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DeVore Fidelity O/Reference Speaker System at Vinyl Sound Buffalo, NY USA

The Orangutan O/Reference is the reference flagship loudspeaker system from DeVore Fidelity (Brooklyn, New York, USA), available at Vinyl Sound in Buffalo, NY, USA. A four-cabinet system comprising the O/Reference A main speaker and the O/Reference B Bassmachine active bass system, it represents over a decade of development and the most advanced driver technology DeVore Fidelity has produced. The O/Reference A uses a 10-inch paper cone woofer with AlNiCo magnet and titanium former, a bronze horn-loaded 1-inch silk dome tweeter with rare-earth magnet and underhung voice coil, and a 0.75-inch super-tweeter with bronze horn and rare-earth magnet. O/Reference A sensitivity is 98 dB/W/M. The O/Reference B Bassmachine adds an 11-inch reinforced aluminium woofer, an 11-inch aluminium passive radiator naturally tuned below 20 Hz, and a dedicated 700-watt amplifier with fully analog control. Handmade in Brooklyn, New York.

O/Reference A: AlNiCo Motor, Copper Faraday Rings, and Bronze Horn Tweeter

The O/Reference A main speaker's 10-inch paper cone woofer represents the most comprehensively engineered driver in the Orangutan line. Its motor uses a pure AlNiCo magnet, a material that was the industry standard before ferrite took over due to cost, and which John DeVore has documented as delivering substantially lower harmonic distortion through the midrange compared to ferrite alternatives. Copper Faraday rings are positioned above and below the magnetic gap to control eddy current-induced inductive nonlinearity, one of the primary sources of high-frequency intermodulation distortion in dynamic drivers. A titanium voice-coil former provides the stiffness and heat dissipation of metal at a lower mass than aluminium, improving both power handling and the driver's mechanical precision. A machined bronze phase plug controls radiation pattern through the midrange band. The result is a woofer motor that achieves, in DeVore Fidelity's description, an order of magnitude lower distortion through most of the frequency range compared to the O/96 driver. The O/Reference A's tweeter takes the bronze horn technology developed in the O/Bronze further, adding an all-new motor system with a large rare-earth magnet and an underhung voice coil, a construction method that keeps the entire voice coil winding within the magnetic gap at all times for more linear, lower-distortion high-frequency reproduction. A 0.75-inch super-tweeter with its own cast and machined bronze horn and rare-earth magnet extends the system's frequency range through and above the audioband, complementing the main tweeter's output in the uppermost octaves. Bronze port tubes are machined solid and isolated from the cabinet, and a machined brass input plate is similarly decoupled.

O/Reference B Bassmachine: Passive Radiator, 700 Watts, and Amplifier-Tracking Signal Path

The O/Reference B is a standalone powered bass enclosure driven by a dedicated 700-watt Class D amplifier with fully analog control circuitry. Its 11-inch reinforced aluminium woofer is capable of 2.25 inches of peak excursion, a massive stroke developed to handle the full energy demands of the lowest octave without compression. Rather than a conventional ported enclosure, the Bassmachine uses a matching 11-inch aluminium passive radiator tuned in-cabinet below 20 Hz without equalization, preserving the natural tuning and integration that John DeVore determined was essential for seamless blending with the naturally-tuned O/Reference A main speaker. The O/Reference B's signal path draws its input from the same amplifier output that drives the O/Reference A speakers, ensuring that any tonal character, colour, or texture contributed by the upstream amplifier is identically replicated in the bass system. The control circuitry is fully analog, with adjustable low-pass crossover, variable phase, subsonic filter, and equalization at 20 Hz and 35 Hz for room installation tailoring. A rigid 2-inch thick birch plywood front baffle and machined brass input plate reduce vibration transmission from the woofer into the cabinet structure.

Key Features

• AlNiCo Magnet Woofer Motor: Pure AlNiCo magnet with copper Faraday rings above and below the gap, titanium voice-coil former, and machined bronze phase plug for an order-of-magnitude lower midrange distortion compared to ferrite motor designs.
• O/Reference Bronze Horn Tweeter with Underhung Voice Coil: Cast and machined bronze horn-loaded 1-inch silk dome with large rare-earth magnet and underhung voice-coil construction for maximum linearity at lower treble frequencies.
• 0.75-Inch Bronze Horn Super-Tweeter: Cast and machined bronze horn with rare-earth magnet extending the system's frequency range through and above the audioband.
• Vibration-Isolated Bronze Port Tubes and Brass Input Plate: Solid machined bronze port tubes and machined brass input plate mechanically decoupled from the cabinet to minimise vibration contribution to the speaker's output.
• 98 dB/W/M Sensitivity (O/Reference A): The highest sensitivity in the Orangutan line, enabling single-ended triode amplifiers of 1 watt or less to drive the main speakers to full dynamic range.
• O/Reference B with 11-Inch Passive Radiator: Natural below-20Hz tuning via a matching passive radiator without equalization, preserving the integration character that matches the naturally-tuned O/Reference A main speakers.
• 700-Watt Amplifier-Tracking Bass System: The Bassmachine receives its signal from the same amplifier output as the main speakers, preserving the tonal character of the upstream chain through the full frequency range.
• Bronze Components Cast in Indiana, Machined in Virginia: All bronze castings are produced using efficiency-optimised casting processes in Indiana and machined in Virginia before shipping to Brooklyn for final assembly, reducing material waste by 90 to 95 percent compared to machining from solid blocks.

Technical Specifications

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the DeVore Fidelity O/Reference system?

The DeVore Fidelity O/Reference is a four-cabinet reference speaker system comprising the O/Reference A two-channel main speakers and the O/Reference B Bassmachine powered bass system. The O/Reference A uses a 10-inch paper cone woofer with AlNiCo magnet and titanium former, a bronze horn-loaded 1-inch tweeter with underhung voice coil, and a 0.75-inch bronze horn super-tweeter, at 98 dB/W/M sensitivity. The O/Reference B uses an 11-inch aluminium woofer and passive radiator with natural below-20Hz tuning driven by a 700-watt amplifier that tracks the main speaker amplifier's signal for tonal continuity.

Why does the O/Reference use four cabinets instead of two?

John DeVore concluded that the only way to reconcile single-ended triode amplifier compatibility with reference-level bass extension was to move the lowest octave into a dedicated bass system separate from the main speaker cabinets. Removing deep bass excursion from the O/Reference A main speakers allowed the 10-inch woofer to be optimised for 40 Hz and above with far lower distortion, and eliminated the cabinet vibration that deep bass generates in the main enclosure. The O/Reference B Bassmachine could then be specifically engineered for below-20Hz duty with a massive-excursion aluminium woofer and passive radiator without compromising the main speaker's fundamental design advantages.

What amplifiers are used with the O/Reference A?

The O/Reference A's 98 dB/W/M sensitivity means it can be driven to full dynamic range by single-ended triode amplifiers producing as little as 1 watt, with push-pull tube and solid-state designs providing additional power reserves and tonal options. The O/Reference system has been demonstrated with a variety of amplifier types at shows and in DeVore Fidelity's Brooklyn listening room. The O/Reference B Bassmachine uses its own dedicated 700-watt amplifier and receives its signal from the same amplifier output driving the A speakers, so any amplifier's tonal character is preserved through the full frequency range.

Where can I buy the DeVore Fidelity O/Reference in Buffalo, NY or the USA?

The DeVore Fidelity O/Reference is available at Vinyl Sound in Buffalo, NY, USA. Vinyl Sound is an authorized DeVore Fidelity dealer serving customers in Buffalo, Western New York, and across the United States. Contact Vinyl Sound Buffalo to discuss system configuration, room installation requirements, and amplifier pairing for the O/Reference system.