CES 2010

John Devore and his Orangutans

By Larry Greenhill • Posted: Jan 13, 2010

I was highly impressed with the dynamics, speed, and pace of a new $8000/pair loudspeaker from John DeVore, a speaker maker from my area of the country, Brooklyn, New York. I had first read about John in the New York Times when it featured new and brave entrepreneurs making their way in Brooklyn during the recent recession. I was interested, because of my medical research background, that the very tall Mr. DeVore had been positively influenced in his younger years by an uncle who was a leading primatologist, and had take him to Africa to view various monkeys living in their natural habitat. As a result, John names his loudspeaker lines for various species, including the Gibbon, Silverback, and now Orangutan. This floorstanding, two-way, high-sensitivity ([95]dB/2.83V/m) loudspeaker features a 1" silk-dome tweeter and a reflex-loaded, 10" treated-paper woofer (rear port) in a cabinet with a lace walnut finish. I was struck by the similarity between John's energy and enthusiasm and the dynamics and pace of the music the Orangutan generated driven by the 15Wpc Mag Amp.
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Comments
Stephen Mejias's picture
Submitted by Stephen Mejias on January 13, 2010 - 5:00pm.

The speakers are actually 6' tall. That DeVore guy is a GIANT.

john devore's picture
Submitted by john devore on January 13, 2010 - 4:59pm.

Hey now, size is relative. Especially in photos.

Thanks to Larry for introducing himself, it's always great to meet fellow New York enthusiasts. For the record, while we're working on a 98dB Orangutan model, the speakers shown are actually around 95. Not a huge difference but specs is specs.

Happy new year!

Ben's picture
Submitted by Ben on January 13, 2010 - 6:37pm.

Nevertheless, "towering" achievements in speaker design Mr Devore. Mr Mejias having the perfect haircolour to make a comments for this speaker. Hehe.

Eli's picture
Submitted by Eli on January 13, 2010 - 8:58pm.

What's the speaker beside the Orangutan (to the right)? Looks like a Gibbon 8 made out of bamboo and on small stands.

john devore's picture
Submitted by john devore on January 14, 2010 - 9:02am.

Good eye Eli, that's a pair of gibbon Super 8s built like the 3XL, with bamboo and piano black. It's an exercise to test the waters for carrying this styling through more of the line.

Those are dedicated stands, still a work in progress that will eventually be offered in black for all the existing Super 8s out there. They make set-up a bit easier and can smooth out bass response in some rooms.

john devore's picture
Submitted by john devore on January 14, 2010 - 12:58pm.

Good eye Eli, that's a pair of gibbon Super 8s built like the 3XL, with bamboo and piano black. It's an exercise to test the waters for carrying this styling through more of the line.

Those are dedicated stands, still a work in progress that will eventually be offered in black for all the existing Super 8s out there. They make set-up a bit easier and can smooth out bass response in some rooms.

Zombie's picture
Submitted by Zombie on January 14, 2010 - 6:15pm.

Which one is the Orangutan?

Jason's picture
Submitted by Jason on January 16, 2010 - 11:03am.

Big paper cones?!? I'm ready to upgrade my Nines!

suits_me's picture
Submitted by suits_me on January 16, 2010 - 12:12pm.

Zombie: "Which one is the Orangutan?" _Not_ the most highly evolved one shown....

Gorilla's picture
Submitted by Gorilla on January 17, 2010 - 8:15pm.

Looks oddly reminiscent of Shindo's Latour.

devore fan's picture
Submitted by devore fan on February 12, 2010 - 12:18pm.

I would love to have a pair of bamboo super 8s or 9s. Any plans to put these into production soon?

Dmitri's picture
Submitted by Dmitri on April 5, 2010 - 1:44pm.

Love the sound of DeVores. Perfect for classical music or jazz. If one can combine treble and speed of DeVore with timbre and bass of ATC I'd be in heaven.Great speakers nonetheless.

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