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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.
arafiq
atmasphere's avatar
atmasphere
12,156 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. 
arafiq's avatar
arafiq OP
1,728 posts
 
So I made an appointment in the afternoon to go listen to the O96s at a local dealer -- Audio Concepts in Dallas. First of all, a big shout out to them. They were super helpful, courteous and allowed me to listen to as long as I wanted to without any pressure or the typical sales tactics. Excellent experience!

After listening to the speakers for about an hour or so, I have to say that my impressions are very much in line with @aj523 -- great dynamics, good presence, but a little too ’in your face’ for my taste. I also felt that the upper midrange was a bit too pronounced. I was definitely feeling listener fatigue after about 30 mins or so. I also felt that they were lacking a bit in finesse. The bass was there but not as tight or punchy as I thought it would be. I’m very much aware of the fact that it might have been the room, although it was pretty well treated.

I had a brief listen to Sonus Faber Olympica Nova III which the same dealer also carries. Now these babies are very, very impressive. I had heard the previous version of Olympica III about 2-3 years ago at the same dealer, but these are definitely a step up. I felt emotionally connected to the Novas, they just had that little something that was missing in the Devores. More refined and laid back but not in a boring way. I’m now seriously considering the SF Olympica Nova as another option to explore.
arafiq's avatar
arafiq OP
1,728 posts
 
Correction: The Sonus Faber speakers that I demoed were Olympica Nova II, not III.
prof
3,534 posts
 
arafiq

That's great that you got an audition of the O96.  They aren't easy to find for auditioning.

That's why asking other opinions only goes so far.

I did note a liveliness/forwardness in the O sound (as mentioned in my own thread) but didn't personally find it fatiguing at all.  In fact that's one of the things that attracted me, that they sounded so open and lively but in a warm-toned way that didn't bite my ears.   Wall of brass sounds that could make my scrunch down a bit in my seat on other speakers (I'm looking at you, Focal!) were easy to listen to on the Os.
Sonus Faber used to have a rep of having a somewhat dark, rich sound.But they've changed over the years toward more neutral, it seems.  Their latest are getting great notices and I'd like to hear them.
The last SF I auditioned was a pretty expensive model, around 4 years ago, and it was one of the worst speaker auditions I've had - just lean and blanched of any compelling tone.   But, as I say, the new ones get lots of good notices and clearly you report they sound good.


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