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

Showing 3 responses by pops

One plus I have is my room.  Big and acoustially designed by Rives with pleny of space to experiment with placement.

I would rather not buy another amp right now.


Interesting aj523.  Thanks for the info.  I also find John very transparent, I like what he’s doing.
I almost bought a pair of 096’s after the CAF a few years ago I was so impressed with them. In fact, I was close to starting negociations on the pair on display at the show. My hesitation was the system was so different than mine that I was concerned they would not be a drop in.  

My amplification is Mcintosh 501’s or Classe built around Thiels. Plenty of tubes and vinyl upstream but worried about the amps. However, John Devore says they also love big power. They are still on my short list however as their sound left such an impression on me.