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Devore Fidelity Orangutan O/96

My neighbor had to move some heavy furniture from one room to another so he asked me for help earlier today. Although, we've been neighbors for almost two years I had never been inside his house up until this afternoon. As I walked through the foyer and into his family room, I saw the speakers hooked up to some McIntosh separates. I have to admit that these were one of the most beautiful speakers I had ever seen. He offered to play some music and of course I was not going to say no. They sounded quite decent, although the sound was not as hefty or lush as I was expecting. Don't know if it was his equipment or room (wood floor, no rug, lots of windows), or maybe the Devore's are not quite going after those big, lush, and slightly warmer sound characteristics.

I'm actually saving up money to buy Harbeth SHL5+, or used 40.1, sometime next year. But boy did the Devore Orangutans caught my attention. And yes I know I shouldn't be basing my decision on looks alone, but if they're comparable to Harbeth in terms of sound quality, I'm definitely interested in exploring.

Just wondering if someone has had a chance to compare them directly to the Harbeth speakers I'm considering. Anyone moved from Harbeth to Devore O/6 or vice versa? This will be a system that I'll be building from scratch so I do have the luxury of building the system around my speakers -- total budget is around $15000. I usually buy used equipment whenever I can.

Please note that I'm not soliciting advice for other speakers at this time. Mostly interested in hearing about real world comparisons between the Devore Fidelity Orangutans and Harbeth SHL5+ or 40.1/2.
128x128arafiq
nquery
103 posts
 
Recently auditioned a pair of O/93’s in my house alongside my Line Magnetic 805ia 48W SET amp. (Previously using Spendor A7’s). An intoxicating wall of richly textured sound would be my summary. But they were on the long wall with limited space behind them and side walls far away. Soundstage was wide but flat and imaging was meh. Bass flabby unless negative feedback cranked up on the amp, which had other undesirable consequence. As @mrmanisundaram said, I think placement and amp pairing is critical. Lots of space behind them and maybe a class A SS amp. So with my space and amp they didn’t work. Also, the stubby wood feet are a real PITA for leveling on old sloping hardwood floors!

Ended up stumbling upon a pair of mint Spendor D7.2’s for half the price of new O/93’s. They don’t have the rich tonality and texture of the O/93’s - indeed they are known to be *too* neutral - but the bass is deeper/articulate/punchy, they image exceedingly well, and aren’t as forward. Much much easier to place. The LM 805ia SET complements the D7.2’s very well and along with a little bit of PEQ (which I use for the room regardless) brings out the mid bass that is required.

That said, I know that O/96’s are often paired with low wattage SET amps and seem to have better imaging and bass control than the O/93’s, so I am looking forward to hearing them sometime soon.

So yeah, it’s all about complementing your space and electronics ...
sancho22
106 posts
 
Lot of good comments.
I had a pair of O/93 but then had a chance on pair of O/96 and "upgraded". In my room, and to my eras both are great. No overwhelming bass - the speakers are far from the back wall. About 2 feet from side walls. After 50+ pairs of speakers it is possibly the end of the road for me.
I use Shindo entry level electronics (which these speakers are being voiced to/by?). John DeVore is a big fan of Shindo...

I used several other tube and SS (mostly vintage) gear with the O/96 but they sound by far the best with Shindo.
I would recommend that you check them out with Shindo as well as try in your home.
For reference - my McIntosh Mc30 and MX-110Z cost me as much and don't sound (with or without Devore) as good. YMMV.
helomech
1,495 posts
 
I haven't compared them back-to-back but I find their tonality and response rather similar (O/93 and SHL5+). Based on your recent O/96 assessment, I doubt you'd like the Harbeth sound better. With exception of the P3ESRs, the Harbeths I've heard sound similar to your description of the DeVores: *almost like a Focal with a hint of old-school warmth, only less dynamic than DeVore.

If you seek a little more warmth, the Sonus Fabers are indeed a good choice, as are some of the Spendor models. 


three_easy_payments's avatar
three_easy_payments
2,097 posts
 
As a point of comparison my O/96's sound substantially better paired with a LM805ia than a Pass XA30.8.  The SET circuit just allows the DeVore's to shine.  I do want to get them paired at some point with a Shindo 300B amp but very happy for now.
prof
3,436 posts
 

mquery,

I was never able to get a lot of depth from the soundstage of the O/93 in auditions (even though they were well away from the back wall).  The "wall of sound" seems to be a fairly consistent take on that speaker (though I did find that the imaging was quite good - specific enough to satisfy me).

I've heard the O/96s do nice depth, they they too tend to draw things closer to the listener vs many other more sound-stagey speakers.
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