2. speakers
  3. 160589-6055

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.
arafiq
twoleftears's avatar
twoleftears
5,327 posts
 
@arafiq  If you really want complications, throw a used pair of Vienna Acoustics Liszt into the equation.  After 40.2's and Spendor's Classic 100, they would be my #3 choice.
aj523
385 posts
 
@atmasphere 

Agreed and I listened in what appeared to be an incredible listening environment with top notch components where many pairs have been sold. I really just think it comes down to listening preference,, personal taste, including your brain and your ears. I only imagined it sounding less optimal in my set up given just how good the demo room was. 
prof
3,534 posts
 
atmasphere,

Yes and no...IMO.

I find that speakers have a character that generally carries through associated equipment, at least so long as there isn't some ridiculous miss-matched pairing (e.g. a flea watt amp hooked up to MBLs trying to play loud).

I auditioned the Devore speakers in different rooms, on different types of amplification - 2 different tube amps, and two solid state.   They retained the general character I've described.

Likewise with Harbeth speakers.  I've heard them on all sorts of different associated equipment, in various rooms, and the types of features I've described and which tend to define their house sound remained.

As an amp manufacturer...I'm sure you have a different take :-)



atmasphere's avatar
atmasphere
12,176 posts
 
Dr. Floyd Toole showed that the total room energy of the speaker says a lot about how it will be perceived in many rooms- this moreso than on axis and off-axis response (both of which also have to be smooth...). It would be interesting to see how these compare in that regard. 
prof
3,534 posts
 
Dr. Floyd Toole has also argued that, while room effects are an important part of the equation, especially from a certain frequency downward (I'm forgetting the exact numbers),  the influence of the room has been overblown by many people.   He has pointed out that our hearing/braiin evolved to identify similarities in sound despite different acoustic situations, so our brain sort of "filters out" enough of the acoustics (which is why you can identify someone's familiar voice in a wide variety of acoustic scenarios).

So, basically, if you get the on axis and off axis pretty even and smooth, that will dominate in our perception vs the room. 
More to discover