DeVore Orangutan O/96

Anyone heard them lately? Interested in people's thoughts, the rooms they were in and their performance. I have a pair on order.

The O/96 comes accross as appearing quite big in stature. Are they room dominant do they blend in just fine?

Fjn04 - the system you heard them on is almost my system, except substitude the Well tempered for the Ravin 0.5, I wish I was there!

Could be a bit of truth that the 12watt Leban is a bit outclassed by the O/96's, however at 96db the little Leban should have no problem at all driving the O/96 to high volume levels. If you are going to spend $12k on the O/96's then a Shindo Haut Brion is likely a better match, especially in a large room. It surprises me that you thought the O/96's sounded so similar to the 9's, as they appear to be dramatically different designs.

Cfluxa:

What was the approximate size of the ILS room?

They are definitely in production as I have a pair being delivered to my home today.

Apparently, unlike the Gibson series no one else but John oversees the construction of the O/96's.

Dirtbag

I bought them through Matt at Pitch Perfect Audio in San Fran. The local dealer in Vancouver, who works out of his house was not able to order them in for me. Apparently the O96's are being sold only through "select dealers", much like the Silverbacks.

I only have about 50-60 hours on them but so far they seem very, very nice. The O96's are relaxed, composed, but with great depth, tonal color and detail. The wide front baffle seems to really project the music well, with nice integration of woofer/tweeter.

Dirtbag

I have a Haut Brion, which I have owned for years and have no desire to upgrade, it's really that good. Its a little powerhouse with the O96's in place.

Yes I try to support the local dealers, but sometimes its just not possible. Cost wise the O96's were a bit cheaper sourced from the USA anyway. Matt is also a good guy to deal with.

Devore fidelity is a pretty small company. John seems to do everything from design, production, to marketing and customer support. He likely has limited resources to produce enough o96's to distribute them to all the dealers. They appear to be custom built for each customer, with limited inventory, whereas his Gibson series are widely distributed.

Doctorb:

I also own the O96/HB. I have found them to be great, but yes they can be a bit overwhelming in the bass end. I have about 200 hours on mine. Sometimes its not the amount but the slight bass "flabiness" to them. They do like space around them and nothing in-between. Mine are about 8 feet apart, 3 feet both back and sides and nothing in-between.