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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
three_easy_payments's avatar
three_easy_payments
2,097 posts
 
This thread got me curious about comparing the Cary SLI-80HS (40w push/pull in triode mode) currently in my 2nd system against the LM805ia (48w SET) with my O/96 speakers.  I did this today and frankly the Cary sounds horrible in comparison with the Line Magnetic - 2 dimensional, lack of dynamic range, no textures, no nuance.  I was actually shocked.

And perhaps just as shocking is the fact that the Cary sounds much better paired with my Klipsch Forte III's than it does with the O/96's which cost $10K more.  With this said the LM/Devore combo is still substantially better than the Cary/Klipsch combo but the experience was really interesting.  Synergy is a funny thing. ;-)
yatra86
2 posts
 
@arafiq - I think it was I who ended up buying those Proac 48rs.  The room config / amplification was exactly as you described as was the asking price.  Once I got them in my listening room, the sound quality was much better.  Am looking for a suitable amp for them, as they deserve it.
arafiq's avatar
arafiq OP
1,694 posts
 
@yatra86 -- congratulations! The Proacs 48Rs are pretty awesome. If the seller lives in Allen, then it's the same guy. When I last checked his ad on craigslist, he had dropped the asking price by $1000 ... I'm hoping you didn't pay his original asking price :)

Also, I have no doubt that the speakers sound great in your setup. It was not my place to tell the original owner how awful the speakers sounded in his room, but my god it was horrible! I couldn't believe someone would spend over ten grand on amazing speakers and pair them with components that do not compliment them, and not give any thought to positioning.

Based on my research (when I was seriously considering the Proacs), these tend to pair well with tube amplification. Talk to @jjss49  or @milpai, I think both own Proacs and have taken the effort to set them up properly. They can surely point you in the right direction.
yatra86
2 posts
 
Yes it was in Allen.  I got it after the price reduction, so all in all not a bad deal.  Looking at some ARC preamp / amp options on Audiogon / Audiomart, but nothing's coming up as a screaming buy right now.  Will hit those folks up and see what their suggestions are as well.  Thanks for that.  My room is 20' x 16' with a 13' ceiling, so thinking a low wattage tube amp might be a bit underpowered.  Really happy with the speakers though... they have an ability to completely disappear.  Imaging is really good.
sounds_real_audio
1,019 posts
 
I am not at all sure the McIntosh separates are at all lush. I would not hesitate to purchase the Devore O/6 for many reasons. You can now or in the future buy a nice low power tube amp to drive them. That would make a huge difference. DeHavilland makes some stunning amplifiers. Sophia Electric are wonderful. Both are full and rich with solid bass. Build your system arounc these speakers and you will be rewarded. 
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