[vinagunner]

v

[hibuckhobby]

Other than both being efficient, it's a bit of apples and oranges.
The Omega's are for the most part a single driver system while
the Living voice is a floorstander with three drivers, a crossover
and over two times the price.   Likely to appeal to two different
groups of customers.
IMO,
Hibuck.....

[FullRangeMan]

The differences are huge and obvious.
Three ways are even worse than 2 ways.
Multidrivers made sound, fullranges made music.

[lokie]

I have never heard the Omega's but can make a few comments on the LV's.

The LV IBX/OBX are a very refined speaker. Not sure if all the models over the years use the same drivers, but the ones I lived with about 5 or so years ago used Scanspeak Revelator drivers. The tweeter was divine (maybe too much??). Very musical, detailed and I guess the best word I can use to describe them is "refined". One gets the impression, that they would respond to corresponding refined back end gear like silver infused Audio Note, etc..  I found the best amplification  is a push pull el 34's in the (at least) 30 to 50 watt range. The woofer, although very accurate and musical, are what they are... and that's 8" (I think??). And for me personally, I need bigger woofers. That's not everybody's cup of tea but that's where I migrated to. But if I lived in a flat in Hong Kong or London, I would revisit these speakers in a second with the most expensive tube amp I could muster (Shindo!!?!).

The bad: these speakers are very finicky to place and I couldn't make them work in the space I had. I found that they like the long wall with lots of space between them and placed away from the front walls.

[vinagunner]

v

[Canada Rob]

Hi vinagunner,

Maybe I missed something in this thread, but what Omega do you have?

[vinagunner]

v

[Canada Rob]

Hi,

Super 8" Alnico XRS, which came good after over 350 hours of painfully break-in, so I'll have to act carefully even though I can get LV at a reasonably price 

The other posters basically spell it out.  With the living voice you will be into a completely different experience.  Also concerning efficiency; the Living Voice may be rated at 94dB, but there's likely a power sucking crossover in there which in reality may make the Living Voice less efficient.  Flea powered SETs (some of the best sounding amps in existence IMO) work best with no crossover, hence they're a great match for very (real world) efficient single driver speakers like your Omegas.

[sunnydaze]

The differences are huge and obvious.
Three ways are even worse than 2 ways.
Multidrivers made sound, fullranges made music.

Absolutely ridiculous statement!     

[rajacat]

Absolutely ridiculous statement!     

+1

FRM certainly has the single driver religion!

[Tyson]

The differences are huge and obvious.
Three ways are even worse than 2 ways.
Multidrivers made sound, fullranges made music.

What?  I can't hear you over the sound, I mean music, my 3 way speakers are making

[doorman]

The differences are huge and obvious.
Three ways are even worse than 2 ways.
Multidrivers made sound, fullranges made music.

nonsense.

[vinagunner]

v

[FullRangeMan]

Absolutely ridiculous statement!     

No if consider what xovers do to the music.

[rajacat]

No if consider what xovers do to the music.

Sorry, it's still ridiculous. It's hard to take you seriously when you speak in such black and white terms. I'd be willing to bet that you could be fooled, in a blind test, that you're actually listening to a single driver when actually its a xover speaker behind the curtain.

[Canada Rob]

I'd be willing to bet that you could be fooled, in a blind test, that you're actually listening to a single driver when actually its a xover speaker behind the curtain.

I don't think so.  The difference is so big it's not even subjective.  Reality vs Hi-Fi.

[rajacat]

I think so and I've owned Omega Bipoles for more than five years. So you're saying, in all cases, you could tell the difference? It would be an interesting experiment.

[sunnydaze]

I don't think so.  The difference is so big it's not even subjective.  Reality vs Hi-Fi.

Reality?

Limited scale, FR and weight / impact / slam is NOT reality.  Sorry.

[FullRangeMan]

Sorry, it's still ridiculous. It's hard to take you seriously when you speak in such black and white terms. I'd be willing to bet that you could be fooled, in a blind test, that you're actually listening to a single driver when actually its a xover speaker behind the curtain.

Hardly, I listen to my Beyma driver since 2003, I know every shadow it made.
Loudspeakers w/xovers have the harmonics shaved and 2D soundstage.

[Canada Rob]

I think so and I've owned Omega Bipoles for more than five years. So you're saying, in all cases, you could tell the difference? It would be an interesting experiment.

As a dealer I've had many Omegas go through my place.  All I'd heard up until I got my first Omegas about 6 years ago was nothing but multi way speakers (since 1973).  2 way, 3 way, dome, ribbon, horn, and electrostatic.  The Omegas ended my search.

The closest crossovered speaker to an Omega were some large beer fridge sized 2 ways with vintage Altec drivers (which equivalent today would run about $15,000 - $20,000 a pair).  They were sublime, and sounded similar to the (pint sized by comparison) Super Alnico Monitors I have here.

Lets take your argument to a different level.  Single driver speakers are (through urban legend which is usually false) reputed to be mainly good for intimate listening of small ensembles and acoustic instruments, mainly midrange without the frequency extensions a multi way speaker is capable of, and cannot unravel complex music as well, oh yes, and low dynamics.  What you are saying is you can't tell the difference between multi way and single driver, which brings out at least one fact:

1) Omega, any Omega is capable of playing any kind of music as well or better as the best multi driver speaker anywhere near their price...and no tweeter needed, hence no crossover needed.

Why you're unable to hear the difference particularly in the midrange, coherence, and directness of the Omegas is honestly beyond me.
What amp did you play your bipoles on and what bipoles did you have (with what driver)?