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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
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arafiq OP
1,702 posts
 
Yesterday I went to the house of a local seller who has listed his Harbeth Super HL5+ for sale. Suffice to say I was totally underwhelmed. I don't know if it was his setup (some Line Magnetic tube amp) or room, but I just found the sound to be bland. I have had P3esr's for more than two years now, so I'm quite familiar with the Harbeth sound. I was expecting a bigger, more expansive scale which was completely missing.

Based on what I've read about the speakers, I'm inclined to think it must have been the setup. Also, despite the size I think pairing them with a subwoofer is almost a necessity if you want to venture outside of jazz or classical at all. Any owners of SHL5+ please feel free to chime in if you feel that my impressions are way off target. The reason I say this is because when I first got the P3esr's I was similarly disappointed, but after pairing them with a Cronus Magnum II they have become one of my favorite all time speakers. 
keithr
1,306 posts
 
Harbeth always put me to sleep. To each their own. 
bjesien
1,368 posts
 
What's the impedance gap on the HL5+?
jjss49's avatar
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jjss49
6,612 posts
 
i don't think i could own a speaker called the orangutan

maybe if i heard them LOL
arafiq's avatar
arafiq OP
1,702 posts
 
Here's an excerpt from Stereohile regarding HL5+'s measurements ...

The Harbeth is specified as having a sensitivity of 86dB/W/m, and my estimate of its voltage sensitivity was the same: 86dB(B)/2.83V/m. Though this is 1dB or so below average, I commend Harbeth for not inflating this specification. Although the Super HL5plus has a specified impedance of 6 ohms, my measurement (fig.1) indicates that the speaker's impedance remains above 8 ohms for almost all of the audioband, and that the electrical phase angle remains relatively small. The HL5plus will therefore be an easy load for the partnering amplifier to drive, and a good match for tubed designs.

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