KeithR's "Dream Speaker" Search

[COF]

Where? I can't find it.

There's just a couple of sneaky close up photos, no text, showing some new bronze port castings etc.

The Devore O/96 just got a rave review in the April issue of Hi-Fi News. 10 out of 10 (paired with Jadis amps).

In a brief bio/interview with John Devore it turns out he's working on an updated version of the O/96 using "trickle-down" technology from the O Reference speakers. The working name of the new speaker is the O/Bronze.

Some of the O Reference components moving down in to the O/Bronze will be the cast bronze woofer basket and horn for the tweeter and super tweeter, and some "new stuff going on inside the cabinet."

 

[MadFloyd]

I also adore how rich the O speakers sound, giving instruments a bigger size and heft than many ultra-clean speakers. That to me is actually more what I hear with real instruments - most reproduction to me sounds diminished, squeezed tight. Whenever I hear a real sax or trumpet etc the sound is SO much bigger and richer than anything I hear from reproduced sound in most audiophile set ups, and I find, whether it's a coloration or not, the O speakers enrich instruments in a way that reminds me of the real thing.

This is a good description of what I experience with ultra 'focused' playback vs live sound.

 

[KeithR]

That 4m distance to the listener is surprising to me. Does one need that distance for the drivers to integrate? Amazing to me that people listen to much larger speakers with multiple drivers at closer distances. (MikeL, SteveW) If 3m were enough for the O96, they would work in a small room like mine (15' X 16'). As it is, my speakers are about 4.5' from front wall and 4.25' to sides and 9.5' to listener.

I think the O96 would be perfect for your room. SET-friendly, of course too

 

[MadFloyd]

Peter, we should go listen to these at Goodwins...

 

[tima]

You need space from the sides at least 3 feet either side, if not more, and 5 feet from the back ideally, like a planar. 3 might just about do.

Then of course you need space between the speakers. To the listener you don't need much distance as they are very coherent so 4m should be more than fine.

But overall that's 18 to 20 feet as well as over 13 feet wide. I can start getting an universum or Anima in that size . At 6m I can even add trios with bass horns. Of these, the O96 is far cheaper and better looking

Thanks for that info. Mine is 15.5 x 20 feet or 29 sq m. With Alexia2 listening triangle is ~11ft.

 

[microstrip]

I think the O96 would be perfect for your room. SET-friendly, of course too

Are there any differences between the current model and the model reviewed and measured by Stereophile in 2012 : https://www.stereophile.com/content/devore-fidelity-orangutan-o96-loudspeaker ?

 

[bonzo75]

Thanks for that info. Mine is 15.5 x 20 feet or 29 sq m. With Alexia2 listening triangle is ~11ft.

Should work. Caelin did move from Sasha to O96 over 6 years ago and is much happier

 

[bonzo75]

Are there any differences between the current model and the model reviewed and measured by Stereophile in 2012 : https://www.stereophile.com/content/devore-fidelity-orangutan-o96-loudspeaker ?

After that Art Dudley reviewed it. He had it long term and kept referring to it in articles. He actually said it's the best he hard for bonzo's drums

 

[bonzo75]

There's just a couple of sneaky close up photos, no text, showing some new bronze port castings etc.

The Devore O/96 just got a rave review in the April issue of Hi-Fi News. 10 out of 10 (paired with Jadis amps).

In a brief bio/interview with John Devore it turns out he's working on an updated version of the O/96 using "trickle-down" technology from the O Reference speakers. The working name of the new speaker is the O/Bronze.

Some of the O Reference components moving down in to the O/Bronze will be the cast bronze woofer basket and horn for the tweeter and super tweeter, and some "new stuff going on inside the cabinet."

I have heard it with Jadis 100w integrated, and in the same room with three other amps including one I like, 20w silvercore 833c. The best was with NAF 2a3 12w. And in another room where it sounded much superior to the Cessaro Wagner (which is poor) with the airtight 34w el34 and the airtight 10w 300b. Latter was quite better.

 

[COF]

After that Art Dudley reviewed it. He had it long term and kept referring to it in articles. He actually said it's the best he hard for bonzo's drums

I have (like many of us I'm sure) some tracks I play to reference the sound of drums, some drum solos, tracks prominantly featuring a drump starting the song, etc. I'd close my eyes when listening to those tracks on every speaker, and none made them sound more like I was in the presence of the real thing than the O/96. Even the Magico A3 sounded like a really good drum recording, but less like real drums than the Devore.

 

[MadFloyd]

I have heard it with Jadis 100w integrated, and in the same room with three other amps including one I like, 20w silvercore 833c. The best was with NAF 2a3 12w. And in another room where it sounded much superior to the Cessaro Wagner (which is poor) with the airtight 34w el34 and the airtight 10w 300b. Latter was quite better.

Did you like it?

 

[KeithR]

I’ve always preferred the Gibbons to the Os. Jack Roberts does a nice comparison of the two.

I don’t like the bass on the O and hope the new version is much improved.

 

[bonzo75]

Did you like it?

Yes I already mentioned in post 3011. I have written about O96 many times.. With vintage tannoy these are my favorite relatively lower cost speakers that are sufficient to enjoy music and the hobby. While you can get better speakers for an all out assault the jump in cost, size, and fuss can go up significantly.

 

[tima]

Yes I already mentioned in post 3011. I have written about O96 many times.. With vintage tannoy these are my favorite relatively lower cost speakers that are sufficient to enjoy music and the hobby. While you can get better speakers for an all out assault the jump in cost, size, and fuss can go up significantly.

Any middle ground?

 

[bonzo75]

Any middle ground?

There is a range but my point is, one is either an all out assault person having the capability to upgrade and chase, and find your dream sound, or reality is many are compromised by budget and space. So if latter, I would do devore or tannoy and be happy. Devore was so transparent to recordings with the NAF 2a3. I compared the Lansche 20k and 65k in the same room with various amps and while a very good cone, I preferred the devore much more.

When you reach out above them, the successes are worth it, but very small in number. Spending more gets me some commercial horns, which require more space too. And the rare cone set ups that sound good that usually are accompanied by a great room. There is always the bespoke/diy route but that is not for everyone as that requires research of going out and meeting different speaker makers which most are not willing to do.

 

[Verdier]

I am very excited about a new o/Bronce model !!!!

I've known DeVore speakers for years and think they sound great. I had a pair of Super 8s and a pair of 9s there for a few months in 2005 or so to test. I heard the o/96 at xFi in the Netherlands a few years ago on a rather large Audio Note UK system. That was great. However, the room was very, very big. I find the look and especially the format of the o/96 very, very cool.

The first thing I thought when the o/Reference came out was: if only he had put these things - or most of them - in ONE cabinet per channel. For my taste, 4 boxes of this format are at least visually irritating. Moreover, very, very few will have the space for it, at least in Europe - especially when you consider that the Devores speakers like to have some air around them ...

I would therefore be very happy if John DeVore would pack the ingredients of the o Reference main box with at least one additional bass into one big box - it can also gladly consist of the previous 2 boxes, as if one would stand on the other.

Can anyone comment on the sound of the o/Reference compared to the o/96?

 

[morricab]

Any middle ground?

Well, even though the Devore is good there are definitely other competitors IMO at that price range like the Wolf Von Langa Son, Cube Nenuphar, Living Voice Avatar OBX-RW, Odeon Rigoletto 2020 (just heard this recently and it was AWESOME with a New Audio Frontiers 845 amp...and only 6.5K), which is my now under 10K favorite. At 95db, true horn and explosive dynamics it is a massive upgrade from the previous one, whcih was already darn good, the new drivers (now has a compression driver loading the horn and a profi midbass) have worked wonders.

Since Devores are 12K, going up a bit more to 17K will get the new Odeon Helix as well, and after having heard their new Semper (45K) that was mind blowingly good I can imagine the downscaled model is pretty awesome as well...particularly in a room and size that is comparable to the O96. It was also one of the best proportioned, most beaufiful speakers I have seen. I would throw in the open baffle Supravox Zelia speaker (17K) if you have the space for it...that is a LOT of speaker for the money and sounds awesome as well.

For Coax I would consider Live Act Audio 108 or 110 (same basic price range as the O96) or the new Dynamikks Monitor series (same price range) or Athos 10 (15K).

I prefer most of these to the vintage, or new, Tannoy speakers. I have not heard a Tannoy yet (even the big Westminster, which I have heard numerous times now) with the overall clarity to satisfy my need for transparency and resolution in speaker. They all sound a bit cloudy. I find a nice Altec 604 based speaker to be more engaging. Something using a Great Plains Audio version would be pretty awesome I think.

 

[morricab]

I am very excited about a new o/Bronce model !!!!

I've known DeVore speakers for years and think they sound great. I had a pair of Super 8s and a pair of 9s there for a few months in 2005 or so to test. I heard the o/96 at xFi in the Netherlands a few years ago on a rather large Audio Note UK system. That was great. However, the room was very, very big. I find the look and especially the format of the o/96 very, very cool.

The first thing I thought when the o/Reference came out was: if only he had put these things - or most of them - in ONE cabinet per channel. For my taste, 4 boxes of this format are at least visually irritating. Moreover, very, very few will have the space for it, at least in Europe - especially when you consider that the Devores speakers like to have some air around them ...

I would therefore be very happy if John DeVore would pack the ingredients of the o Reference main box with at least one additional bass into one big box - it can also gladly consist of the previous 2 boxes, as if one would stand on the other.

Can anyone comment on the sound of the o/Reference compared to the o/96?

Only heard it at Munich and couldn't see what the fuss was about...

 

[tima]

There is a range but my point is, one is either an all out assault person having the capability to upgrade and chase, and find your dream sound, or reality is many are compromised by budget and space.

I understand what you're saying. Budgets and space are a continuum and there are likely more in the middle, especially wrt budget. I don't have current prices but Devore O/96 are probably less than $20k in the US. All out assault I'd consider over $100k probably much higher.

If you don't care to consider the middle, maybe others can chime in.

 

[bonzo75]

I understand what you're saying. Budgets and space are a continuum and there are likely more in the middle, especially wrt budget. I don't have current prices but Devore O/96 are probably less than $20k in the US. All out assault I'd consider over $100k probably much higher.

If you don't care to consider the middle, maybe others can chime in.

O96 used should be under 10k as retail was around 15. I find them much superior to many more expensive speakers. I have already clarified that many Times. Raidho, Wilson, Magico will never match up to them or to vintage tannoy.

Will a well set up zellaton, YG, Avalon, Gauder, the Goebbel towers (inefficient ones), apogee scintilla or Henk's grands, yes. More likely than not such set ups will fail until they come off matching right electronics, room, and spending loads.

The middle ground in between is, again, universum, Anima, trios with bass horns. And horns like Leif's or well done dual woofer FLH will be better them all.

For those who have such a huge budget, You can either call a dealer and get an expensive speaker installed or hire a bespoke guy to tune a good horn for you at much lower. With the first option you can announce here "big speaker in Da house" gives a thrill for next months and many will like the pictures and congratulate but then you have to think of what next