[mcanaday]

Hello, all!

The Super 3is I ordered (in natural Mahogany!) are here and burning in.  I’ve got about 25 hours on them now, and I really love them.  So fast and so fun.  I’m playing them now in my regular set up with a Vinnie Rossi LIO.

Eventually, I’ll move them to my desktop, and here I have a few questions I wanted to run by you Omega veterans.  As I’ve mentioned before, I’m hoping to pair them with the Decware Super Zen Select amp (probably with the 25th anniversary mods)....  Louis confirms the Decware amp sounds great with the Super 3is. (Thanks, Louis!)

I’ve been searching the forums, though, and one thing is worrying me.  It’s this post from Canada Rob:
"Fast forward to when Louis introduced the RS5 driver in the then new Super 3T (he inexplicably dropped the 3i, and 5 Monitors in favor of the 3T and 3E).  In a room system with a Decware SE84CCE Select, the 3T's were sublime - truly the RS5 clobbers the hemp cone.  Time for the desktop.  Very disappointing with boomy bass/midbass.  This new driver with the less stiff surround needed a little more damping than the hemp cone did.  The Glow Audio Amp One SEP with it's small amount of negative feedback fixed the problem, as did every solid state amp I tried with these speakers thereafter on the desktop.  Where the SE84 or Kitoki (with their zero negative feedback)/Super 3i combo really shine is in a room system, and with the right acoustics and setup, no sub is needed.  I find my choice of DAC can have a huge effect on the weight of the presentation."

So this has me a bit concerned that I might have bass boom with the Decware amp (which I am otherwise very excited about.). I do have the option of both getting the speakers up off the desk and pulling them about 12 inches away from the wall behind them, which may mitigate the problems Rob experienced.  But for now, I am just wondering if any of you who are running Super 3is on the desktop (and mine are the regular 3is, not the desktop version) are using Decware Super Zen amp and if so, what your experience is with bass boom.  Should I be worried?  Or am I overthinking it?  There are obviously lots of other options (including Linear Tube Audio) but I was really intrigued by the Decware.

Thanks for any insights!

Margot

[jmolsberg]

I think you are over thinking it Margot. Listen to Louis! I happily use a zen UFO with the 3xrs ho and it's anything but boomy. in fact, it's sublime.. I also use the LTA MZ2 pre and while I enjoy the combo with its one watt, I much prefer the Zen! You'll have a killer desktop system with proven synergy. And congrats on a pair of wonderful sounding speakers.

[effluviography]

I use the 3i on my desktop with a Mini-Torii and in the past with a SE84CKC. No issues with bass or mid-bass boom and I have the speakers very close to a wall. I actually have a small sub for the system to add a little low end and I am not a bass head by any means.

You don't need to worry 

[syzygy]

My 3Ts on my desktop with Scott 222c are superb. I ended up getting an Omega sub to fill in the bass.

[Canada Rob]

syzygy,

Your Scott is a push pull I believe, so you should have no boom problem, also the bass ports on your speakers should be down firing.  My Super 3 Desktops never had the boom problem in the same situation as my 3i's, in fact I ran a sub with my Desktops.

mcanaday,

The system I had the problem with: the desk was in the corner, and the speakers were close to the wall, but the Glow Amp One solved the problem, so did the Temple Audio Bantam Gold.  If your speakers can be out from the wall and out of the corner (I had no room for that), you should have no problem with the UFO. My situation was probably an isolated one.  Any of the Decware SE84 amps come with my highest recommendation.  You will not regret buying a UFO whether it be the base model, the tricked out anniversary addition, or anything in between.

Lastly, it was while back, but if memory serves me correctly, the DAC I was using was not shy on bass.  Hope this helps. 

[mcanaday]

Dear all-

Thanks for your responses and I'm so glad to know I am overthinking it.  I'll go with the Decware Super Zen, and with conditions different from the ones that created issues for Canada Rob, I'm thinking I will be in good shape.  Thanks to all of you for helping me think through this.  And I love the way your desktop looks, Syzygy.

These Super 3is aren't even half way to broken in yet, and I am really blown away by how great these speakers sound.  I guess this is what people mean when they say a speaker is "musical."  I got these for my desktop at work, but for now I am burning them in on my home system, with my Vinnie Rossi LIO.  I pulled KEF LS50s out of my system to hook these up.  And I am not missing the LS50s at all!  Uh oh....

Thanks again!

Margot

[RDavidson]

Yeah. I sold My LS50's pretty soon after I got a pair of 3xrs. At the levels I typically listen at, the LS50's just don't open up and come alive. They need power and space to get their midbass to fill in and sound balanced with the upper frequencies. The LS50's are great speakers, no doubt, but like anything else in this hobby it's horses for courses. I've found the right horse for my listening needs / habits with Omega. Enjoy those 3i's. The RS5 driver is truly a work of art, if not the state of the art in small, "full range" drivers. You can't go wrong with the Decware pairing.

[jmolsberg]

Omega speakers definitely take time to break-in! I've had mine 9 months and I still think the bass is getting better 😊

[OzarkTom]

Yeah. I sold My LS50's pretty soon after I got a pair of 3xrs. At the levels I typically listen at, the LS50's just don't open up and come alive. They need power and space to get their midbass to fill in and sound balanced with the upper frequencies. The LS50's are great speakers, no doubt, but like anything else in this hobby it's horses for courses. I've found the right horse for my listening needs / habits with Omega. Enjoy those 3i's. The RS5 driver is truly a work of art, if not the state of the art in small, "full range" drivers. You can't go wrong with the Decware pairing.

No crossovers gives the Omegas a large advantage over the LS50's.

[RDavidson]

That's one aspect. Sure.
There are tradeoffs to everything. The key is to find what works best for you, personally. I always encourage exploration if one has the means to do so.