about music - a music lover's system. Music is presented in a very natural way that makes writing about it very difficult. It has the same presentation and emotional richness of live concerts. To my surprise, I find that switching from home to live music and back to home a non-event.

The music is right there in the room in all its glory with natural speed, detail, refinement, fluidity, effortless dynamics, huge soundstage and full of emotional communication!

This is a system that can play all types of music well but is exceptional with Jazz and vocals. I listen to Classical, Jazz, Reggae, Latin, Pop etc and am amazed at the versatility. Most systems I have heard, if not all, even some costing up to $200,000, have been very selective as to the type of music.

Amplifier

When in 2003 I discovered YBA and bought the YBA Passion Integre, I thought that this is the last amp I'll ever buy. I am still raving about it.

The CD player

I feel the same about the YBA Passion CD 1000 as I feel about the amplifier. It may also be the last CD player I'll ever buy.

It is good enough to make switching from vinyl to CD not an issue at all.

Hifi Choice reviewed the older equivalent YBA CD1a (2000) and accurately describes the character of the YBA:

"The CD1a is not an obvious-sounding player. It doesn't hit you with incisive detail or cataclysmic dynamics, neither does it impose an overt character on the music it plays. It simply plays, and you, the listener, will fall in love.

Its performance is magnificently airy and transparent, endowed with a 'listen-through' quality that sparks instant admiration; what's more, like a good bottle of claret, your appreciation can only grow as time slips by. Music flows from its outputs with free-breathing ease, giving you what seems to be the full breadth of the composer's vision, the broad brush strokes as well as the fine detail within."

Full review is at: http://www.hifichoice.co.uk/archive/perl/292_printreview.htm

Speakers

The quest for a great pair of speakers ended with the DEVORE FIDELITY NINES. It took nine long painful years.

They look like ordinary boxes but play music in such an extraordinary way that calling them loudspeakers does them injustice. They have so little in common with their competitors it is shocking. No wonder so many reviewers bought them.

The Nines are extremely transparent, super fast, very detailed, refined, clean - not a hint of grain, super coherent and evenly balanced (YBA needs very fast speakers to shine). The bass is clean, fast and goes low enough to fill a large room. Imaging is frighteningly good. Soundstage is huge, with the music coming from a stage of 4 meters wide by 2 meters tall and 3 meters deep. The speakers deliver the goods with all kinds of music, whether its POP, CLASSICAL, JAZZ or REGGAE.

http://www.devorefidelity.com/reviews.html

A note on searching for great speakers

The process of finding great speakers was the most difficult. The list of speakers I listened is long. The Devore Nines were head and shoulders superior to all the speakers I list below even though a lot of the speakers were very good. I place the speakers in my order of preference:

Class A

1. Devore Fidelity Nines - Best by far

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Class B

2. JM Lab Micro Utopia Be and Diva Be. Both were fantastic speakers but not as good as the Devores. They are the best of the rest and the alternative speakers if it wasn't for the Nines. They have a slightly shiny / glassy sound in the midrange and they are not nearly as fast as the Nines.

3. Devore Fidelity Super 8 (amazing but too small for the room)

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Class C

4. Vienna Acoustics Bach (very musical and replaced by the Nines)

5. Harbeth Monitor 30 (lovely midrange but non-punchy bass)

6. Harbeth Compact7-ES3 (lovely midrange but uneven response)

7. Vienna Acoustics Beethoven (nice speakers but a bit too serious and uninvolving)

8. Thiel CS 2.4 (very good but the tweeter was screaming a bit)

9. Reference 3A MM De Capo (nice but quite coloured)

10. Proac Response 2.5 (musical but VERY SLOW)

11. Wilson Benesch Arc (musical but in the end a bit tiring)

12. Sonus Fabers, Martin Logans, Living Voice, B&Ws and many many more

Turntable / Cartridge

The lovely Rega P3 plays music. I made some modifications and use a granite slab on a bicycle tyre as a base. It improves the sound a lot.

The Dynavector 10x5 cartridge is dynamic and detailed and great value for money.

Cables

I selected cables to fine-tune the system and ensure that the sound is as natural as possible. The YBA / Devore Fidelity combination is so strong that most competent cable combinations sound great - they just alter the overall presentation of the system.

Your questions / comments are welcome.