Command Performance AV, a Falls Church, VA audio dealership, put together a room that featured Isabeau Corriveau playing songs from her soon to be released album of Celtic music, A Leap of Faith. Then, we got to hear the same music over a marvelous audio system that featured the recently released DeVore Fidelity Orangutan O/Reference speakers.
The first time I heard that there might one day be an Orangutan Reference speaker was when John was at my home in 2014 to hear the DeVore Orangutan O/96 speakers that I was reviewing. I asked him if he saw more than the O/93s and O/96s being in his Orangutan line. He said he was playing around with a more all-out version, but that was all he would say. Then at RMAF 2018, he showed a prototype of the Orangutan O/Reference speakers, which debuted at the Munich show this year. So, Capital Audiofest was my first time to see and hear these speakers that are now on the market.
About the O/Reference Speaker System
The O/Reference Speaker System is a different kind of statement system. The speakers are very easy to drive and do not require multiple amps or even high-powered amps. So, while they cost nearly a hundred grand, you could drive them with several amps that are under ten grand and a turntable under $20,000. This means that you could easily have a statement system for under $200,000.
The reference apes use four cabinets instead of two. At first glance, they look like four of the Orangutan O/96 speakers that I reviewed several years ago and loved. But in no way are they simply an improved O/96 with a sub. Neither box is available separately. Yes, the speaker on the inside has a 10-inch paper-cone woofer like the O/96s, but it sits in a cast bronze basket.
The main speaker also has a 1-inch silk dome tweeter that is loaded into a cast and machined slightly flared bronze horn. The new tweeter’s motor utilizes a rare-earth magnet and an underhung voice-coil for increased linearity at lower frequencies and to help obtain higher sensitivity. Then there is the 3/4-inch silk dome super-tweeter, also in a cast and machined bronze horn and using a rare-earth magnet that sits slightly above and to the inside of the tweeter.
What’s In the Cabinets?
The bass driver in the main cabinet is a 10-inch paper cone woofer with a cast bronze chassis and a new woofer motor, fully optimized with a pure AlNiCo magnet, copper Faraday rings above and below the gap, a titanium former, and a machined bronze phase plug resulting in better magnetic and inductive linearity, increased sensitivity, and an order of magnitude lower distortion throughout most of the frequency range.
The other cabinet has a dedicated 700-watt amplifier driving one of the two drivers. It also has an all-analog signal path including fully adjustable low-pass crossover, variable phase, subsonic filter, and equalization at 20Hz and 35Hz to tailor the response to different rooms where it might be installed. The other driver is an 11-inch reinforced aluminum passive radiator naturally tuned below 20Hz in-cabinet with no equalization.
One of the cool things about the phase control is that you can put the woofer boxes nearly anywhere in the room. John said that for example in my room, the main cabinets would be positioned about where I had the O/96s and the bass cabinets could be in the corners behind the speakers. This would make the placement much easier since my room isn’t huge. Now, if I if I could just find the $88,000 to get them in my room.
The Sound of Great Equipment
The sound in this room was my favorite at the show, and you only get that kind of sound with great equipment. This room was had a lot of spectacular gear. There was the beautiful-looking and sounding J. Sikora Standard MAX Turntable ($18,195) with a J. Sikora KV-12 VTA Tonearm ($6,995), the Kuzma 4-Point Tonearm ($6,800), and the Koetsu Onyx Platinum Cartridge ($9,995). Digital sources were the Luxman D-o8u SACD Player/USB DAC ($14,995) with an Aurender W20SE Music Server ($22,000).
The amplification was from Luxman with the CL-1000 Preamplifier ($19,95), their EQ-500 Phono Equalizer Amplifier ($6,495) and their MQ-300 300B Power Amplifier ($20,995). The cabling was by Transparent and the rack by Box Furniture Company. Acoustic treatment was from Artnovion.
Now THAT is a system I’d truly love to get my ears on. Wowza!
It was quite impressive.