[audiomaniac]

Greetings All,

I'm looking to get back into the Omega family as a former owner of Aperiodic 8 speakers, remember those? My question is, how small is too small for Omega tower speakers? I have a small listening area in a finished basement which is about 12' x 12' and extends behind me another 16', kind of like an "L". I have a wall behind my chair, so I can't move back. I currently use small stand mounted speakers:



I know that rear ported speakers need to sit out from the wall, so maybe I would need to go with a bottom ported or front ported tower.  My current speakers sit out about 2 feet from the wall, so I'm that much closer to them. Another option may be a bottom or front ported tower, but it just looks pretty close for towers. Knowing that I would need to put another $300 - $400 in stands, I would really rather invest that in towers and also get the benefit of a little more bass foundation to the music. And also, I listen mostly to jazz and classical. Also maybe some classic rock.

I'd appreciate any thoughts and comments.

Thanks,

John

[pstrisik]

It seems Omegas are very good at lower volumes relative to multiway speakers, so that should be ok.  Louis has made speakers with bottom and front ports as well.  It would be best to hear from someone with Omega towers in a similar room.

Another thought, related to the port:  Add subs and plug the port.  I have  SAM-HO's with 8" powered subs and find the speakers sound cleaner, with more articulate bass when the port is closed.  There is likely less bass output, but that doesn't matter with the subs.  Louis endorsed this approach when I ran it by him.  Of course, that adds even more $$.

[nature boy]

I have a pair of XRS SAHO floorstanders in a 13.5' x 15.5' room, they sound great. You'd benefit from some minimal room treatments given your square room and I suggest pulling the speakers out from the rear wall to create an equal distance between the two speakers and between each speaker and your ears. I position the SAHO's to point about 12" outside each ear which creates a solid, wide soundstage.

NB

[audiomaniac]

It seems Omegas are very good at lower volumes relative to multiway speakers, so that should be ok.  Louis has made speakers with bottom and front ports as well.  It would be best to hear from someone with Omega towers in a similar room.

Another thought, related to the port:  Add subs and plug the port.  I have  SAM-HO's with 8" powered subs and find the speakers sound cleaner, with more articulate bass when the port is closed.  There is likely less bass output, but that doesn't matter with the subs.  Louis endorsed this approach when I ran it by him.  Of course, that adds even more $$.

Good information, thanks. I wonder if you can plug bottom ports.

[audiomaniac]

I have a pair of XRS SAHO floorstanders in a 13.5' x 15.5' room, they sound great. You'd benefit from some minimal room treatments given your square room and I suggest pulling the speakers out from the rear wall to create an equal distance between the two speakers and between each speaker and your ears. I position the SAHO's to point about 12" outside each ear which creates a solid, wide soundstage.

NB

So your room is a little bigger than mine. I have a weird situation where a wall juts out behind me where the furnace room is creating kind of that "L" shape. If that wasn't there, I'd have a real nice space. I guess the only difference between a monitor and a tower is the cabinetry, so if I can accommodate one I should be able to accommodate the other. Thanks.

[pstrisik]

Good information, thanks. I wonder if you can plug bottom ports.

I don't see why not.  I'm sure it's the same port, just in a different place.  No doubt you would have to tilt the speaker to get to it.  I have a photo from when I first did it.  I used a larger-than-a-tennis-ball Kong dog toy.

[audiomaniac]

I don't see why not.  I'm sure it's the same port, just in a different place.  No doubt you would have to tilt the speaker to get to it.  I have a photo from when I first did it.  I used a larger-than-a-tennis-ball Kong dog toy.

OK, gotcha. Thanks.

Edit: I wonder if there is any real advantage of bottom ported vs rear ported if I can pull the speakers out a little from the wall. Do the different ports alter the sound?

[toocool4]

The different port locations interact with the room differently. Before you start spending money and buying new speakers, I recommend you play a bit more with your current speaker placement. All speakers except ones designed to be near walls, like to be well away from room boundaries.

Personally I think your current speakers are fine, get them away from room boundaries. I have stand mount speakers and they are over 2 meters away from the front wall, they sound fantastic that way. Click my system link on the left to see my room.

Since your room is small, I say move your speakers further into the room and move your chair away from the wall behind you. Go for the near field sound to try and eliminate the room as much as possible, you may well like it. You have nothing to lose but a little of your time, you may well like the sound you hear if you try.

[audiomaniac]

The different port locations interact with the room differently. Before you start spending money and buying new speakers, I recommend you play a bit more with your current speaker placement. All speakers except ones designed to be near walls, like to be well away from room boundaries.

Personally I think your current speakers are fine, get them away from room boundaries. I have stand mount speakers and they are over 2 meters away from the front wall, they sound fantastic that way. Click my system link on the left to see my room.

Since your room is small, I say move your speakers further into the room and move your chair away from the wall behind you. Go for the near field sound to try and eliminate the room as much as possible, you may well like it. You have nothing to lose but a little of your time, you may well like the sound you hear if you try.

Great ideas. Thanks. My current speakers are Ascend Acoustics Sierra 2 powered by a Schiit Aegir. I do miss the quickness and midrange of Omega speakers. Jazz has never sounded as good. But I hear what you are saying and it's worth some experimenting. Also makes me wonder if towers would be limiting in what I could do in my given space.

[toocool4]

Your space is the biggest bottle neck, if you put bigger speakers with more bass in a room that cannot handle any more energy than what you are putting in them at the moment. It can only sound worse and your money will be wasted, experiment before spending money. If you are going to put bigger speakers in there, you will need some significant room treatment and room treatment will mean your space will get smaller. Room treatment takes up space.

[audiomaniac]

Your space is the biggest bottle neck, if you put bigger speakers with more bass in a room that cannot handle any more energy than what you are putting in them at the moment. It can only sound worse and your money will be wasted, experiment before spending money. If you are going to put bigger speakers in there, you will need some significant room treatment and room treatment will mean your space will get smaller. Room treatment takes up space.

Well that's it then. I need to move up to the living room. The problem there is that I would need to get my wife to agree! Seriously, I appreciate all the advice. Thanks

[nlitworld]

You've had some really good advice so far on dealing with the small room conundrum. I too suffer from that (10.5'dx14wx8'h) with a slight L-shape from closet protrusion but have fiddled with things enough to where it sounds pretty damn good. I had a set of Klipsch RP5000F (the small towers) and with 1 SVS sb2000 sealed sub. I ended up pulling the speakers out from the wall by about 15", pulling the couch from the wall about 12", partially plugging the rear port with a microfiber towel, running some toe in and placing some diy absorption panels up. Once I did that and set the crossover and a little bit of eq, it sounded really good, all things considered. The hardest part was matching the level and phase of sub integration to get smooth transition from sub to speakers but that was just time fiddling with stuff is all.
Good luck and have some fun with it!

[Kray]

I use bottom ported Super Alnico 6 towers in a 12x13 room. About 18-24” from back wall. With a small Rel T5i sub in the corner. Sounds great.

[Dako]

I have an 11x11 room using a pair of bottom ported Super 8 XRS and an Omega 8” sub in a CAM cabinet. The sound is breathtaking. Definite suggest you talk to Louis. He may have a suggestion for you. I went with the Super 8’s only for future proofing as I will eventually move to a larger room. I have no regrets using these in my small square room. Just a note, I have a significant amount of absorption in this room to tame the bass, shape and small size.

[audiomaniac]

Thanks. I sent Louis an email with some questions. I am surprised and how well XRS speakers seem to work in a smaller room.