[AvsFan]

Real simple question. Louis is in the middle of building me some new Omega’s and I am looking for current owners, ex owners or just people in general that have experience with Magnepan speakers to chime in. I am looking for comparisons, differences, what to expect out of a high output set of monitors with dual RS5 drivers, in comparison to my current Magnepan LRS’s? I know, totally different speakers but what the RS5 driver is lighting quick, and very resolving. At least from what I remember a few years ago. A lot like the Maggie’s. What kind of soundstage will I get with the Omega’s? Deep, holographic? Sound coming from the all round, above below and off to the sides of the speaker? I initially had Louis build me a pair because the Maggie’s are out in the middle of my 12x10 room and I wanted a speaker that sounded good but a lot closer to the wall and corners. But I don’t want to sacrifice performance for room decor and a more pleasing look. Regardless, even if I like the Maggie’s more, I will still put the Omega’s in my living room system. I’m just sitting here second guessing myself. I REALLY want to like the Omega’s more but that’s a tough task. The Magnepan’s are real good. I’m sure I will like the Omega’s just as much, will just be a different way of listening to music. Plus I can go back to low powered SET amps with the Omega’s. The Maggie’s are power and current hungry beasts!

[timind]

I briefly owned the Super 3is, and when I sold them I wrote this in my ad, "3 dimensional soundstage and image placement as good as I've heard. I used them with a 4 watt Bottlehead Seductor tube amp and they never lacked for volume or dynamics. The downside, these speakers require a subwoofer if they are free standing which is how I used them. Once I had the sub dialed in though, excellent balance." I stand by that statement. Their most positive aspect was the 3D imaging, and biggest drawback was lack of bass. Without the sub, they were unlistenable for me.
I've also owned several pairs of Magnepans, 12qr, 1.6qr and 1.7. Although it was several years ago, I'm remembering the 12s as my favorites. In the room I used them in, they had enough bass not to need a sub (for me). Maggies do a lot right, but what they don't do is what I've come to realize is my top priority. For me, the Maggies don't give a 3D soundstage. A wall of sound is what I hear, and it doesn't draw me in the way a deep 3D soundstage does. And this is with the speakers 5 feet into the room.
Good luck with the Omegas.

[FireGuy]

 I have Louis' Super 5's with the RS5 and love them.  These are my first pair of speakers with high sensitivity and won't look back.   I have not heard any Maggie but I'm sure if I had them they would be keepers.  No speaker is perfect and in this case the Omega (depending on model) surely will lack bass.  Whereas as noted in the prev post the Maggies need power. ($$)... and lots of it.   Both can be "adjusted" to fix these shortcomings and it's a matter of what you prefer and want to deal with.

[Sandals123]

I have owned MMG, 12's and, most recently, LRS. I love the sound of Maggie's in general and, if I was single and had a dedicated space, I might still have a pair of Maggie's....

I have recently gone to a Triode Labs SET amp driving a pair of Omega Super 3i and I absolutely love the sound, it feels like it has "texture". Bearing in mind that I mostly listen to jazz and vocal jazz.

[AvsFan]

I have owned MMG, 12's and, most recently, LRS. I love the sound of Maggie's in general and, if I was single and had a dedicated space, I might still have a pair of Maggie's....

I have recently gone to a Triode Labs SET amp driving a pair of Omega Super 3i and I absolutely love the sound, it feels like it has "texture". Bearing in mind that I mostly listen to jazz and vocal jazz.

Single and had the space huh. Kind of my situation. Why I placed the order with Louis. My wife hates them so far out into the room. Even though they are in my office and she hardly ever goes in there. To be honest, I really don't like them out so far into the room in such a small room but man, they sound SPECTACULAR! But happy wife happy life. She is okay with them being down in the living room about 1.5 to 2 feet off the wall. I have tried them out in that spot and they sound good too. So the Maggie's in the living room, Omega's, office two channel system and ZU's in the theater room. But I would say I do most of my listening in the office two channel room, so I need and want the best in there. My expensive equipment is in there. I am sure the Super 3 HO's will make me very happy. I am planning on getting two subs. Is it okay to set the monitors on the subs or should I get actual stands? Of course if I sat them on the subs, I would decouple them from the sub boxes.

[AvsFan]

I have owned MMG, 12's and, most recently, LRS. I love the sound of Maggie's in general and, if I was single and had a dedicated space, I might still have a pair of Maggie's....

I have recently gone to a Triode Labs SET amp driving a pair of Omega Super 3i and I absolutely love the sound, it feels like it has "texture". Bearing in mind that I mostly listen to jazz and vocal jazz.

Oh, and you recently had a pair of LRS's and got rid of them that quick????? They came out like last week! LOL 

[Sandals123]

Well.. To be fair... Slightly more than a month.... But, yes, I quickly realized that I was fighting a flawed room and a spousal acceptance factor. The LRS are amazing but in my circumstance, were not the right fit. I know that I will own Maggie's again but for now I am loving my Omega's!

[AvsFan]

Well.. To be fair... Slightly more than a month.... But, yes, I quickly realized that I was fighting a flawed room and a spousal acceptance factor. The LRS are amazing but in my circumstance, were not the right fit. I know that I will own Maggie's again but for now I am loving my Omega's!

It's one of the reasons I never pursued Maggie'a before. Too much work! LOL 

But get it all right, and man they are a great speaker. Contrary to what some say. They still sound good regardless of where you place them. I've even had them hooked up in my home theater running off a Pioneer Elite AVR and they sounded pretty good. For only $650, they will for sure have a place in my home. Now of course the more TLC you give them, the more they reward you. They're high maintenance.

Now I just can't wait to put the Omega's in the same room and really be able to compare the sound. I've lived with the Maggie's for almost a year, so I am now pretty familiar with their sound. It will be an interesting comparison.

[AvsFan]

I briefly owned the Super 3is, and when I sold them I wrote this in my ad, "3 dimensional soundstage and image placement as good as I've heard. I used them with a 4 watt Bottlehead Seductor tube amp and they never lacked for volume or dynamics. The downside, these speakers require a subwoofer if they are free standing which is how I used them. Once I had the sub dialed in though, excellent balance." I stand by that statement. Their most positive aspect was the 3D imaging, and biggest drawback was lack of bass. Without the sub, they were unlistenable for me.
I've also owned several pairs of Magnepans, 12qr, 1.6qr and 1.7. Although it was several years ago, I'm remembering the 12s as my favorites. In the room I used them in, they had enough bass not to need a sub (for me). Maggies do a lot right, but what they don't do is what I've come to realize is my top priority. For me, the Maggies don't give a 3D soundstage. A wall of sound is what I hear, and it doesn't draw me in the way a deep 3D soundstage does. And this is with the speakers 5 feet into the room.
Good luck with the Omegas.

[hells]

Single and had the space huh. Kind of my situation. Why I placed the order with Louis. My wife hates them so far out into the room. Even though they are in my office and she hardly ever goes in there. To be honest, I really don't like them out so far into the room in such a small room but man, they sound SPECTACULAR! But happy wife happy life. She is okay with them being down in the living room about 1.5 to 2 feet off the wall. I have tried them out in that spot and they sound good too. So the Maggie's in the living room, Omega's, office two channel system and ZU's in the theater room. But I would say I do most of my listening in the office two channel room, so I need and want the best in there. My expensive equipment is in there. I am sure the Super 3 HO's will make me very happy. I am planning on getting two subs. Is it okay to set the monitors on the subs or should I get actual stands? Of course if I sat them on the subs, I would decouple them from the sub boxes.

Also curious to know that answer. I'm short on space to place subs, and was thinking about doing that, but it's on a desk. So probably not.

[RDavidson]

You can set the 3i's on top of your subs. However I'd recommend decoupling them (from the subs) and getting the 3i's up to proper listening height. Take a look at the Isoacoustics Aperta stands. Perfect for that kind of application.

[hells]

I actually use those for my CAM's right now, would it be a good idea to get something similar for the deepHemp 8's to put on the desk that I can then use these to put my CAM's on top of?

Not sure if that downfiring woofer would cause rattling. This is a pretty heavy desk.

[rollo]

  A couple of differences. Maggies provide a larger scale in sound staging. The Omega will provide same depth, width just not height as the Maggie.  However Maggies require more space around them to accomplish that. Omega with NO crossover provides a more linear sound. Natural tonality and harmonics. The Maggies will have a more extended top. Maybe thinner as well in direct comparison. Time will tell when YOU hear them.



  Maggies require lots more power and are much more difficult to get right set up wise. 

charles

[roscoe65]

You can set the 3i's on top of your subs. However I'd recommend decoupling them (from the subs) and getting the 3i's up to proper listening height. Take a look at the Isoacoustics Aperta stands. Perfect for that kind of application.

I’m running a pair of Super 3HO monitors sitting on top of a pair of Rhythmik F8 subwoofers (20”H).  I use an Isoacoustics (similar to Alpert’s) decoupled between them.  It acts very much like a modular full-range speaker with active bass.  I’m thinking about putting a cap fore the power amp to roll off signal below 60 or 80hz.  The stereo subs can reach as high as 250hz but are low pass only.

[AvsFan]

I’m running a pair of Super 3HO monitors sitting on top of a pair of Rhythmik F8 subwoofers (20”H).  I use an Isoacoustics (similar to Alpert’s) decoupled between them.  It acts very much like a modular full-range speaker with active bass.  I’m thinking about putting a cap fore the power amp to roll off signal below 60 or 80hz.  The stereo subs can reach as high as 250hz but are low pass only.

I just commented on your last post. You are VERY helpful! I am trying to figure out what route to take. The subs I am looking at are only 15 inches high, so I would have to raise them up a little. I did buy Louis's dual 8 sub but I am most likely going to use that with my Magnepan's. What amp are you using again? And I am actually looking into a pre-amp that has a high pass filter.