Help with Shortlist of Speakers! (SF vs Devore vs Others?)

Last year when I was looking to upgrade my speakers these three (O/96 and SF II/III) were at the top of my list. I listened to both quite extensively at the local dealer and preferred SF over the O/96. All speakers were demoed with the same equipment including top of the line ARC amp/preamp. I had high hopes for the O/96 but was a little disappointed in the end. It had a huge wall of sound but I found it lacking in warmth and holographic imaging. For some reason, the SF sounded more full bodied with better timbre and tonality across the spectrum. The SF II/IIIs drew me into the music more than the Devores.

If you search the forums you'll see that I started a thread last year with the words 'Devore Orangutan' in the title. You can find lots of useful comments and recommendations there. There were folks who absolutely loved the Devore line of speakers. Others felt that the O/96s were a little finicky with partnering equipment, but if you manage to find the right one they absolutely shine. They seem to prefer tubes over SS.

With this kind of budget, my advice is to audition as many speakers as you can. Once you narrow down your choices to 3 speakers, see if your dealer would let you do an in home audition. Good luck!

Thanks for providing so much information via your linked drawing and photos.

What comes to mind is, speakers optimized to go up against the wall, of which there are not very many but they do exist. Larsen comes to mind.

There seems to be a column sticking out from the wall a bit behind the right-hand speaker. IF you were to consider speakers intended to go flush up against the wall, would it be practical to shift your entire system to one side or the other by several inches to avoid that column?

How far does that column stick out? I’d guess 3 or 4 inches. And if I understand correctly, your ceiling height is eleven feet?

Aside from the lack of bass implied by their small size, how well do your current speakers perform in other areas? And, what are they, if you don’t mind saying? What is the approximate distance from their forwardmost edge to the wall behind them, and how important is that distance to your room’s aesthetics?

Also it looks like you couch is not directly across from your system, but rather is shifted to the left somewhat. And I don’t see a center-channel speaker. So I’m assuming it would be desirable for the imaging to hold up pretty well for the person seated at the left-hand end of the couch, so that the dialogue stays on-screen for movies.

I think that there are solutions, but wanted to get a little bit more clarity in these areas first.

Duke
dealer/manufacturer

I like the DeVore speakers you mention.  For that kind of warm sound, I think you should also be looking at Audio Note AN-E and AN-J speakers, particularly if you prefer to locate your speakers close to the corners of the room.  Most other speakers really only sound their best well away from the side and back walls.  Audio Note speakers are not "flashy," but in an extended audition, they come across as sounding very musically pleasing and "right."

My personal favorite in this price range would be the Charney Audio Companion with the AER driver.  It is a single driver system that is shockingly complete, full and natural sounding (usually single driver systems are very clear and dynamic sounding, but are otherwise one-trick ponies lacking in bass, having rough (peaky) frequency response).  The AER driver puts it at $17,000, but, other driver choices can put it at around $9,000.  These are extremely efficient speakers, so they can be used with low-powered amps (my favorite kind of amp).

The SoundKaos Wave 42 is another warmish sounding speaker that is quite lively sounding.  I like it a lot, but, it will be hard to find.

I am also a fan of ProAc speakers.  The tall floorstanding D48r is probably well within your price range; it is a rare example of conventional drivers mating well with ribbon tweeters.

Ginko Audio makes a modular system (ClaraVu 7 monitor, and ClaraVu 7 powered subwoofer) that costs around $10,000 for the pair that I like.

In the not so warmish category that I still like a lot, I recommend the Martens Oscar Trio.  This is a lively sounding system that remains musical and non-irritating.  

If you think you might have issues with speaker placement, one of the most flexible systems I've heard that sound good with a variety of room placements is the Gradient Revolution (woofer can be configured for close to or farther away from the wall).

Good luck on our search.

You should checkout the Spendor 9.2. I've never owned a Spendor that I didn't enjoy!
D-Line loudspeakers – Spendor (spendoraudio.com)

https://dougbradyhifi.com/products/spendor-d9-2-loudspeakers