Omega loudspeakers versus The Horns!?!

The Dude Abides · « **on:** 11 Dec 2004, 07:25 pm »

Hello everyone:
So I recently purchased a Sophia Electric Baby Amp and now I am looking for speakers that would suit it well. I have got it down to The Horns and Omega Loudspeakers.... (but if there are any others you guys can think of, in that price range, by all means, tell me!) I just wanted to get some feedback on the strengths and weaknesses of both. Yes I do realize this is a forum for The Omega speakers, but I'll post the same question in the Hornshoppe's forum and try to get some unbiased info on the products by comparing the two answers I get icon_wink.gif. I have quite eclectic tastes in music, I really only dislike rap (obviously) and country.... Oh, and also it will be in a small-medium sized room. Thanks for the help!
Chris

jackman · « **Reply #1 on:** 11 Dec 2004, 10:12 pm »

This is a tough call. There are advantages and disadvantages to both. Horns are more efficient and more full range (larger ones at least with big woofers on the bottom) but those little Omegas are amazing speakers and impossible to beat (for single driver, crossoverless speakers) for the price. Lou's cabinet work is excellent and he offers a money back trial period. The Omegas would be easier to sell when you decide to trade up (if you do) and easier to ship (because they are smaller). Lastly, you can get Omega speakers in any finish to match your decor (high WAF if that's a consideration).

Let us know what you decide! Take some pictures also!

J

JLM · « **Reply #2 on:** 12 Dec 2004, 01:54 pm »

I've heard both and prefer the Omegas.

The TS1/2 sound warmer/deeper than most of the 3 series (not heard the dual driver versions), but measure about the same. The 3 series seem more accurate. All benefit from tube amplification.

The Horns don't need stands, but are so short that they can be lost behind furniture. Depending on your taste for bass versus imaging, they can be very placement fussy.

Omega cabinet finishes and quality are obviously superior to the Horns.

Horns must be very big to match the bass response of bass reflex. In this case, the $775 Horns compare to the orginal $399 TS-3.

Ed is a character, Louis is very pleasant, both should be a real pleasure to deal with.

jackman · « **Reply #3 on:** 12 Dec 2004, 04:00 pm »

Hi,

I made a mistake when I read your question. I thought you were asking about Omega versus horns in general. I have never heard the "The Horns" so please take my comments for what they are worth. I am a fan of Louis' work at Omega and feel his speakers are a real value. There are lots of fans of The Hornshop who probably feel the same way. I'd look to them for their opinions and possibly a direct comparison.

Sorry, and thanks!

J

The Dude Abides · « **Reply #4 on:** 12 Dec 2004, 04:06 pm »

Thanks for the advice, (a lot actually) because I was under the impression that with Ed's Horns, you could get more (acurate) bass, but what you said makes perfect sense, they are very small horns. And in the looks department, there is no comparison, Omega wins outright (with me, that is). And on another note, i just talked to Louis about the possiblity of floorstanders, and he says they are in the very near furture with two full range drivers. They will be finished in Macassar Ebony, he believes they should remove the need for a sub, which was always my only issue with omegas. So I think I'll be waiting till they come out. They are probably my best bet!

Again, thanks for all the help!

Chris

The Dude Abides · « **Reply #5 on:** 12 Dec 2004, 04:43 pm »

Jackman, your opinion was valid none the less, thanks.

jackman · « **Reply #6 on:** 12 Dec 2004, 09:57 pm »

Thanks Dude,

I did not want to be unfair to the Horn folks. They are good people and many audio enthusiasts really love horns. Heck, the ones that do would probably never own anything but horns. There are many flavors in the audio world. Anyone who pretends to know all of the answers is either being dishonest with you or disonest with himself (there are no women in this hobby that I know of but "herself" just in case there is one!).

Good luck,

J

JLM · « **Reply #7 on:** 13 Dec 2004, 02:02 am »

Historically horns and small tube amps have been mated as they have an easy to explain synergy. Tube amps have low damping factors, where as horns have tightly controlled (compression) loading. And horns are more efficient, but the bass is less extended for a given cabinet volume. So they complement one another. Conversely solid state can sound constipated with horn loaded speakers while tube provide an exagerated bass fullness in other speaker enclosure types.

Louis has made the typical low Qts Fostex drivers work in well built, attractive bass reflex enclosures. He is also willing to customize.

Louis O · « **Reply #8 on:** 14 Dec 2004, 12:55 pm »

Many thanks for the great posts.

Hi Jackman it's been a long time and hope all is well.

I did have the opportunity to talk to Ed over the phone and he is a really nice guy. I heard so many good thing about his horn.

The floorstanders are going to happen and The Dude Abides is right about the new finish. I'm starting with a 1.5 way version and this will be at the show. I'm using one inductor on the bottom driver only. This speaker will be finished in Macassar Ebony and I wll have pics. From this the double 6s and 8s will eventually come out. I was also toying around with a 4 driver system with cascaded drivers. One handing off to the other.

Multiple driver sytems are pretty hard to do with BLHs and can get very large and complicated.

Thanks again and talk to you soon,
Louis