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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
arafiq's avatar
arafiq OP
1,599 posts
 
@prof  -- Wow, what a thoughtful and detailed response. I have the Harbeth P3esr's in my study and absolutely love them. I was pretty much sold on the Harbeth sound until I saw the Devore's. 

I didn't get a chance to see which McIntosh models were playing in my neighbor's house. I'll see if it's possible to go back to his house and hear more music, but as you know it's not easy or welcome given the pandemic.

I'll go through the other thread you mentioned in the next day or two. 
fsonicsmith's avatar
fsonicsmith
938 posts
 
@masi61 
I am in Columbus. I own O/93's and not O/96's but if you ever want to hear the O/93's, just let me know. 
Don Better up in Cleveland is likely your nearest dealer. I bought mine from him. 
jlarryk
16 posts
 
I loved the Harbeth sound and went from the 30.1 to the 40.1s. In my room the 40.1 midrange was fantastic, but I could never tame the low end.  I then found a pair of O/96 and ended up selling the 40.1.  The efficiency of the Devore speakers allows you to get away with lower power amplifiers including SET and with higher end Line Magnetic amplifiers sounds sublime.
prof
3,450 posts
 

My one regret was never getting to hear the O/96 in my own home (whereas I did get a home audition of the Joseph speakers).  The O/96 were a wild card for me as to whether their bass would overwhelm (probably not - no other speaker has) but more important if I could get enough listener distance from them.  They really need at least 8 feet away from the listener to come together, which was tough in my room.
three_easy_payments's avatar
three_easy_payments
2,097 posts
 
I have a pair of O/96's and probably have an ideal room for them.  It's a fairly lively room but pretty well treated.  Listening position is 9 feet from the speakers and I have the DeVore's pulled out 3 1/2 feet from the rear wall.  I sold a pair of Spendor D7's befpre moving to the O/96's and it was just what I needed - a break from the hifi-ish sound with perhaps unrealistically tight bass and leaning a tad bright (D7's) to an easy-flowing, organic presentation with the the O/96's.  Have them paired with a Line Magnetic 805ia (48w SET) as a power amp and a VAC Renaissance MK5 preamp and I couldn't be happier.  I love the versatility of these speakers and will get a 300B amp at some point.  Agree with @jlarryk 's comments.
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