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Duevel Planets speakers?!?!

pembers

pfm Member
Has anyone had any experience with the Duevel Planets?
Looking at putting a 2nd system together for an garden office so something a little quirky and not so serious would be good and the planets look just the ticket.
I’ll be using a Quad VA-one to drive them and a Quad Elite CD player (I’ll see how solid the floor is before I add vinyl).
 
I like the Planets quite a lot. I listened to them before later buying a pair of Venus, which I have owned for 3-1/2 years now. I just like the omni presentation, and do feel like they can be a bit more forgiving in placement at times, depending. Like anything, there are no absolutes, the room, Planets and their sonic signature have to jive together, and what you like personally. Your ears and all that.

The only thing I might question would be the power output of the Quad and if it will have enough goods to deliver. But it is an unknown to me, as I have never owned the Quad or even listened to it. While most of the Duevel speakers typically do not require a lot of power/current to drive properly, I think the Planets might like a bit more. Maybe someone else has more of an opinion on that one!

Maybe @marshanp will chime in, as he owned the Planets before moving up to Venus.
 
Hi TimF
Thanks for your input….
Yeh that’s my only major concern is that the VA-one is a push-pull EL84 with 15 RMS. I’ve could also use my Quad Vena (45 RMS) if needed.
 
The Vena might be better, but again, I would hate to say here. The main thing with the Planets is that they really are just a fun speaker to listen to. To my ears more like live music in a given venue. They will fill a nice space with music, and they are interesting break from the usual drivers in a box. A nice conversation piece too. I do think omni's take a bit of time to get used to their presentation, maybe some give up too quickly or flat out do not like what they do. We all hear differently, or key into differing aspects of the music. I have lived with omni's of various types for the last 14 years or so, and cannot imagine going away from them. I have owned Ohms, Shahinian, Larsen etc. They all did things somewhat differently, but also close in their individual qualities. More alike than not in general.
 
I had many listening sessions with the Morrison speakers as per this in the past as I was looking to buy a pair :

https://www.canuckaudiomart.com/details/649586909-morrison-speakers/

I remember that music really was all over the place ! An classic orchestra sounded awesome filing the whole room. We tried them on hard rock music as well and when placed almost against the side and back walls, they were very capable.

We were running those tests with a Naim NAP 42/110 back then as the woofer was made of aluminum and very voltage hungry and this Naim kit was the bare minimum to get some music but quite enough for me.

I guess the model you mention here might be similar so hope this can help.

I didn’t buy a pair because the transients or attack wasn’t fast enough for me so I ended buying a pair of Linn Kan and my buddy ended with a pair of Magneplanar.
 
I am an omni fan and have studied many such speakers including the planets, never heard them though. What sticks out about the planets is the way the mid bass and tweeter are side by side rather than one above the other (Mirrison). I don't know how that will affect the presentation.

If you get them I hope you enjoy :cool:
 
I have sold Planets myself and had both the Venus and multiple Planets through my Living Room at Home. I find Them to be best In brickwalled rooms, as they Sound more lively In such. Very good on digital CD and streaming, do not no why but underwelming with vinylsource. I have played with Naim, Phonosophie and Heed. The magic combination is with Heed Pre and Heed PS power amp, which is a strong capacity coupled 50 watt output, it is a brilliant match. I believe 50 quality watts and up is good. As the Planets are inexpensive, some use too poor amplification to really appreciate their ability to Sound like real Music.
 
Wot TimF says! :)

I consider the Planets to be a great hi-fi bargain. In my (smallish, squarish) listening/living room they benefitted from room correction provided by a DSPeaker Anti-Mode 2.0 - the combination was very satisfying in the large-scale orchestral music which is my staple, and well recorded chamber ensembles were often uncannily present just beyond the plane of the speakers. I found them easy to position - I have limited options, so that was just as well. They worked best when narrow-side on to the listeners, with their tweeters away from the wall. The Planets' "balls" work just as well at dispersing their sound as the "spinning tops" of the Venuses. I paid extra for the wood-finish cabinets (rather than coloured ones) - your taste may differ... They are well constructed and finished. A woodworker friend helped me to install threaded inserts in the bottoms of the cabinets (which are chipboard, not MDF, so care is needed) and I fitted Isonoe isolating feet, which I thought made a worthwhile-but-not-essential upgrade.

With omnis and a decent recording the speakers don't just disappear - the room does :cool:

The Planets, as Tim says, demand a certain amount of amplifier oomph, depending in part on room size and your musical tastes. The ability to maintain output into low impedances appears to matter, which rules out all but very expensive valve power amps. With the Planets my Icon 20SE (19wpc) was clearly out of its depth and I used a Naim Supernait 2, which coped well, as did an Audio Analogue Puccini SE - your Vena might be fine. I have since moved away from Naim because I think you can do better for a whole lot less money; with the Venuses I use a Primare A34.2 Class D power amp which seems an ideal match (volume control is at my TEAC UD-503 DAC). My hi-fi journey has finally reached its destination after 45 years and about 15 pairs of speakers...
 
I nearly bought a pair so many times when Walrus in London stocked Duevel. Really excellent speakers. They do need power though.
 
Thank you all for your input, very interesting reading.
Would like to hear some and try with my 2 amps, but carnt find any dealers apart from ‘buy and return if not happy’ sort of thing.
 
I've loved omni's since I first heard the Sonabs back in the 1970s. Never heard the Planets, but thought the Jupiters were fantastic.

it's really important to try before you buy though. They're not everyone's cup of tea.

I ended buying a pair of Linn Kan and my buddy ended with a pair of Magneplanar.

From the ridiculous to the sublime? :D



(Sorry, I'll get my coat).
 
I've loved omni's since I first heard the Sonabs back in the 1970s. Never heard the Planets, but thought the Jupiters were fantastic.

it's really important to try before you buy though. They're not everyone's cup of tea.



From the ridiculous to the sublime? :D



(Sorry, I'll get my coat).
My listening room was super small and his was super large so probably influenced our choices back then.........35 years ago ! :eek:
 


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