Daedalus Athena/Muse vs Omega Loudspeakers

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Kray

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Daedalus Athena/Muse vs Omega Loudspeakers
« on: 15 Jul 2022, 04:23 pm »
Hi team... I have a pair of Louis Vintage 8's (1.5 way), and curious how Daedalus speakers (particularly Muse/Athena in my price range) compare sound wise. I've also owned a pair of Omega Super 6 XRS Alnico's. Lovely midrange

But I'm getting the upgrade/change bug and Daedalus look like they could be a forever speaker (build quality craftsmanship etc)

I mainly use low power single ended tube amps, like 45, 421a, 2A3.

Appreciate any feedback.


rbbert

Re: Daedalus Athena/Muse vs Omega Loudspeakers
« Reply #1 on: 15 Jul 2022, 07:33 pm »
The best way for you to answer this is if you can make it to the Pacific Audio Fest at the end of this month

Kray

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Re: Daedalus Athena/Muse vs Omega Loudspeakers
« Reply #2 on: 15 Jul 2022, 07:45 pm »
The best way for you to answer this is if you can make it to the Pacific Audio Fest at the end of this month

Thanks.. unfortunately I'm on the east coast and won't make that show... mainly curious if there are any Daedalus owners that have owned/heard Omegas.

Or like I usually do, just buy used and figure it out myself.. Then resell if they don't work.

vinyl_lady

Re: Daedalus Athena/Muse vs Omega Loudspeakers
« Reply #3 on: 17 Jul 2022, 02:13 am »
Thanks.. unfortunately I'm on the east coast and won't make that show... mainly curious if there are any Daedalus owners that have owned/heard Omegas.

Or like I usually do, just buy used and figure it out myself.. Then resell if they don't work.
Lou will be at the Capital Audio Fest in DC Nov. 11-13.

Scottdazzle

Re: Daedalus Athena/Muse vs Omega Loudspeakers
« Reply #4 on: 17 Jul 2022, 04:38 pm »
I own Daedalus Athena V.2 and Apollo 11 speakers. I had a pair of 6" Omegas for a lengthy loan about 12-15 years ago. I don't remember the Omega model number but it had a 6" driver with a whizzer. The Omegas had a nice cabinet with lovely midrange sound but not much else. The Athenas also have a lovely midrange but also have treble and deep bass response that the Omegas couldn't match. Plus, the Athenas sound has more body and fullness than the Omegas. I have listened extensively to the Muse speakers and find they have much the same tonality of the Athenas but are much easier to position because the point source driver array makes the alignment less exacting and the front ports allow placement close to the wall behind them. The Athenas sound their best several feet away from the back wall.


Where do you live in the east?

Kray

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Re: Daedalus Athena/Muse vs Omega Loudspeakers
« Reply #5 on: 17 Jul 2022, 08:09 pm »
I own Daedalus Athena V.2 and Apollo 11 speakers. I had a pair of 6" Omegas for a lengthy loan about 12-15 years ago. I don't remember the Omega model number but it had a 6" driver with a whizzer. The Omegas had a nice cabinet with lovely midrange sound but not much else. The Athenas also have a lovely midrange but also have treble and deep bass response that the Omegas couldn't match. Plus, the Athenas sound has more body and fullness than the Omegas. I have listened extensively to the Muse speakers and find they have much the same tonality of the Athenas but are much easier to position because the point source driver array makes the alignment less exacting and the front ports allow placement close to the wall behind them. The Athenas sound their best several feet away from the back wall.


Where do you live in the east?

Thanks for the great response! I live in Sarasota FL. this also makes me feel like I could ditch my dual REL T5i subs as well. They bring in just enough low end below 80hz to make my Omegas “full” sounding.

I wish the Athena’s came up more often used, but I can be patient since my current setup is in no way bad.

GregC

Re: Daedalus Athena/Muse vs Omega Loudspeakers
« Reply #6 on: 17 Jul 2022, 08:39 pm »
Thanks for the great response! I live in Sarasota FL. this also makes me feel like I could ditch my dual REL T5i subs as well. They bring in just enough low end below 80hz to make my Omegas “full” sounding.

I wish the Athena’s came up more often used, but I can be patient since my current setup is in no way bad.

I have the Athena II speakers and they have good (linear) bass response for their size.  I use two Sumiko S9 subs (similar in SPEC to the T9 REL subs).  I run them line level off my amps with REL cables from Signal Cable.  I have them crossed over at 35 Hz.  They blend in perfectly with the Athena speakers.  You can get by without subs, but based on my experience with the Sumiko subs I like the added "fullness" on the bottom end. 

GregC

Re: Daedalus Athena/Muse vs Omega Loudspeakers
« Reply #7 on: 17 Jul 2022, 08:42 pm »
One other thing, they are gorgeous furniture grade cabinets that get comments from people based on their looks, and their performance matches their fit and finish.

Kray

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Re: Daedalus Athena/Muse vs Omega Loudspeakers
« Reply #8 on: 18 Jul 2022, 09:09 pm »
Is it me or does the lighting/white balance makes these speakers look too orange?
I've never seen a pair this orangey looking, or is this a special finish?



@gregc - thanks for the response.

I talked to Lou and he mentioned even the Muse would work well in my room size, after I talked to him about the DA-1.1 V2's. He said it was a great speaker of course, and the Argos replaced it. Humbling that even at new prices he steered me towards the less expensive option. Great service there, not just promoting something more expensive.

figcon

Re: Daedalus Athena/Muse vs Omega Loudspeakers
« Reply #9 on: 18 Jul 2022, 11:49 pm »
That's a bad photograph. I've seen dozens of Lou's speakers and have owned them, in Cherry, which is what this pair looks like and they look nothing like this. Besides the lousy color, its a blurry photo, too.  The real thing is like a well recorded, 196/24 compared to this photo, which is like a badly recorded MP3.
« Last Edit: 19 Jul 2022, 11:52 pm by figcon »

Kray

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Re: Daedalus Athena/Muse vs Omega Loudspeakers
« Reply #10 on: 21 Jul 2022, 12:17 am »
Well I bit the bullet and bought the DA1.1 v2’s. Due to deliver the 28th. My plan is if I love them, I’ll save up for some new Muse/Athena V3’s

msiron

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Re: Daedalus Athena/Muse vs Omega Loudspeakers
« Reply #11 on: 21 Jul 2022, 12:50 am »
Kray, were those the ones listed on TMR? They are very nice, interested to hear how you like them. I looked at them about 30 times thinking if I should pull the trigger. Good for you.

Kray

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Re: Daedalus Athena/Muse vs Omega Loudspeakers
« Reply #12 on: 21 Jul 2022, 12:57 am »
Kray, were those the ones listed on TMR? They are very nice, interested to hear how you like them. I looked at them about 30 times thinking if I should pull the trigger. Good for you.

Yep. TMR. Made an offer, and basically agreed on amount that made shipping “free”. Can’t wait to get them in my house.

vinyl_lady

Re: Daedalus Athena/Muse vs Omega Loudspeakers
« Reply #13 on: 21 Jul 2022, 02:14 am »
Well I bit the bullet and bought the DA1.1 v2’s. Due to deliver the 28th. My plan is if I love them, I’ll save up for some new Muse/Athena V3’s
The D.A.1.1s were my "go to" speakers for more than 10 years before I bought my Apollo 11s. I had Lou do all the available upgrades as they became available. They were close to the Argos when I sold them. Great speakers!! Tonally accurate, great detail and imaging. I especially liked the offset tweeters which provided a wider sweet spot without sacrificing imaging. I think you will love them. Congratulations!!!

mresseguie

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Re: Daedalus Athena/Muse vs Omega Loudspeakers
« Reply #14 on: 21 Jul 2022, 02:16 am »
Kray,

Congratulations on your choice of speakers. I suspect you'll be delighted with how they sound. [Though, I am very biased.]  :D

Enjoy!

Michael

Kray

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Re: Daedalus Athena/Muse vs Omega Loudspeakers
« Reply #15 on: 21 Jul 2022, 02:23 am »
Thanks everyone. Looking forward to joining the Daedalus family. I have a couple amps to try out on them including tubes and solid state. I noticed there’s a switch on back for +/- 0.5db highs. Does that really make much of a difference?

I’ll be sure to post pics.

@vinyl_lady - noticed the Philippians in your profile. My web biz is based on it, www.One21.us

rbbert

Re: Daedalus Athena/Muse vs Omega Loudspeakers
« Reply #16 on: 21 Jul 2022, 11:43 pm »
The HF switch on my Apollo 11s and Ulysses is +/- 2 dB.

Also, even though the bass extension for each of my speakers is more than adequate, 1 or 2 carefully placed subs can definitely help smooth out the bass response in the lowest octave (20-40 Hz).  My rooms have good dimensions, but still each has a null around 30 Hz.

Kray

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Re: Daedalus Athena/Muse vs Omega Loudspeakers
« Reply #17 on: 22 Jul 2022, 12:08 am »
The HF switch on my Apollo 11s and Ulysses is +/- 2 dB.

Also, even though the bass extension for each of my speakers is more than adequate, 1 or 2 carefully placed subs can definitely help smooth out the bass response in the lowest octave (20-40 Hz).  My rooms have good dimensions, but still each has a null around 30 Hz.

Ah 2db. Maybe I misread it. What do you have the switch set to?

I have two rel T5i’s that do a great job filling in my room without being overbearing. Sometimes I forget i have them it’s so subtle.

rbbert

Re: Daedalus Athena/Muse vs Omega Loudspeakers
« Reply #18 on: 22 Jul 2022, 12:47 pm »
-2 for break-in, then neutral.  But obviously it depends on your room and your tastes.

cementhead

Re: Daedalus Athena/Muse vs Omega Loudspeakers
« Reply #19 on: 22 Jul 2022, 03:36 pm »
Kray, I have the same speakers with the REL T-5 X'S. You're going to LOVE them. A problem I had, after transporting them laying down, it took about 3 days for the bass to clear up. I was  pretty much completely upset (to put it mildly) at these speakers at first hook up. They smoothed out and are just crazy good. Enjoy! Jeff.