Напольная акустика — Devore Fidelity O/96

The O/96 is the first model of DeVore Fidelity's Orangutan line, designed by John DeVore in Brooklyn, New York, and introduced in 2011. DeVore approached it from a blank slate with one goal in mind, optimising a loudspeaker for low-powered valve amplification, while keeping it rewarding with solid-state and switching amplifiers.

Key specs that matter

It is a two-way reflex design with a 10 in paper-cone woofer with a phase plug and a 1 in silk dome tweeter. Sensitivity is 96 dB and nominal impedance is 10 ohms, with a minimum that John DeVore states does not drop below 7.8 ohms anywhere. Frequency response is 26 Hz to 22 kHz. The speaker measures 305 mm deep, 457 mm wide and 902 mm high including its stands.

Engineering and use context

The woofer motor was adapted from the Silverback Reference, DeVore's earlier flagship. The phase plug replaces a dust cap, and the paper cone combines low mass with internal damping. The tweeter uses a powerful double-magnet motor system and is gently horn-loaded, raising its efficiency to match the woofer. The wide baffle is a deliberate choice. A wider front panel supports lower frequencies before the output wraps around the cabinet, which reduces the baffle-step loss that narrow speakers must compensate for in the crossover, and this helps keep sensitivity high. Bass reflex ports sit at the rear. The speaker ships with integrated solid hardwood stands that set the cabinet at the intended height. At this sensitivity, a single watt produces substantial levels in a typical room, and the high, steady impedance behaves almost like a resistor. This suits single-ended triode amplifiers, whose output varies with load impedance. The standard finish is lace walnut, with custom options such as bird's eye maple. The O/96 suits both open placement in the room and positions closer to walls, and DeVore Fidelity supplies grilles with each pair. It has remained in continuous production for over a decade, and the Orangutan series has since grown to include the O/Reference, O/Bronze and O/baby.

Pairing

The O/96 is designed around low-power single-ended triode amplifiers of a few watts, including 300B and 2A3 designs, but solid-state and switching amplifiers work equally well. It suits rooms of 15 to 35 m2.

Alternatives

DeVore Fidelity's O/93 is the lower-sensitivity sibling with a new version of the 10 in woofer and the same horn-loaded tweeter.