We have arrived at the Salon Son & Image 2011 show and have taken a quick look at the various exhibits. Since we cannot cover the entire show, we have decided that our coverage will be focused primarily around our favorite topics, DIY audio, high sensitivity speaker systems, headphones and vacuum tube gear. To get the show coverage started, here are the Orangutan O/96 Oscar loudspeakers (click image to enlarge).
The DeVore Fidelity Orangutan O/96 is a 2-way design that uses a custom SEAS 10" (254 mm) paper cone woofer with a phase plug. The tweeter is a 1" (25 mm) silk-dome tweeter that uses a double-magnet motor system and is gently loaded by a waveguide. The speakers are individually hand built in New York City and are listed at about $12,000US.
The sensitivity is noted at 96 dB and the nominal impedance is 9 ohms. The in-room representative indicated that the impedance does not drop below 7.8 ohms - so these speakers will be an easy load to drive. The frequency bandwidth is noted as 30 Hz to 31 kHz. The overall dimensions are 12" d x 18" w x 28.5" h (305 x 457 x 723 mm).
The speakers had a very nice coherent sound with holographic imaging. With the high sensitivity and easy to drive load, this speaker mates well with lower powered single-ended tube amplifiers.
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