Does the Devore Fidelity Orangutan 0/96 speaker play rich and full bodied at 50 Decibels


I started an earlier thread seeking a horn that plays rich and full bodied at 50 DBS.  Did an AI search and A1 advised that the power I am using is fine to elicit rich sound at 50 DBS from the tweeter horn and mid range horn, it will not get the large woofer moving in order to provide satisfying bass.  Since the Lucera, is not readily available for listening, I looked a little further.  The Devore 0/96 Orangutan came up and after reading about this speaker it seems that since it is a 2 way and both drivers are close to each as well as the woofer being of the paper cone variety, This would activate  the base driver at low DB levels.  Does anybody own or have heard this speaker?  Wil the entire spectrum of sound, play rich and full bodied at 50 DBs. I am aware of the Fletcher Munson Cure.  Thank you in advance for your opinions. 

kjl1065

If you are committed to going for extremely low in volume playback, you need to examine your listening environment to make sure that ambient noise levels are low enough.  Do you really have a dead quiet room?  If not, the best approach may be to get sealed headphones that reduce outside noise levels.  Phones are quite capable of delivering satisfying music at quite low levels even if most users tend to play them at abnormally high levels.

@vinci92 

6 systems, how about creating some virtual systems here.

Photos to start.

Equipment lists later, if you like, and find the time

Do you really have a dead quiet room? 

Agree, Larry. Ambient noise is hard to contain. Sometimes I turn off the ice maker behind my bar as it is the only noise emanating from the room. And yeah, there are times when I can hear it (faintly) when music is playing. 

My couch is some 15 feet away from speakers and sound decibels are about 50-60db for normal listening in a heavily treated basement room; which is sizable. The volume levels of my amplifier are fair. I have seen folks who "near listen", but that is a whole 'nuther ball of wax. My wife and I can converse freely at those levels and quiet passages are articulated properly. Recently listening to Live 1969, Simon and Garfunkel. Art Garfunkel on Bridge Over Troubled Water is the best rendition of that song I have ever heard. His voice was far and away better than Paul Simon's and quite spectacular at that time. 

I have been mulling over new speakers to replace my Wharfedale Linton's and was curious about whether the JBL L100's could be a step up from them and play well at lower levels. Maybe not! DeVore Super Nines were on my list but the O/96, I always thought, was a qualifier but at the price they ask for them, a fair risk as my room might be too big for them. 

I have O/96 driven by an Air Tight 300B SET and routinely listen at 55-70dB (according to Apple Watch) with very compelling musicality.  Your hearing will attenuate the bass as volume drops, but the O/96 sounds very full from barely audible in my room at least.  On the other end, my 8W amp can drive them well enough to easily fill a roughly 15'x25'x10' with 100+dB.

Room configuration may play an important role to answer adequately. Having said that I listened to the 0/96 in a very large room and in a very small room and they were fantastic. In the large room they were paired with a Pass  Int 25 and in the small room with a Sugden A21 SE if my memory serves me well. It was more like at 60-65 db however. I am sure they will sound good at 55 db but you may not maximize their potential, like with most speakers I would say.