NX-Otica MTM only vs. NX-Otica, both w/ OB Subs - Sound Differences?

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jn316

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I looked through the threads and didn't really see much info. on the sound differences between the NX-Otica MTM only compared to the standard NX-Otica with both having Danny's open baffle servo subs supporting them. I think Danny said in one thread that there would be some give and take in that comparison. Of course, the subs wouldn't have to cross as high with the standard NX-Otica as they would with the MTMs only. I'm sure they sound very similar for obvious reasons. Just curious to know what the slight differences might be. Anybody heard them both in the same system, or venture a guess what might be different?
Thanks,
Gary
« Last Edit: 26 Oct 2017, 07:25 pm by jn316 »

mlundy57

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Jay would have a good handle on this as he has listened to both extensively

Captainhemo

I had been lstening to a  pair of  MTM's with  upgraded networks for quite some time ( about  2 or 3 months I  guess).  We were pretty impressed with them, they were paired with a pair of dual 12" servo subs.
Recently   we finished off a pair of NX-Tremes and they are now up at Don's place so the Ottica's  came back down Here.  I've got them paired wit ghe same pair of  dual 12" servos. 
 Now that the Otticas are back in the loop, I honestly feel they are  just simply better.... the trade off would be the   NQ's are not high passed  in the  MTm's but that really doesn't seem to make a big diff, it really ends up being in the mid bass  region.  The pair of Otticas  just does the those frequencies  much better, those extra 4 woofers that ease the workload of the NQ's   make  a  bigger difference.than the NQ's not being high pased in the MTM's.   Clarity and definition in the  lower mid bass reginon is impotnat and although I didn't really feel it was missing / lacking with the MTM's,  clearly  the Ottica's  do a better  job of reproducing it.
If you don't have the space for the Ottica's and subs, the MTM's are an exeleent alternative,  you  won't even   know what you are missing.  But if you have the room ,  really consider the  Otica's.

If you  have a  large room and  love huge sound stages,    ,  the  NX-Tremes will  be right up your ally.   The Ottica's  up ast Don;'s  paired with the set of  triple servo subs was killer  but  now that the  NX-Tremes are in there, the     stage they  throw is truely impressive and I fully expect them to get better with some time. 

All the NX speakers have a similar sound which  is to be expected being they share the same  tweeter and mid  range  drivers.  All have great off axis response, not a big  changes  whether  one is  in the chair  or standing.  You've also got a pretty narrow baffle width so imaging  is very good throughout  the  lineup

jay

Danny Richie

I don't think there is much I could add that Jay didn't cover. He pretty much nailed it. And the feedback I get from Jay and Don suggests to me that those guys have very good ears and great systems driving those speakers.

jn316

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Now that the Otticas are back in the loop, I honestly feel they are  just simply better.... the trade off would be the   NQ's are not high passed  in the  MTm's but that really doesn't seem to make a big diff, it really ends up being in the mid bass  region.  The pair of Otticas  just does the those frequencies  much better, those extra 4 woofers that ease the workload of the NQ's   make  a  bigger difference.than the NQ's not being high pased in the MTM's.   Clarity and definition in the  lower mid bass reginon is impotnat and although I didn't really feel it was missing / lacking with the MTM's,  clearly  the Ottica's  do a better  job of reproducing it.

Thanks, Jay.
I was thinking that the MTM only version not being high passed might add something in favor of that setup...I think that was Danny's reasoning why there might be give and take between the two..., but someone actually comparing apples and apples in the same system is what I was looking for so thanks for commenting on that. It made sense that the NX-Otticas would be better. I just hadn't seen much commentary comparing the two.
If money were no concern, I would just go for the NX-Otticas, or even better the Extremes, and be done with it, but I have a limited budget. I may still go with the MTMs and just a pair of the OB subs for now and add another pair of OB subs later. Danny mentioned that putting a pair of subs between the MTMs should work pretty well. Another option would be the full NX-Otticas now and wait to get the OB subs, but the NX-Otticas still need a sub for any serious listening. I have a MFW-15 sub. Not exactly Danny's OBs, but it might get me by until I can free up more money.
Thanks again!
Gary

corndog71

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If money were no concern, I would just go for the NX-Otticas, or even better the Extremes, and be done with it, but I have a limited budget. I may still go with the MTMs and just a pair of the OB subs for now and add another pair of OB subs later. Danny mentioned that putting a pair of subs between the MTMs should work pretty well. Another option would be the full NX-Otticas now and wait to get the OB subs, but the NX-Otticas still need a sub for any serious listening. I have a MFW-15 sub. Not exactly Danny's OBs, but it might get me by until I can free up more money.
Thanks again!
Gary

I would strongly recommend getting the pair of dual OB subs first.  It's kind of a leap into the deep end but they are so worth it.  You can pretty much throw any small speaker on top of them while you go through the learning curve of getting them to sound best.  Later on you can upgrade the top end to your liking.  I too live on a tight budget and waited for years to get them.  When the opportunity (money)  came up I took the leap and have no regrets.  The MFW is a monster sub but can't do what the OB subs can.  They are just magical.

jn316

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The MFW is a monster sub but can't do what the OB subs can.  They are just magical.

Oh, trust me, I know. I went room-to-room one year at RMAF just listening to and comparing the bass in each room after being in Danny's room. Very noticeable improvement.
Thanks for the advice!

Tyson

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Yes, agreed - once you have the OB subs in stereo, you have the foundation to be very flexible with the mids/highs part of the speakers.

Captainhemo

Thanks, Jay.
I was thinking that the MTM only version not being high passed might add something in favor of that setup...I think that was Danny's reasoning why there might be give and take between the two..., but someone actually comparing apples and apples in the same system is what I was looking for so thanks for commenting on that. It made sense that the NX-Otticas would be better. I just hadn't seen much commentary comparing the two.
If money were no concern, I would just go for the NX-Otticas, or even better the Extremes, and be done with it, but I have a limited budget. I may still go with the MTMs and just a pair of the OB subs for now and add another pair of OB subs later. Danny mentioned that putting a pair of subs between the MTMs should work pretty well. Another option would be the full NX-Otticas now and wait to get the OB subs, but the NX-Otticas still need a sub for any serious listening. I have a MFW-15 sub. Not exactly Danny's OBs, but it might get me by until I can free up more money.
Thanks again!
Gary

hey gary
yeah, I had the  same ideas about the MTm's not being high passed, but surprisingly  , that didn't seem to be the case.  The MTm's are  very good with a pair of subs,  youi will be  really happy.   Another    person here ( Alferd) ,   had Super V's   and has  compared them directly to the MTM's with subs  and    he ended up  prefering the  MTM///sub  combo. 
In certain room, the Otticas will play down pretty  well.   One fellow is getting down to about  40hz,  still missing the bottom otave but    pretty dam  good.  You could  easily   use the sub you've got to   get you   by until  subs are in the budget.... really depnds on  what  way you want to go .

jay

Captainhemo

I would strongly recommend getting the pair of dual OB subs first.  It's kind of a leap into the deep end but they are so worth it.  You can pretty much throw any small speaker on top of them while you go through the learning curve of getting them to sound best.  Later on you can upgrade the top end to your liking.  I too live on a tight budget and waited for years to get them.  When the opportunity (money)  came up I took the leap and have no regrets.  The MFW is a monster sub but can't do what the OB subs can.  They are just magical.

Pretty good advice   :)    I have used the  servo subs with  many different  speakers  now,  as  CD  says,  you  can pretty much  mate them up  with whatever you've got.  As mentioned above,  some rooms the Otticas will play down pretty decently,  some  you  won't get that much  low end gain.
 When I  first  my  OB7's, I used a  Creative Sound Solutions Quartet 10 for  quite sometime with them.... they played  down flat to about 70 hz ( comparable to the Otticas in some rooms) and  they   did work well with the   CCS sub.   But, it was a game changer when I added  some  OB servo subs

jay

jn316

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Another    person here ( Alferd) ,   had Super V's   and has  compared them directly to the MTM's with subs  and    he ended up  prefering the  MTM///sub  combo. 

Interesting, as I was considering Super V's as well. I currently have Onix Strata Mini's w/ all the upgrades and the Skiing Ninja's Onix Reference 3's w/ Danny's new crossover. I wonder how the dual OB subs would play with them...especially the Minis (basically eliminating the 8" subwoofer built into them)? I love the Minis for Jazz/vocals (Neo 8 effect?), but they lack macro dynamics for Rock. Maybe the OB subs w/ the Mini's would scratch that itch. Danny designed all of them so I'll call him to get his thoughts.

corndog71

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Interesting, as I was considering Super V's as well. I currently have Onix Strata Mini's w/ all the upgrades and the Skiing Ninja's Onix Reference 3's w/ Danny's new crossover. I wonder how the dual OB subs would play with them...especially the Minis (basically eliminating the 8" subwoofer built into them)? I love the Minis for Jazz/vocals (Neo 8 effect?), but they lack macro dynamics for Rock. Maybe the OB subs w/ the Mini's would scratch that itch. Danny designed all of them so I'll call him to get his thoughts.

I have the Strata minis and without using their built—in subs they sound fantastic with the OB subs!  Mine have upgraded crossovers too.  The minis alone with built-in subs sound impressive but the low end is way more diffuse.  With The OB subs there is no bloat or boom unless it’s in the recording.  Ultimately 2 8’s just can’t match 4 servo-controlled 12’s.  Granted your room may be different but the minis benefitted greatly by spreading them out and pointing them just outside of my head.

Early B.

OP -- just something to keep in mind for the future ---

Hold onto your MFW-15. Once you get your dual servo subs, place your MFW in the back of the room and run it along with the dual subs. The next phase will be to upgrade the driver to a Dayton Audio Ultimax 15 or some other bad ass woofer, and upgrade the plate amp to a Rythmik Audio A370 or similar. Once you do that, you'll have the best bass you've ever heard. 

mlundy57

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This may be just me but if I knew I had the room for and ultimately wanted the full size Oticas but couldn't afford both the Oticas and the OB subs right away I would start with the full size Oticas and use my existing sub until I could afford the OB subs. That's what I did when I built my Wedgies. I used a single sealed sub for 6 months while I saved up for the OB subs.

Granted the bass is not as good as stereo OB subs but this way all your money would go toward your ultimate goal. If you start with the MTMs then move up to the full size later you are going to lose some of the money you spent on the MTMs. At the least you will lose what you put into the cabinets.  If you start with the full size then add the subs as you can afford them (even if that is one at a time) all the money you spend will go into your final setup.

Along the same lines of not losing money as you flush out the system, if you think there is any chance you might end up with triple driver subs, buy the 16 ohm version of the drivers right off the bat. In a dual driver configuration, two 16 ohm drivers will give up some output compared with two 8 ohm drivers but if you decide you want triples down the road, you would only need to buy 2 more 16 ohm drivers.

Then as Early B. suggested, use your current sub in the rear.

Mike
« Last Edit: 26 Oct 2017, 03:47 am by mlundy57 »

Captainhemo

OP -- just something to keep in mind for the future ---

Hold onto your MFW-15. Once you get your dual servo subs, place your MFW in the back of the room and run it along with the dual subs. The next phase will be to upgrade the driver to a Dayton Audio Ultimax 15 or some other bad ass woofer, and upgrade the plate amp to a Rythmik Audio A370 or similar. Once you do that, you'll have the best bass you've ever heard.

Think if I was going to plan to ugrade the  driver and plate amp, I'd just go  with the  A370PEQ and a  SW12-04FR, keep  the whole   setup servo controlled and  as clean as possible.   If you're going to double duty that  additonal sub   for HAT use, than maybe  the big killer woofer    may be in order but  lots of  guys use the sealed servo 12's and love them  for the same use.



Along the same lines of not losing money as you flush out the system, if you think there is any chance you might end up with triple driver subs, buy the 16 ohm version of the drivers right off the bat. In a dual driver configuration, two 16 ohm drivers will give up some output compared with two 8 ohm drivers but if you decide you want triples down the road, you would only need to buy 2 more 16 ohm drivers.

Mike

I always recommend  people go withthe  16FR's....  I have not done a direct comparison  betweenthe 16's in  dual config vs the  8's in a dual confi but I've never  had the 16's  run out of gas ... not sure the 8's    would really out perform them in  most situations.   Yes, if the    amp  is being pushed,  I can see  the  8's being a bit more capable but  that's not usually the case, there's usually lots of headroom  :scratch:

jay

jn316

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Ok, by far the most important question I have is...........how do you spell X-Ottica? X-Otica?  :duh:
Danny, you are the owner of the name. Which is correct?  8)

Danny Richie

Ok, by far the most important question I have is...........how do you spell X-Ottica? X-Otica?  :duh:
Danny, you are the owner of the name. Which is correct?  8)

With one t.

Captainhemo

or... if  you type like me... it can be spelled many different  ways   :lol:

Early B.

Think if I was going to plan to ugrade the  driver and plate amp, I'd just go  with the  A370PEQ and a  SW12-04FR, keep  the whole   setup servo controlled and  as clean as possible.   If you're going to double duty that  additonal sub   for HAT use, than maybe  the big killer woofer    may be in order but  lots of  guys use the sealed servo 12's and love them  for the same use.

I agree, but cost is a huge factor for me and the OP. Otherwise, I'd have purchased one of these for about $1,000:  http://www.rythmikaudio.com/F12G.html

 

jn316

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Yeah, I appreciate all the ideas, but money is kind of tight right now. I'm still paying off the partial basement finish these guys will go in. 1st step might be just one dual OB sub with the A370. Plop it down in between my existing speakers and see how it sounds. If funds become available, then I can add another dual OB sub and amp. Then, if still not content, maybe sell the Mini's and Ref3's and get into the NX-Otica's.
Now if someone has some used NX-Oticas (one t) or OB subs they are wanting to get rid of I could go that route too! I may not be able to resist a modestly priced pair of Super V's either.  :thumb: