Has anyone had an experience of hearing the Orangutan O/96 driven by OTL amps, such as Atma-Sphere?
DeVore Orangutan O/96
The original Orangutan thread appears to have been deleted, so I'll re-start it. Did anyone hear them at In Living Stereo earlier this month? Any initial thoughts or comparisons you can offer? I'm anxious to hear them myself, but don't plan on being in the NYC area anytime soon...
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Ciro71- Was playing with placement last night, and wanted to give you a more accurate placement suggestion. I am set up very close to the owners manual guidelines. My room is 148" wide. The O/96's are on that wall. They are 31" from the side walls, and thus 86" (7+ ft) apart. As far as length goes, I am pretty spot on to the manual. My long wall is 279". I am 1/5th (56") out from the rear wall. My seating position is 1/3 (93") from the wall BEHIND the listener. I can't tell you for sure on toe in, but I do like a slight toe in. I would just experiment as per the owners manual there. I always mark my previous spot with blue tape though. I tend not to fiddle alot with placement in general. Certainly not to the extent I did with previous speakers. Hope this helps ! |
Ciro71- I have mine in a 23 ft X 12ft room. They are on the SHORT wall. They are about 2.5 ft from the side wall, and thus 7ft apart. They are pulled out 4.5-5.0 ft from the rear wall behind them. Shoot your dealer or John an e-mail. John is busy, but he will respond to you. Of course, as you can hear, he is busy for good reason. Nice setup you have. Cheers, and enjoy! |
I have to echo Jeff's comments. I have been listening to a lot of different speakers (and amps) this year in the search for a combo that works well for me. I am impressed with the O96's, especially with quality valve amps. Yesterday I heard them driven by an Almarro 318B SE Integrated amp, playing Pink Floyd. A lovely, involving, spacious, punchy sound. I listened for ages! I am seriously considering them. |
Dalercrommie and All, There are other dealers for Devore products. You can find them here: DeVore Fidelity Dealers I just ended up working with Matt because I bought Leben and Shindo products. |
FWIW, everyone I've updated this review with a few photos. Getting lost in analogue Dalecrommie, As a side note, I'm not sure what your 2 additional posts here are referring to, or if they're intended to be a constructive criticism of my post. In any event, I've had these speakers for almost 3 months, and I've run them through everything imaginable. I do think they're great, and I stand by my recommendation for people to check them out. Another I'd serious look at is the Tannoy Canterbury. Still, at this level I think someone looking should consider them. But it's also worth noting that DeVore designed these speakers to work with high impedance, low wattage amps. The Os are set for 10 Ohms. So they're not ideal for everyone's system. Regardless, happy musical listening to one and all! |
Now I just read Franks page. It was very good, and honest. The big truth that stands out is how many of the multitude of components that any of us has a hand in listening to. Frank admits to having heard very few. I admire his honesty, but please, oh please. If you heard the DeVore speakers when you had only heard a handful, and for a decent amount of time. I mean living with them, there is no way in hell you have any amount of aural time with them. Hence, we have 3 million loudspeaker producers. I am just so amazed that there are so many out there. I have said my piece for now. Thanks, but please curb your enthusiasm. Cool right now doesn't mean a thing. |
Hello again. Come on Guys. What the hell? I know that we all love Mystery and Mayhem, and we all need that trail to follow to keep our interest. I would love to hear this next up and comer, but really. You are following the Stereophile Model. Please, just stop it. Take Stereophile as antithetical, that is to say they just ain't the one. They are as much truth as a drug dealer is. I am not trying to spawn a conversation, most truly not. There are more speaker producers than you can imagine. Please break the Stereophile mold. You should know, those are most certainly bought and paid for. Grow up, and spend your money wisely. There is great competition out there for your dollars if you are willing to take a look. Hey, I am just saying. |
Hello Franklinlg. I am always interested in seeing what is so damn great about the hot 'loudspeakers'. I have to say, your website addresses my issues immediately. I have not heard these DeVores. I would have to fly to SF CA to hear them, and such is high end audio. But thanks for the great review and site. |
Here's an alternative blog entry. I'm trying both blogger and Wordpress out, and may ultimately chose one over the other. In any event, here's the Wordpress version. And for now I'll keep them updated as best as I can. A Rumble in the Jungle; Orangutan style |
Let's see if this works for allowing a link: Getting lost in Analogue - A rumble in the jungle (a review of Devore Fidelity's Orangutan.) They're spectacular! |
Mine are on a 12+ foot wall. I have them 2.5 ft. from the side walls, so about 7+ ft apart. However, my room is 23+ ft long, so they fire down that wall. I do have them roughly 5ft. out from the rear wall. If you have the option of pulling them out from the rear wall a bit, it may help. I have 150-200 hrs on mine, and I do not have what I consider too much bass. The bass in my room sounds fleshed out, but not too much. |
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. |
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. |
Oldgrey, I think you are right, that I should go with my gut on what would work best. My Klipsch will work with just about any power level, but if I do change then I would hate to be lacking in power, even if it only for the occasional big song. The problem with the Orangutans is where do you audition them? I don't want to drive 800 miles to San Fran to hear them. I have a Devore dealer within 5 miles of my home, but he is not allowed to sell them. Seems like a bit of a good old boys club to me. Even my other choice, Tannoy Prestige line, are almost impossible to audition. My LaScallas are incredible. I would hate to sell them and spend 12K on something else that might not be as good. |
I think you'll find your musical tastes will help dictate which amp is best. If you like big scale music (stadium rock/big band jazz, etc), I'd follow your instincts and be cautious. Big music loves power -and although John's products do amazing things with lower power amps (for smaller scale music), I've learned they also tend to respond extremely well with more (for big scale music). I don't think the Orangutans will be an exception. Not to say you need a 100W amp, but I don't know if a Montille would work for you. I'd try before you commit. PS -the Orangutans take forever to break in -make sure you demo a pair that's well broken in. It probably explains why we haven't heard more rave reviews -it'll probably be another month or two before we do. |
Dirtbag - I would not be too worried about the power to drive the O/96. The Montille does works well into much less efficient speakers. I think you will gain a lot more by also considering moving up the Shindo amplifier line - a Haut Brion or Cortese will give you a lot more resolution, a lot more refinement, much improved bass and drive. |
Lowens Right now I have a Monbrison and Montille pairing with Klipsch LaScallas The LaScallas are incredibly dynamic but require subs which are giving me some noise issues. I'm thinking about the Orangutans or Tannoy Kensingtons, but I think either will require a bit more power than what the Montille has. I bought my Shindos from Matt as well, he is a great guy to deal with also. Seems odd that even though Devore has very few dealers, they limit distribution even more so. |
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. |
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. |
Hi All, Back from a bunch of sun, beers and barbecue, let me see if I can answer all your questions. I do believe 20 x 14 sounds about right as for the size of the room, and the Orangutans were placed along the long wall, fairly close to the wall - about 2 or 3 feet away at the most, I'd guess. I believe the Shindo amps were the Montille, the Cortese, and maybe the Corton-Charlemagne at the higher-powered end of the spectrum. The latter definitely benefited the Nines, which were less than dazzling with the lower-powered amps, IMO. I'm pretty sure the Verity I had heard in the same room with the same Shindo amps was the Leonore, which retails for something like $16k. So in that regard, maybe not an entirely fair fight versus the Orangutans. Fjn04 - it's my understanding that the Veritys are in the 93db range versus the Gibbon's and Silverbacks in the 90 to 91 db range, so maybe not a huge difference in efficiency there although I do believe the Veritys have the edge there. Of course, you're right that the Orangutans are more efficient than the Verity line. With the Leonores, you got a life-size holographic presentation that, to my mind, was easily among the best set-ups I've encountered in my modest audiophile career, if not the best. I think the Veritys do let a certain kind of magic through when paired with Shindo that's basically unlike anything else I've ever heard. I've heard people complain that Verity tweeters can come across as harsh, but with Shindo that certainly wasn't a problem. Just a lot of marvelous refinement, wonderful shimmer and decay - not so much like the musicians were in the room, but they were in a room in a dream where everything was just a little better and more magical than in an everyday room in the waking world. I keep coming back to that word magical. To be fair, the only thing I believe I heard on that Verity setup was a jazz trio, which should be taken into account. Also, to be fair, I think I heard the Verity's powered by the higher-powered Corton-Charlemagne. With the Orangutans, I believe I heard some Bill Frisell and some Jimmy Smith, also on the Shindo-modded Garrard 301. Honestly, I'm not sure which Shindo amp was powering it - I'm guessing the Cortese, but at its efficiency rating I'm thinking that's not as big an issue. In keeping with the rest of the Devore line, the Orangutans deliver exceptional harmonic richness. The Orangutans paired with Shindo are probably the most harmonically rich setup I've ever heard. Of late, I've become increasingly drawn to that presentation. With the Orangutans, I almost asked for a knife and fork to tuck into the incredibly weighty, thick, delicious sound that was filling the room. Once again, this wasn't exactly a "live, in the room" kind of sound, but something that one could argue is an improvement on that - an extremely involving presentation that conveys the many delightful colors emanated from the Shindo gear. It's the real deal. So ultimately, I think it probably boils down to a matter of taste. The Verity presentation struck me as a bit more lively, dynamic, clear, and shimmering with detail that was extremely easy on the ears. The Orangutans were more of a "let's get lost in the music" kind of sound that brought a different aspect of the Shindo sound to the fore. Maybe the reason I preferred the Verity between those two auditions came down to the tweeter factor - as I believe i said before, Devores have always struck me as being a little laid back - speakers that can make tipped-up amps sound good, whether it's solid-state Luxmans or Audio Research or Mac tube amps driven by 6550s or KT88s. To my ears, the pairing of Devore and Shindo has always struck me as a little too laid back in the treble. Of course - this should be taken with a huge grain of salt as the Devore-Shindo pairing is obviously a very popular one. I strongly suspect it might be the case that it's simply a matter of what one's ears are used to. Then again, my ears generally do dislike tipped-up treble - even Devores can't quite make Audio Research sound good to my ears. So anyway, FWIW, YMMV, that was my take, having heard the Orangutans paired with the Shindo a couple of months ago, and the Verity pairing at least a year ago. So caveat emptor, and if somebody came along to say their experience was totally different I wouldn't be too inclined to argue with them. Nevertheless, I felt strongly enough about what I've written to at least write it, so hope it's helpful to some of you folks. |
"As a result, I felt like the Orangutans still lacked the speed and transparency of the Veritys in that same room, " Cfluxa, Great posts and thanks for sharing your thoughts. The only thing about Verity's is that I don't believe they are quite as efficient as Gibbon's or Silverback's. The Verity's are a little more difficult to drive, based on their impedance. Obviously, many of the newer Verity's do have similar or higher efficiency ratings than Gibbons or S/B's. Certainly, while most Verity's and DeVore's are comparable efficiency wise, the 0/96's open up more options. |
This is a great sentence, possible only in an audio forum, but imagine it spoken by Richard Attenborough in a BBC jungle documentary--the orange-haired primates have just discovered a cache of Premier Cru French wine, and have gone rapturously berserk after drinking it...Sorry, back to the matter at hand.... |