DeVore Orangutan O/96

I don't want to weigh in here on value or comparisons, but I'd like to address the price of the O/96 Orangutans vs. the price of last year's O/93 prototypes. When I switched manufacturers for the Orangutan woofers, we nearly had to start from scratch as much of the development with the previous company was not directly transferable. That said, the combination of my long relationship with SEAS and their exceptional work helped things moved along very quickly.

The O/93 model is still in progress and will still come out near $8k/pair, it's just that the drivers for the O/96 model came together first, and the deadline of CES isn't flexible. The difference between the O/93 and O/96 is sensitivity (93dB vs 96dB, as implied by the names) and size, with the O/93 being somewhat smaller than the higher-sensitivity model. The two models do use different drivers, and the less-expensive model will not have the elaborate cabinet of the O/96. The Orangutan has always been conceived as a series of speakers, not a single model.

Cheers,
John DeVore

Hi Dpe--Matt will have one of the very first production pairs, I hope by the end of April.

Cheers,
John

Countingbackwards makes in important point in that for SSI, the manufacturers are guests in the Coup de Foudre room. That said, I like the Leben amps very much, and think they make a nice system with my speakers.

I'd also like to comment on the similarity between this year's sound and last year's sound. Both years we were in the same room and the only difference in the two systems was the O/96 speakers this year and a pair of gibbon 3XLs last year. I showed the Nines two years ago at SSI, but that was in a different hotel. Both models are rear-ported, paper-coned two-way speakers, one using a 5.5 inch woofer, one using a 10 inch woofer. Doclamb rightly expects a house sound between my designs--keep in mind that I am responsible for everything in a DeVore Fidelity speaker, from the drive units and crossovers to the cabinets and packaging. It's a good example of how much of a speaker's sound is influenced by the designer, rather than the individual components.

That said, the speakers are quite different, and a side-by-side listen would make that clear. The gibbon series designs are better at disappearing into a room, and throw a deep soundstage with well-defined and realistic images. The Orangutan series designs are more punchy, and put a great deal more energy into a room. They have more projection and "snap."

Most importantly, the room was set-up both years by Jonathan Halpern and me, and the system differed only in the speaker model. It's no surprise to me that they had a similar sound. The room and set-up is a very important element of any good system, and both years it reflected our preferences.

For those in the Montreal area, Coup de Foudre has the O/96 speaker on loan for a couple of weeks, so comparisons can be made between models quite easily.

Cheers,
John DeVore

@Countingbackwards--

The O/96s are currently scheduled to be at Coup de Foudre through Sunday the 17th, and ship back to the factory on the 18th.

And I'm glad to hear that your emotional respinse to the speakers is getting in the way of analyzing their component sonic bits. In my opinion, that's the way it should be.

Happy listening,
John DeVore