[Tom P]

Is there a floorstanding model comming? I noticed the Omega product
line changing recently. I now have the Super 3's.

[Louis O]

Hi Tom P,


Great to hear you have the Super 3s.

I’ve gotten a lot of requests for a floorstander. I do have an affinity for stand mounts. The stand makes such a huge difference in the overall sound. I have made floorstanders and I even put them on stands. Very short ones.

The Hemp 1.5 way is actually considered a floorstander. It’s modular and consists of 2 modules. It stands a little over 40” tall and has 2 identical drivers. The lower one is cut off at 100Hz and the top runs full range.

The Super Hemp is just about done and it’s a stand mount. It is the look and size of the ANJ, but the volume of the ANE. So far it goes down to 38Hz in room. The volume is actually the same volume of a typical floorstander.

Speaking of 1.5 ways. I will be reintroducing the Super 3 1.5 way. This was a project I started 2 years ago.

Thanks again,
Louis

[roymail]

I’ve gotten a lot of requests for a floorstander. I do have an affinity for stand mounts. The stand makes such a huge difference in the overall sound.

Hi Louis,

Is your preference for stand mounts due to the floorstander tendency to load up the bottom end and mess up the beauty and purity of the mids?  And, could that present a problem with the Super 3 1.5 design?  Also,  are Skylan stands your preference in stands?  Always appreciate hearing from you.

-- Roy

[tvyankee]

hello:

i was with louis and vinnie today and listening to the new bipole super 3's and i got to tell ya that this speaker kicks some butt.

the soundstage on this thing is great and the bottom end is pretty believable.we listened to them a few different ways and ever way sounded good.these speakers fill up the room and they just sound right.


louis does some fine work on these and it has payed off.

vinnie on the other hand had his modded dac there and his amp and both together sounded great.

we listened for awhile to a couple of different things and it all sounded real good.from female voice to drums to bass,horn and guitar.

louis and vinnie make a very nice product and are some of the real good guys in the bizz.

if you get a chance take a listen to these  products.

[JLM]

Shipping cost is one consideration for standmounts versus floorstanders.  The original Omega premise was to provide affordable speakers that synergize with low powered amps.  

The amount/depth of bass is another.  If you want lots of deep bass you'll need a sub anyway, so bass cutoff above 50 Hz allows for lots of choices in subs.  If you don't want deep bass the cost of stands can be diverted into larger cabinets that can add some mid-bass.

As deep bass takes more power, standmounts play well with low powered amps, and again supports the original Omega premise.

[Louis O]

Hi roymail,

JLM makes a lot of great points in his post and some of it does have to do with price performance. I tend to like shorter cabinet walls and manipulating the cabinet to standmount size. This has a lot to due with resonance and until now in my alignments I haven’t had the right driver to build the floorstander. In the 1.5 way Hemp I thought it was a better idea to build 2 cabinets per side and couple them together. Building a floorstander will happen as I have been getting great results with the bipoles and may find it’s way into the 8” Hemp in this configuration.

I really like the Skylan Stands as they are very well thought out and not made of metal. They are dead quiet and high mass, which I prefer.

Thanks again,
Louis

[Louis O]

Hi tvyankee,

Many thanks for stopping by and for your great post. I had a great time and thanks again for the digital cable too.

It was great trying out the all the amps with the new bipoles. They really pound it out and load up the room with the rear driver. I wish we had a coil to make the back driver cut off and turn it into a 1.5 way. I’ll give it a try. Vinnie and I played some test tones and we were getting a strong 45Hz in room.

Definitely stop by to hear the SuperHemp when they are done.

Talk to you soon,
Louis

[DARTH AUDIO]

Hey Louis, can you supply some additional info on the SuperHemp and 1.5 speakers? I'm looking at moving into a small condo in Chicago and may want to down size my speakers (VR-4jr's) may be to big for the space). I hear your speakers at the RMAF and liked what I heard.

Thanks,

Gary

[Louis O]

Hi Gary,

Many thanks and really happy you heard the speakers at the show.

The Super hemps are the newest version of the 8” HempTone driver. I was always looking for a driver to be able to build the large, wide baffle Snell type speaker. I have it now and it’s amazing. I made the first pair and they went off to Greece for the Athens show. The size is 23”H x 15”Wx 12.5” D. Technically I could have made them into a Floorstander with the amount of volume needed, but they are much better in this configuration. They look very similar to the Audio Note ANJ with the volume of the ANE.

Bass response goes down to the mid 30s area and is very fast. I have found that they are very easy to place in the room as well. Closer wall placements are not detrimental because of the speed of the system. The wide baffle imparts and immediacy and balance to the overall sound and the speaker has an amazing launch. Stands are needed and I find that 18” works great.

The 1.5 way is also very good and they are 2 Compact hemps stacked together. The lower cabinet is cut off at 100Hz and adds bass to the overall system. They do need larger rooms to work right and at the show I couldn’t get the sound I wanted with them, as the room was too small.

Thanks again,
Louis

[J North]

Louis,

Tell us more about the SuperHemps in the Snell cab!

How does the SH driver compare to the B200???

When is this speaker going to be available and how much??

What is the db rating on it?

Rear or Front Ported?

Thanks a bunch!!!!

[Louis O]

Hi J North.

I wish I had taken pics of it and what happened is the first pair I made other than the test box was sent to Greece for the Athens show. These were finished in Red Parisian Maple and looked great. The wide baffle at 15” looks really good. The speaker has a retro feel to it. I did call Athens last Sunday to see how the show was going and it was going great. I also spoke to a reviewer who was in the room at the time and he is writing best sound of show with the rig. Nick was running Cary gear (CDP 303/300, SLP-98, 300Bsei integrated and a V12), Low and high power. I wish I sent a Lotus as well. They would have loved it.

The speaker is very very fast in this cabinet and bass extension in room is about 35 to 38Hz. The best part is the balance and the mids. It’s not peaky at all and very very smooth. The speed is electrostatic like and bass is very tight and fast. No worries about the soundstging and imaging, as with the super 3 in a wide baffle, it doesn’t hurt at all. I found placing them in the room very easy too. The wide baffle helps in this regard as well. I tried from 1 foot to 5 feet and it worked great. Added room gain is no problem due to the speed. The dynamics are the best I’ve made.

I really don’t know yet about the B200 in this cabinet and this is next. I feel I will get a lot of the attributes I got with the hemps.

Looks like in the future I will have a level system with this speaker. The drivers are made for me to my specs and there are a lot of upgrade possibilities. I can have versions with Alnico magnets done as well as wiring and VC upgrades.

Specs:
23”H x 15”W x 12.5”D
35/38Hz – 18KHz and this is accurate
8 ohms
95dB
Rear 3” Precision flared port and twin internal diffusers.
Composite cabinet
Vampire multiway posts
R cable
R compound
Price is still up in the air, but I will have an AC intro special.

Thanks again,
Louis