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
1,695 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. 
audition__audio
1,522 posts
 
Although the general characteristics of the 0/96s remain with all types of amplifiers, they only really sang when paired with the Atma-sphere 60s. Amps used were: 2 ANK 300Bs (single and parallel single ended), VAC PHI 200, Pass XA 30.8 and VAIC (Mastersound made) 32B. A distant second was the 32B. I found that lower powered amps just couldnt deliver on this speaker and the 32Bs did run out of steam after a time, leaving the VAC a close 3rd. I found the Pass a poor mate to this speaker. 
sounds_real_audio
1,019 posts
 
jjss49 

Give John Devore a call and ask him if he could rename at least one pair of speakers just for you....I think the name " jjss49" sounds good. Or perhaps the  jjss49 Experimental might even sell better...lol
More to discover