My New Orangutan O/93 Speakers and XX2 Cartridge

A few weeks ago I was finally able to land my dream speakers, the DeVore Fidelity Orangutan O/93s. I wasn't on buying these anytime soon, as I was out of work for the first half of the year. But a pair popped up on A'gon. I wasn't going to make an offer, because I really didn't want to spend that kind of money.

It was torturing me, so I finally made what I considered a low ball offer. I did it just appease myself, knowing that the seller would decline and counter for more, then I'd say no go on my merry way. But the seller accepted and I was now the owner of a new pair of speakers.

Well, how do they sound? They are the best speakers I've ever owned. They combine the great qualities of all the great speakers I've owned previously. They have the transparency of the Quad ESL-63s, the openness of the Harbeth Compact 7s and the smoothness of the DeVore Gibbon 8s and 3XLs. And they have better bass than all of them. They are a true end game speaker.

A few weeks prior to buying the O/93s, I also bought a new cartridge, the Dynavector XX2 mk.II. I'm really liking it so far. In comparison to my EMT, I would say the XX2 is not quite as smooth in the mid range, but has better highs, extracting more detail and also much deeper lows. It continues to improve as I break it in (only about 30 hours so far). It also has great synergy with the Dynavector P75 mk.III that I have.

So yeah, I'm a real happy man. I have just a few more stops on the upgrade train, then I can call it quits for a pretty long time. I'm expecting to have everything wrapped up by the new year, so stay tuned.

But enough of that. Whatta ya say? Let's boogie!

 

And the cartridge:

 

Wonderful system. I can see you are really thinking about putting together something that is synergistic and original.

 

I'm generally not into audio porn....but this is a GORGEOUS system. Very well done, and great pics.

I may follow suit...

 

Absolutely gorgeous!

 

Congratulations!

 

Beautiful speakers - congratulations!

That cartridge is cool, too

 

That's a beautiful system and I like how you setup your listening room.

Scott

 

Wow!! Beautiful setup. You and I are on a similar path. I splurged on the O/96's earlier this year but I was oh so very close to buying the 93's. They really are an amazing speaker. Next up for me is the Line Mag amp, coming in October God willing, then I can start on my front end. I was really leaning toward the EMT cartridge because I hear so many good things about it but now you have me reconsidering slightly. I'm glad you're almost at the end of the merry go round. Hopefully I'll be there soon too. Sit back and enjoy the tunes!!

 

My dream speakers as well, congratulations!

 

Fookin A!!!

 

Really great photos - thanks so much.

 

Nice system, nice shots!

 

My aspirational speakers, too.

Purist in design, with beautiful cabinetry. Hi-eff, so they can be driven by just about any amp (my local shop says Rega Brio R works great!) Perhaps the apotheosis of a line of speakers beginning with Dynaco A25, Snell Type E, and on through Audio Note AN-E. (The Orangutan helps kill the speaker design myth that you can't have a big woofer, big baffle, and small tweeter in a 2-way design.) I'd love to hear them driven by Line Magnetic or Shindo amps.

I'd take these over any of those über-expensive high-end speakers that look like robots or modern sculpture; the Orangs sound alive, like ... Music.

Congratulations! You're obviously doing something right ...

 

Thank you for the compliments, guys. I'm really excited to be approaching end game territory. Then I can be spending all my money on records!

 

If there was ever a pair of speakers I'd buy on looks and name alone... (in a parallel financial world!)

 

That's a great system you have put together....congrats on the Dynavector XX2......that's the cartridge that I have on my VPI Classic 2. I agree with you about a little brightness right off the bat, but it will mellow with time. How do you have the cartridge set up in regard to your VTA? My dealer set mine up, but I had to really lower the VTA, I felt it was too bright the way they had it set. I also read on Audiogon and elsewhere that the nicer Dynavector cartridges like to be in more of a tail down angle than others. The VPI VTA on the fly makes it really easy to experiment. It is amazing how clean and detailed it is though!

- Buck

 

I have the stylus set at a 92 degree angle (or as close to a 92 degree angle I can get), that I set using my USB microscope. Over time, as the suspension breaks in, the angle should be reduced itself a bit.

 

Nice speakers. Heard them at a hifi show in 2013 and loved their sound. These and the Audio Notes are among my favorites. Somehow, IMO, these wide baffled, paper cone, two-ways produce beautiful music. Congratulations and enjoy!

 

Nice to see your Amadeus. I have an original WTRP with Benz ACE still going strong.

 

Has anyone compared the 0/93 to Harbeth M30.1s?

 

Beautiful speakers! I bet they sound amazing. Heard a pair of Devores a few years back. Seemed to get the groove of the music just right.

 

Love the speakers! Will need to check them out at the next audio show.

 

Sort of.

In my room with my amp the Harbeths were more to my taste than the O/96 (which I assume are similar) but I suspect that my amp was a bad match (CJ LP66S with 4 OHM taps configured).

At my dealer the Devores were awesome .

 

I can't compare them to the 30.1s, as I only heard them once at an audio show. But I did own a pair of Compact 7s for while. The 7s were great for small scale music, acoustic, small jazz, etc. But when you played something a little more aggressive they lost their composure. For instance, the crescendo on Us and Them sounded extremely congested on the Harbeths. The mid-range was cinched together and all you heard was highs and lows. I have a feeling it has to do with the thin-walled construction of the Harbeths. Not to say they're a bad speaker, far from it. In my opinion, they just aren't the best choice if you listen to a wide variety of music. Playing Us and Them on the O/93s is whole different story. You feel the full swing of the crescendo, while hearing all the mid range, highs and lows. It also helps that the 93s go down to 30Hz, so it can energize a room much better than the Harbeths. I think it's just a matter of taste which speaker you'd like better.