Is the RS8 better than RS5 in all areas?

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic. Read 3173 times.

concim

  • Jr. Member
  • Posts: 12
Is the RS8 better than RS5 in all areas?
« on: 25 Aug 2017, 01:46 am »
Does the RS8 do everything better than the RS5?  I’m deciding between a 1.5 way RS5 tower or a RS8 Junior 8 .  So I’m wondering what your opinions are.   There isn’t much feedback on the RS8 base speakers.

My guess is maybe the RS8 cone is 4x heavier(because 4x surface area of RS5 ) so maybe treble isn't as good and speed is a tiny bit behind? But bass is better on RS8 since there is more cone area to push air? What do you guys think?
« Last Edit: 25 Aug 2017, 05:11 am by concim »

mick wolfe

  • Full Member
  • Posts: 1238
Re: Is the RS8 better than RS5 in all areas?
« Reply #1 on: 25 Aug 2017, 03:50 pm »
Probably your best reliable source is Louis.  He's certainly spent the most time/energy voicing both products. List your priorities and give him a call.

tdogzthmn

  • Jr. Member
  • Posts: 99
Re: Is the RS8 better than RS5 in all areas?
« Reply #2 on: 29 Aug 2017, 02:07 am »
I only have experience with the Junior 8XRS which has been my first pair of Omega's so I can't comment on the RS5.  Based on my understanding of the RS8 sounding like a bigger RS5 I decide to jump up to the larger driver than do a 1.5 way with two drivers.  So far I've been very pleased with the performance of these speakers and their abilities.  Their sound is very detailed and emotive of the music being played.  I sometimes use the loudness switch on my Sansui amp to give them an even more robust sound with added body in the lower frequencies. 

concim

  • Jr. Member
  • Posts: 12
Re: Is the RS8 better than RS5 in all areas?
« Reply #3 on: 30 Aug 2017, 05:59 pm »
I decided to get an RS8 Omega speaker.  It sounds great overall, after 2 hrs of going back and forth between my speakers I noticed some female vocals can sound a bit peaky.  I am comparing the sound signature with my Klipsch Palladium and Focal Elear which I feel is fairly neutral.  I'll give it more hours of break-in and see how it sounds.
« Last Edit: 30 Aug 2017, 08:40 pm by concim »

pstrisik

  • Full Member
  • Posts: 1246
  • Holding pattern in Audio Nirvana in the PNW!
Re: Is the RS8 better than RS5 in all areas?
« Reply #4 on: 30 Aug 2017, 10:14 pm »
I decided to get an RS8 Omega speaker.  It sounds great overall, after 2 hrs of going back and forth between my speakers I noticed some female vocals can sound a bit peaky.  I am comparing the sound signature with my Klipsch Palladium and Focal Elear which I feel is fairly neutral.  I'll give it more hours of break-in and see how it sounds.

While break in of electronics is controversial, with speakers it is not.  At the very least the surrounds have to loosen up.  "Peaky" or harsh highs is typical of these until 100+ hours or so.  Twas the case with my SAMs.

......Peter

tdogzthmn

  • Jr. Member
  • Posts: 99
Re: Is the RS8 better than RS5 in all areas?
« Reply #5 on: 31 Aug 2017, 09:50 pm »
My drivers have certainly settled down since I started using them.  I also found them a bit peaky in some of the upper frequencies but they have since smoothed over.  I do find the overall sound signature to be more forward sounding and energetic than my other speakers.  As with most things in audio a lot of it boils down to personal preference. 

concim

  • Jr. Member
  • Posts: 12
Re: Is the RS8 better than RS5 in all areas?
« Reply #6 on: 1 Sep 2017, 12:08 am »
How many hours before you noticed it smooth out? Does it really take 100 hrs?

pursuitofnow

Re: Is the RS8 better than RS5 in all areas?
« Reply #7 on: 6 Nov 2017, 02:48 pm »
How are you liking the RS8. I'm assuming more hours have been put on them.

Louis O

Re: Is the RS8 better than RS5 in all areas?
« Reply #8 on: 8 Nov 2017, 05:00 pm »
Hi All,

Thanks and great thread and many thanks for all the posts. The RS8's do have the tone of the RS5's and I think of them as the RS5's big brother. Nothing is going to be as fast as RS5's, but the RS8 will have the dynamics and the punch.

A while ago I noticed that some of the drivers have the roller coaster type of break in and this can happen with RS8's just like the older versions I made a while back. Break in is very important and they will smooth out. A good 100 to 150 hours is needed and I always use bass heavy music to loosen up the suspensions.

Thanks again,
Louis

tdogzthmn

  • Jr. Member
  • Posts: 99
Re: Is the RS8 better than RS5 in all areas?
« Reply #9 on: 23 Feb 2018, 08:37 pm »
I wonder now if the RS5 would have a better treble response than that of the RS8.  I was doing some listening to sine sweeps and measuring the frequency response of my Junior 8XRS speakers and find that the treble response only goes to around 16.5 kHz before dropping off sharply and is no longer measurable with my spectrogram.  I would like to know if anyone else has measured the frequency repose of their drivers to see where it falls off.