John DeVore’s room at AXPONA this year was a delight on many levels. Not only was he showcasing a new speaker, but he was way off the reservation with music selection in a good way. DeVore was debuting his new Orangutan Bronze speakers, a gorgeous two-way floorstander in the vein of the 0/96 speakers he already offers.
Words and Photos by Matthew Partrick
These new Orangutan Bronze speakers feature cast bronze woofer baskets, which John states add to their sonic color. The models shown at AXPONA 2024 were the anniversary model, with upgraded badges and a beautiful buckeye burl veneer. While visually arresting, the sound was even better than what I’ve come to expect from the DeVore house sound. I heard crystal clear highs with the Orangutan Bronze, amazing imaging, and plenty of lower end oomph. The specs provided show a bandwidth of 26 Hz- 23 kHz, a sensitivity of 96 dB/W/M, and a resistance of 10 Ohms. They will retail for $30,000.
For source and power for the Orangutan Bronze system, John was using an EMT 928 II turntable with a 909 Hi tonearm and Pure Black MC cartridge, retailing for about $18k. He also had a mono setup, which you’ll learn about shortly. Preamp was a Mola Mola Makua, and the power was provided by Komuro Amplifier Company’s K300S, a direct coupled single ended 300B stereo amp, coming in at 7 watts per channel. With a 96 dB sensitive speaker like the Orangutan Bronze, that’s more than enough power.
I mentioned above that John went off the reservation with music choices for the Orangutan Bronze speakers, which was a delightful trip off the beaten (like a dead horse) path of the usual Lofgren/Krall/Knopfler triumvirate. He brought along a fantastic selection of 78s, some artists with which the young whippersnappers today should familiarize themselves. Hank Williams Sr. coming across the wonderful transducers felt like a transformative experience, and even though the noise floor was certainly there given these recordings are at least seventy years old, the essence of the music and what we love about it was at the forefront. We tie ourselves up with striving for absolutely zero artifact when listening these days, it’s easy to forget our roots and what keeping an open mind can offer us. DeVore certainly reminded us of that and at the same time exposed us to musicians who should not be forgotten. Bravo, a one-two punch.
If you would like to hear even more coverage from AXPONA 2024, check out our recap report and highlights from our audiophile-oriented show The Occasional Podcast. You can stream the episode direct from the embed below, or from your favorite podcast platform including iTunes, Android, Google, Deezer, Spotify, iHeartRadio and more.
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