Bought my first Omegas-Super 8 XRS

Dako · « **on:** 4 Jan 2021, 08:25 pm »

All,
I am giddy like a little kid on Christmas. I spoke to Louis today and ordered a pair Super 8 XRS speakers in a surprise finish. I asked Louis what would work best for my room and listening habits and said I should be fine with the Super 8 XRS speakers. He is going to put a port in the bottom to enhance the bass a little. I also picked out 2 finishes and told him to surprise me. So I won't know what finish they are until my new babies arrive.

My room is 11ish by 11ish, the dreaded square but I have lots of absorption and some diffusion and have tamed my Legacy Signature SE's pretty well through experimentation. I know I will not have the punch the Legacy's had, but am being optimistic with the Supers and hoping I don't need to go the sub route. Louis did say that the bass will get better as they break in. I am confident the detail will be exquisite. My listening habits range from classic rock to newer blues to female vocals.

Looking for some feedback from anyone who has these same speakers and maybe a similar room situation for any pointers/tips. They will be driven by a Decware ZMA.

Thanks
Dave

opnly bafld · « **Reply #1 on:** 4 Jan 2021, 10:55 pm »

I would think driver integration is a problem with the Focus in a room that small, no problem with the Omegas.

SET Man · « **Reply #2 on:** 12 Jan 2021, 12:17 am »

Quote from: opnly bafld on 4 Jan 2021, 10:55 pm

I would think driver integration is a problem with the Focus in a room that small, no problem with the Omegas.

Hey!

Yeah, that's what I thought too.The Legacy is lot of speaker for a 11X11 room. And having a squarish room is not good to start with also. But the simpler Omega will likely work better in your room if you set them up correctly. You'll likely hear hear detail and more precise imaging. Do experiment with toe-in since single driver speaker, especially larger driver can be very beamy. And if you feel that you need more of the very high top just add super tweeters. If you listen to a lot of female vocals like me, you'll love it on a proper Single Driver speaker.

Anyway, my room is about 10'X17' and I'm using Single Driver Speaker with Fostex 6" and Fostex super tweeter drivers driving with 18wpc SET amps this works for me.

Buddy

zmaggio · « **Reply #3 on:** 12 Jan 2021, 04:33 am »

Congratulations on your new Omegas, Dave. I think you'll find them an eye (ear?) opening experience. I have a room very similar to you, and was running the Harbeth SHL5+ in it, when I happened upon a pair of Super Alnico Monitor XRS - let's put it this way, the Harbeths are world-class speakers but they got sold and I never looked back. Once you experience the speed and clarity of an Omega single driver design, it's very difficult to go back. Everything else tends to sound syrupy and slow.

Now, what I will warn you against, is the flip side of that equation - when you're going from a speaker that has a much larger, fuller presentation, to something like Omegas, at first your brain might think you're "missing" something - that it sounds lean. Give yourself time to adjust to it, of course. I was taken from the first second I heard them because of the pinpoint detail, but at first I also was conscious of feeling like I was missing some weight and heft to the sound. That quickly faded and I was left in audio nirvana.

In my room, what I've figured out is that keeping the Omegas relatively close to the front wall - 2-3 feet or so - helps with bass reinforcement. I am probably trading off some imaging/soundstage but for me it's worth it. And it's not like in a room this size I have all that much choice!

I've also discovered through much experimentation that height plays a big role in how I perceive these Omegas. Even adjusting their height by an inch or so made a huge difference in bass and the imaging. This may not be true for everyone, but for me, in my listening position, in my room, it's been crucial. I'm not sure if with the Super 8 XRS you have the ability to change the angle/tilt, but it might be worth keeping in mind as a possible tweak as you're setting things up.

And finally, I went a long time without a sub, but recently added an REL T/5i just for fun. It's neat, especially on recordings where there is meaningful sub bass energy, but I could totally live without it - and did, for a long time!

Good luck with it! Keep us updated!

SuperXRSSeattle · « **Reply #4 on:** 21 Jan 2021, 04:14 am »

All the advice above sure rings true.

I've got a pair of 8" towers in a bigger room but one place I like them best, for this space is, wait for it,... in the corners facing the middle of the room. Backed right against the corner like some sort of K horn fantasy. Mine are bottom ported (Hoyt Bedford) ferrite driver. I set them on sorbothane due to the bare and spongy floor. Works great.

Anyway, for sure plan on 200-300 hours to get those to speakers to settle in. You will definately notice it so hold on while you put the hours on 'em. Play 'em loud. I just ordered another pair of Omega's so will be doing the same, again.

SuperXRSSeattle · « **Reply #5 on:** 21 Jan 2021, 04:27 am »

Quote from: Dako on 4 Jan 2021, 08:25 pm

They will be driven by a Decware ZMA.

Thanks
Dave

Good idea to throw some power at them, lettum' have it turned up. Cheaper to break them in with a solid state amp, though.

Dako · « **Reply #6 on:** 23 Jan 2021, 01:02 am »

Hey everyone, sorry for the hiatus. Been kinda hectic.

SET MAN
Thanks for the positive reinforcement on my lousy room size. Unfortunately am stuck with it until I can convince my wife to downsize and I can hopefully build a more appropriate sized room. I do listen to and enjoy female vocals so these should fit the bill. Glad to hear you are happy with them in your room. I really want to avoid a sub in my small room if I can.

Zmaggio
Great info, thanks. Mine will be sitting on maple blocks on top of brass footers so hopefully the height helps them. I do agree with your assessment that I will miss the fuller presentation. The Legacy,s have a lot of heft to them and with the amount of room treatments I have, I believe I have them dialed in pretty well but I will miss that in your face sound. I am sure the detail will more than make up for what I am missing. Louis is putting a port in the bottom of the speakers to help with the bass. My buddy has Omegas and I am already aware of their detail.

SuperXRSSEattle
Thanks for your words of wisdom. I for sure am not looking forward to the break in. Luckily I work from home and can run the system several hours a day to speed up the break in. This is my first pair of speakers I have ever bought new, so break in is something new to me. Hopefully my patience doesn’t wear thin.

NoDisco · « **Reply #7 on:** 23 Jan 2021, 04:35 am »

Sams plus super tweeters plus 2 tiny rel subs for me. Took me a long time to dial it in, but it smacks! Heard 15k speakers that could not hold a candle. Worth the work. I’m at the end of my journey for the most part.

Dako · « **Reply #8 on:** 29 Jan 2021, 06:41 pm »

Christmas Day is almost here.

I should have my new toys early next week. Can’t wait to see them and furthermore start the journey of breaking in and dialing them
in. Will post pics when they arrive as well as my initial findings.

seikosha · « **Reply #9 on:** 29 Jan 2021, 08:29 pm »

Hope you like them. The 8xrs is my favorite Omega speaker. One note...for me, the 8 sounded the worst when new than my other Omegas. Even though I had experience breaking in Omegas, I was actually worried at first. They broke in quite well though.

SuperXRSSeattle · « **Reply #10 on:** 2 Feb 2021, 02:03 am »

Was surprised this afternoon re 8" burn-in*. Hooked up a new pair of HO 8 Monitors and they sound Great with zero hours on them! In fact, they sound better than another recent pair of Omega's that I have 500+ hours on...must be the room fit on these new ones. My first pair of tower single 8's did need a lot of run in, but this second pair are off and running at the get-go. I know these will get better and better after hundreds of hours but just a shout out to the OP.
*Ferrite drivers

Norman bates · « **Reply #11 on:** 2 Feb 2021, 07:59 am »

How much are the 8 ho monitors (ferite, least expensive finish) ?

I've been curious on the differences between the junior 8 xrs and the super 8 xrs (besides slightly larger).........

Norman bates · « **Reply #12 on:** 13 Feb 2021, 07:33 pm »

They in yet ?

Dako · « **Reply #13 on:** 14 Feb 2021, 01:35 am »

Yes, received them on Monday. I have about 15 hours on them and they sound pretty darn good. I don’t want to provide a detailed review until they have maybe 50 hours or more on them. It is a much different sound then what I am accustomed to with the Legacy’s. As for the build/finish, they are absolutely beautiful. Louis is certainly a master at his craft.

As someone posted, they are very sensitive to slight adjustments and height of the speakers and I agree 100%. I have not moved any of my acoustic treatments yet as I am waiting for burn in. I just want to get the imaging where I like it and once they have a good amount of hours on them, I will start messing with the room. I have also noticed that they have good days and bad days. I just have to be patient and let them do their thing.

Another note. The bass is more than I was expecting. A pleasant surprise.

I will give an update next weekend as I hope to get another 20-30 hours on them next week. I am extremely happy with them so far and looking forward to the journey ahead.

Dako · « **Reply #14 on:** 14 Feb 2021, 01:54 pm »

Here is apic of one of the speakers. Louis did a beautiful job on them.

Norman bates · « **Reply #15 on:** 14 Feb 2021, 10:01 pm »

That is nice

Dako · « **Reply #16 on:** 28 Apr 2021, 03:12 am »

Update:
I’ve had these speakers about 10 weeks and they just get better as time goes by. Every time I listen the details become clearer and clearer. I have ordered a matching sub from Louis and now I wait impatiently for the next journey.

I never thought I would get to the point where I would be totally satisfied. Thought I was going to continue on this audio merry-go-round. I can confirm that my journey has ended with audio nirvana.

bobski · « **Reply #17 on:** 1 May 2021, 12:04 am »

Thanks for the update!

I'm pretty sure this will be my next speaker unless something drastic changes. I have the super 3 XRS, and they are almost perfect. They just lack some upper bass.

rollo · « **Reply #18 on:** 1 May 2021, 03:00 pm »

Quote from: Dako on 28 Apr 2021, 03:12 am

Update:
I’ve had these speakers about 10 weeks and they just get better as time goes by. Every time I listen the details become clearer and clearer. I have ordered a matching sub from Louis and now I wait impatiently for the next journey.

I never thought I would get to the point where I would be totally satisfied. Thought I was going to continue on this audio merry-go-round. I can confirm that my journey has ended with ausdio nirvana.

A lot to be said about single driver speakers with SET Amps. Many ways to get it done out there. In my 50 years doing this going from big complicated systems to simple single driver or two way high efficient speakers is the way to go. Enjoy !

charles

Liteagilis · « **Reply #19 on:** 11 May 2021, 10:07 pm »

They look like end game speakers for sure.
But then we all know how that goes...