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.
