Devore Fidelity Orangutan O/96

So I spent a solid 2 hours demoing the O’96 this past July at In Living Stereo in Manhattan. The room was extremely well treated and the accompanying electronics were Mactone. I don’t remember the cabling.

From my written notes on that day - O’96s throw a wide soundstage, very dynamic. You can feel the instruments, the drums, the bass thumping. These speakers put out a ton of energy but unfortunately this wall of sound is VERY fatiguing and very forward in your face without finesse. Also imaging is a bit vague and smeared.

So that might sound negative but those were my notes from that day and it really was impressive unique sound in that small box which many people love.

Anyway, believe it or not, I would up purchasing the Harbeth 40.2 Anniversary, just an absolutely amazing musical sweet sounding speaker that i listen to for hours at any volume without fatigue. Out of all the speakers I auditioned, this one put the biggest smile on my face and tears in my eyes. 

I heard O/93's at Command Performance a while ago.  They were fine but they really didn't draw me in; there was no magic.  I've never heard the O/96's, but from the name, the price, and what I've read about them, I gather they are a step (or two) up.  On that same trip I heard 40.2's at Deja Vu, which are now what I own.
BTW, I was very impressed by Audio Note AN-E's, which I gather were part of Devore's inspiration for the O series.

I heard O/93’s at Command Performance a while ago. They were fine but they really didn’t draw me in; there was no magic. I’ve never heard the O/96’s, but from the name, the price, and what I’ve read about them, I gather they are a step (or two) up. On that same trip I heard 40.2’s at Deja Vu, which are now what I own.
BTW, I was very impressed by Audio Note AN-E’s, which I gather were part of Devore’s inspiration for the O series.

This is a perfectly legitimate take.

So I spent a solid 2 hours demoing the O’96 this past July at In Living Stereo in Manhattan. The room was extremely well treated and the accompanying electronics were Mactone. I don’t remember the cabling.

From my written notes on that day - O’96s throw a wide soundstage, very dynamic. You can feel the instruments, the drums, the bass thumping. These speakers put out a ton of energy but unfortunately this wall of sound is VERY fatiguing and very forward in your face without finesse. Also imaging is a bit vague and smeared.

And this is also a perfectly legitimate take.

I listened to the O/96’s for hours at Axpona ’19 and the O/93’s only slightly less at Axpona (just for the sake of interest even though I own a pair) and at Axpona, the O/96’s were impressive and immersive and the O/93’s were just so-so. The reason is simple-the O/96’s were set up along the long wall of a small room to listen near-field and with better associated equipment. Bottom line-neither speaker is an imagining champion but both are capable of great touch and tone IF you position them with care and stick to complimentary electronics and speaker cable.

From my written notes on that day - O’96s throw a wide soundstage, very dynamic. You can feel the instruments, the drums, the bass thumping. These speakers put out a ton of energy but unfortunately this wall of sound is VERY fatiguing and very forward in your face without finesse. Also imaging is a bit vague and smeared.

I can understand your feelings about the O/96s there. They do that wall of sound thing. I spent long hours auditioning them and never got fatigued. But there were always moments when the bass was too much, or I wondered if I’d tire over time of their presentation.


Then again, there were times auditioning the Joseph Speakers that their bass got too much as well (to rich, plummy). But I have a very good room, and pull the speakers well out from the back wall, and I never really get too-thick bass. The Josephs ended up very well behaved in my room, so I’d bet the O/96s would have done ok too.


I just widened my Joseph Perspectives again today, pretty far apart, with about a 7 foot listening difference and it’s just a mammoth, deep, wall-melting soundstage and imaging show! That is one thing I could miss if I ended up with a speaker that didn’t do that as well. And it’s not just a wispy sound. The Joseph bass quality has that roll-along-the-floor feel it quality that is engaging and doesn’t let the music just sit behind the speakers like you are viewing musicians in a different room (my main gripe with the Quad ESL 63s I owned, and most other stats).


In fact, it’s one of the reasons I let my Harbeth SuperHL5+ go (before buying the Josephs). Unlike any other speaker I owned, I was getting a bit too foreshortened soundstage out of them, even though I could get them well out from the back wall. My Thiel speakers at the time did most of what I heard in the Harbeths, but with much greater precision and imaging/soundstaging.


That said, the Harbeth 40s are on my list of speakers I’d love to try.I’ve heard them do simply astonishing things in the showroom. And they work at close distances to the listener too. Their size and aesthetics wouldn’t suit my room, unfortunately.


But I also love the tone of the O/96s. As I wrote in my own thread, I adore the tone of my little Spendor S3/5s and the O/96s sounded to me like my Spendors but on a massive, exciting scale!

A new pair of Harbeth 40.2 is waaay out of my budget, that’s why I was focusing on SHL5+. But you guys are not making it any easier for me :)

The following points are working in favor of Harbeth ...
- I already have the smaller Harbeth in my study and honestly I can’t think of anything that I dislike about the sound. Well alright, I don’t think they image as well as my KEF LS50s, but other than that they excel in almost everything else that matters to me, especially vocals, texture, and tonality.
- Harbeth probably has more brand recognition than Devore. It matters because if I ever feel the need to sell it, I can probably get a better deal on it. I just wish that they looked a little nicer.

Having said that, the new set of speakers will be placed in the media room, and I do want the rest of the family to be able to enjoy them as well. So Devore’s ’fun’ factor is not necessarily a bad thing as long as it doesn’t stray too far from the sound qualities I prefer, i.e. focus on midrange, tonality, balance, etc. There’s a dealer in my city who carries Devore, I’ll call them tomorrow to see if they have the Orangutans that I can demo.

@prof You now have me looking into the Joseph Audio speakers. Unless I’m mistaken I think they are in the same price range as the Devore Orangutans, or am I looking at the wrong speaker?