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.
128x128arafiq
arafiq's avatar
arafiq OP
1,694 posts
 
@jjss49 Thanks, and yes I am quit aware that Harbeth's don't excel at rock and roll, which is absolutely not a requirement for me :)

BTW, I saw a local ad for Proac D48R and figured I should check it out. So I went to his house a few hours ago to see if I'd like them. From what I understand the retail price was $10,900 in 2016, and the buyer is asking for $6200. I don't know if this is a good price for Proac or not. I do like the fact that I don't have to pay for shipping, and the speakers are pretty much in pristine condition.

However, the important point is that the D48R did not bowl me over. Having said that, I don't want to give up on them just yet for various reasons. First of all, the seller's room was far from perfect. The toe-in was a little too extreme, he was driving them with some PS Audio Class D amplification, and the speakers were about 2-3 feet away from the front wall. One of the couches was too close to the right speaker. From what I've heard, these speakers prefer tubes, and can be very picky about upstream components. Now what I did like was the vocals and soundstage. The midrange was not as magical as the Harbeths, but they were also not too 'in your face' like some Focals. I don't want to write them off because of acoustic shortcomings of the room or associated gear. I would love to hear from someone who owns, or has owned, the Proac D48Rs.
arafiq's avatar
arafiq OP
1,694 posts
 
No one with Proac D484Rs?
jjss49's avatar
Ag insider logo xs@2x
jjss49
6,612 posts
 
@arafiq

i have d30r’s - lovely speaker... but very different presentation than harbeth shl5 - proac needs good tubes to calm the hotter treble and give full ness to the lean mid bass... so actually kind of inverse tonally of the harbeths

but once system is tuned to the proacs, they are an absolutely brilliant alternative to harbeths

in my main rig i alternate between:

harbeth c7 or super 5 -- driven by hegel h390
proac d30 r -- driven by cj et5 linestage into arc vt50 or vt100-2

you should know alan shaw voices harbeths with hegel amps
whereas stewart tyler voices proacs with arc tube gear

(your guy with d48r’s driven by class d is deaf - lugging his ferrari thru the burger king drive through on 87 octane)
arafiq's avatar
arafiq OP
1,694 posts
 
@jjss49 Thanks, man. I'm really intrigued by the Proac D48Rs. Despite the less than stellar audition today, the clarity and vocals were actually very impressive. I agree that tubes are probably going to make a big impact.

I'm also considering a used pair of Sonus Faber Olympica II (not Nova), since lots of used ones are in the market at reasonable prices. As of today, these are the two three contenders ...
1. Harbeth SHL5+
2. Sonus Faber Olympica II
3. Proac D48R -- i know this is probably more different than the other two but I really loved the looks and vocals. Definitely something different.

At some point, I need to get rid of my analysis paralysis and make a decision. 
arafiq's avatar
arafiq OP
1,694 posts
 
So after a lot of hemming and hawing, I finally decided to pull the trigger on a used pair of Sonus Faber Olympica II. I compared the Olympica Nova II with the old ones, although not in the same location, and honestly couldn't tell much of a difference. I might be the only one, but I also think the old ones look more classy and elegant. It was a tough decision between the SF and SHL5+, but I have lusted over the Sonus Fabers' for a long time and it's an itch I just had to scratch. So here we are!

The speakers will arrive next week. I will initially run them with my Rogue Audio Cronus Magnum II amp, and based on what I hear I'll decide if it's enough amp for the speakers or maybe look at other options like McIntosh. Slippery slope ahead ....
More to discover