[jswallac]

Curious what people think of this speaker.  I do not see much discussion about it now, nor have I seen much in the past.  It is the most expensive speaker in the Omega lineup, but is it the best?  How does it sound compared to the others?  Is there adequate bass without a sub?  Is it more a HT speaker than 2 channel, with a great soundstage at the expense of something else?  

I am currently using Meadowlark Kestrel2s with a little sonic impact after selling my 20 watt PP tube amp.  I also just bought a Decware SE84C.  The SI sounds great with the Kestrels, but the Decware does not.  I am thinking of trying out these higher sensitivity single driver speakers, but am a little overwhelmed with the choices.  The reason I bring up the Bipoles is that there is a pair of demos from an authorized dealer that are quite reasonable.

Thanks for any help.

[Louis O]

Hi jswallac,

Many thanks for your post and your right about the lack of info regarding the BPCs.

They are one of the best in the line and if you like huge and deep soundstaging and imaging they are the best. I really don’t know why they haven’t caught on, but it might have to do with them needing a good amount of space behind the speakers.

Right now I have redone the BPCs and they are now called the Bipole Version 2. This is brand new and has been upgraded. The cabinets are larger now and include the composite cabinet construction, more room behind the drivers, new damping, and precision 2” flared ports. The finishes are standard as well.

Bass is very strong and the load the room very well. Also with 2 drivers, the speakers can handle much more complex material and are more sensitive. They also can be configured in 4 or 16 ohm loads and includes jumpers. Both drivers are in there own chambers and wired separately. The modes of operation are Bipole, Dipole and Monopole.

The 4-ohm setting is very handy when using Decware amps and the Clari t and in 16 ohm, OTLs and all tube amps are a great match. I have tried every amp I can get a hold of with them.

Vinnie will be by on Friday for an audition.

Hi fabaudio,

Congratulations and you got a great deal on the BPCs. Please let me know if you need any tips setting them up.

Thanks again,
Louis

[-Richard-]

Hi Louis,

I have my eyes on those Bi Pole speakers...they should be fast as hell...
nicely fleshed out in the mid-range and go sufficiently deep for my
essentially small ensemble-with-voices musical life...

I think you may have done something incredibly special here...

Perhaps the Super 3's on steroids (?)...

Your creative life keeps gestating new potentially extraordinary
speakers...and I am waiting to jump...following your unfolding
designs with the keen eyes of a cat...

Warm regards -Richard-

[Vinnie R.]

I just got off the phone with Louis and I will be stopping over Omega on Monday to give them a good listen (the new Super 3 BiPole V2, not the older BPC model )

I'm also going to hear the new Super 3 V2...can't wait!  

I'll post my impressions next week...

[Rick58]

Hi jswallac,

Many thanks for your post and your right about the lack of info regarding the BPCs.

They are one of the best in the line and if you like huge and deep soundstaging and imaging they are the best. I really don’t know why they haven’t caught on, but it might have to do with them needing a good amount of space behind the speakers.

My room is 13'W x 23'D x 10' ceiling, speakers are ~5' from the back wall, and I sit ~7' from them ... (short wall placement - the other half of the room is the dining room). So I have ~12' behind my listening chair ...

I plan on getting some 3W Bottlehead amps (new "Paramount" with 2A3's (can be converted to 8W with 300B's). I think with my near field listening this will be just fine!

Is 5' enough room behind these speakers? My favorite thing in the world is soundstage depth!

Thanks very much for comments!  - Rick.

[Louis O]

Hi Vinnie,

Thanks for stopping by and giving a listen to the new bipole and super 3s. Learned a lot about placement and also converting the bipole to 1.5 ways. Makes it even more versatile.

Hi Richard,

Many thanks and these are really coming into their own. They really have that great soundstage and depth and the improvements are very special. Adding the rear driver gives the mids a really nice balance too.

Hi Rick58,

Your room is perfect and we tried a lot of placements. I tried from 2 feet to about 4 feet on Monday and they worked great. Going to 5 feet will even get deeper in the soundstage and the bass is very strong. The width and depth of the soundstage is amazing and the best by far. The will load your room easily too. The Bottlehead would be a great match and you can run the speaker in 16 ohm.

Thanks again,
Louis

[Vinnie R.]

I read tvyankee's impressions of the Super 3 Bipole in the other thread, so I am pasting it here where it should be:

hello:

i was with louis and vinnie today and listening to the new bipole super 3's and i got to tell ya that this speaker kicks some butt.

the soundstage on this thing is great and the bottom end is pretty believable.  we listened to them a few different ways and ever way sounded good.these speakers fill up the room and they just sound right.

louis does some fine work on these and it has payed off.

vinnie on the other hand had his modded dac there and his amp and both together sounded great.

we listened for awhile to a couple of different things and it all sounded real good. from female voice to drums to bass, horn and guitar.

louis and vinnie make a very nice product and are some of the real good guys in the bizz.

if you get a chance take a listen to these products.

Hi Dave,

It was nice to see you again and I agree with you on the Bipoles, they kick serious butt!

I found the Super 3 Bipoles to be a very impressive speaker!  They are super fast, very full-sounding (down to about 50Hz), and dish out a very wide and deep soundstage.  The Clari-T/Lotus does a fantastic job driving them (they are a 4-ohm nonimal load, so the Clari-T dishes out a clean 11 watts into 4-ohms) and since there are two drivers, the efficiency is increased to 96dB.

The Super 3s have more pinpoint imaging (probably some of the best imaging of any speaker I've heard), but the Super 3 Bipole has a more diffuse, 3D sound (similar to the B200 OB, but are much easier to place in the room than the OBs, and with much better bass reponse) with a very wide and deep soundstage.  We actually tried them as close as 1 foot from the rear wall and they still sounded good, but sounded better at about 3 to 5 feet from the wall.  This is very room dependent and one needs to experiment for the best results.  IMO, the music that the Bipoles created was very lifelike, very fleshed out, and very balanced.  And the Super 3 Bipoles seemed just as lightning fast and responsive as the A8s, and are a little warmer up top.  
 
As Louis mentioned, there is one thing about the Super 3 Bipoles that I believe no other speaker can compete with...versatility!  You have the option to configure them as a Bipole in a 4-ohm or 16-ohm fashion (parallel vs series), which is great if you have an amp that does not like a 4-ohm load.  You can also add an inductor to the rear firing driver and this will transform them into a 1.5 way speaker, where the rear driver would just be used for bass response with a gentle 1st order roll-off.  You can also just run the front driver (monopole, which essentially gives you a Super 3), or even run the front and rear drivers out of phase (dipole, which is like an OB speaker).  You can also power the front and rear drivers from different amps if you wanted!  These are seriously veratile speakers, which is another thing that makes them very appealing and I'm sure they can be configured to work well with many different rooms and amplifiers.  

Louis, you have something really special here... a very unique speaker that really needs more attention.  It is too good to be left as an "unknown Omega model."  When I move into my new house at the end of January, I'll going to have to get myself a pair!  

Thanks for having Dave and me over yesterday, and thanks for the pizza and drink  

[-Richard-]

Hi Vinnie and Louis,

I lived in Madison Connecticut for 2 years...exceptionally lovely area...Deb and I
meandered the beautiful beaches daily...the swarms of freshly hatched crabs...
the fish darting within the tall sea grasses... the grey Herons stalking their evening
meals patiently wading the gentle golden tides...the swans gliding like apparitions
under the stars...

Fell in love with the Connecticut Pizza as well...thinnest crust, delicate use of cheese,
sweet tasting tomato sauce with fresh basil...hummmmmm!!!!!!!!!!

And those new Connecticut Super 3 Bipoles...

Warm regards -Richard-

[Louis O]

Hi Vinnie,

Many thanks for your review of the Bipoles. It was great seeing you and Dave and checking out what the bipoles can do. Also the idea of the 1.5 way version and biamping is really clever. The cabinets being built with a divider really helps with all the configurations. They definitely give the soundstaging of the OB and the rear driver loads the room very well. I was very surprised with the sound closer to the rear wall, but I did like them better when they were away from it.


Hi Richard,

I had no idea you lived in CT. Madison is a great area and I love being on the water. Your description is so beautiful and makes me want to leave Norwalk for Madison. Pizza is on me if you’re ever in CT.

I’m starting to get the itch to throw together an A8 bipole.

Thanks again,
Louis

[JLM]

Just wondering if the reason the BPC doesn't sell better is related to its price.  I don't understand why it is over twice the price of the Super 3.  And at this price it starts running into heavy competition.

[Vinnie R.]

Just wondering if the reason the BPC doesn't sell better is related to its price.  I don't understand why it is over twice the price of the Super 3.  And at this price it starts running into heavy competition.

Hi JLM,

I think it has to do with the fact that they are kind of an unknown speaker, haven't been reviewed, and Louis hasn't really put the time into promoting them.  

I'd say they are very competitive with speakers in their price range (based on my listening session) and I believe they will become more popular, sooner or later.  

Regards,


Regards,

[JLM]

I've heard the Super 3 and liked them alot.  The BPC seems most intriguing.  

I should have clarified by stating my simple observation that speaker = driver(s) + cabinet, and comparing the Super 3 to the BPC I see twice the drivers but the same number of cabinets for over twice the price.  (And to me the cabinets look to be much more valuable than the drivers.)  The math just doesn't quite work out for me.

[Louis O]

Hi Vinnie,

Thanks for your post about the new Bipoles.

Hi JLM,

Many thanks for your posts and I'm happy you brought up the prices. I think it's very important to explain why they are priced at $1499

A lot has to do with the original price being twice the Super 3R. The original price is the same. I haven't changed that from the beginning. The New Super 3 V2 price is actually something you don't see anymore regarding lower price to the R version. The standard Super 3 and the R version were fused together and the price averaged. This also includes much more expensive cabinet material adding the Baltic birch and the phenolic layer. The Flared ports and R cable or standard too. The new bipole is a larger cabinet and much harder to make.

My overhead has also increased (rent, utilities, insurance etc) and I haven’t raised my prices since the beginning. Now I have much higher cost in material. The MDF is the most expensive out on the market, adding the Baltic birch, new finishes that are sent in from Italy and better parts.

This is one speaker that I have been quiet about and that was a mistake. They have been available for over 3 years now and this upgraded version is at the next level.

Thanks again,
Louis

[-Richard-]

I would like to go on record as having ordered a pair of the new updated Super 3 V2
Bipole Speakers from Louis...

Admittedly...Vinnie has been so excited by what he has heard at Louis studio
that his excitement has finally infiltrated my audio sensibilities...

There are so many variable options for using the Bipole in the current version
that Louis is offering, that it is no exaggeration to say that it may easily be one of
the most versatile speakers on the planet...with at least 4 distinct modes of playing
or sonic personalities...

There is the native Bipole version...the possibility for a Dipole effect...just using
the front driver alone...and also using the back driver with a crossover or inductor
to flesh out the lower frequencies...it is also adaptable to either 4 or 16 ohms which
should enlarge the choices of which amplifiers to use to optimize the potential
synergy...

It should also be pointed out that the use of 2 drivers...one front firing and one
rear firing does several other important things as well...not the least of which is
to load the room in somewhat of a similar way as an Open Baffle speaker...

This is very important...because either in Bipole or Dipole configuration one can
load the room a bit differently...not only creating a different effect in the sound scape...
but also allowing the Super 3 Bipole's to merge with the particular anomalies
present within each room with greater efficiency...

Here finally is a speaker that should be able to do what the Open Baffle speakers
do so beautifully...to saturate the room with a 3-Dimensional, wrap around presence...
while allowing voices to appear warm and rich and alive...with reasonably good bass...
and a nice upper frequency resolution...

Overall I am expecting the Super 3 2V Bipole's to exhibit nice all-over balance...

I should also mention that the way Louis uses the front and rear drivers in Bipole
configuration also makes the Super 3's far more sensitive...which should allow the
use of lower power amplifiers...especially in the 4 Ohm mode...

So I am very, very excited at the prospect of receiving my Super 3 Bipole's....
very excited!!!!!!!!

Warm Regards to all -Richard-

[tvyankee]

richard,

i was one of the guys that was there that day with louis and vinnie and i have to tell you that you are going to be very happy person after you here them.

they have things going on that the other 3's can't do.

like the sound is much bigger and the soundstage is layers deep.i also thought the mids sounded nicer because the low end is deeper.

and as always the craftsmenship is second to none.

louis did a great job with these and i have been thinking about a set for myself.

[-Richard-]

Hi tvyankee,

Interesting that you choose a clowns face for your persona...

When I was a child my father took me and my brother to the circus...this was when
the circus still retained a strange aura that I can only describe as dream-like
but a dream that shifts back and forth into the realm of nightmare...an altogether
alien world...a parallel universe...in which the presence and tension of death
mingled with fear and manure...

And the clowns terrified me...their exaggerated faces, strange mannerisms and
willingness to provoke fear and havoc among the children in the audience gripped
my young mind with a horror I never forgot...

There very art form was contrived to produce a freakish atmosphere...but in reality...
if reality can be applied to what they do...they are/were the remnant of the our
earliest theater of spirit forms...spirits that lurk among us to either help or hinder
our efforts on this plane of existence...the archetypes of the spirit world...

Thank you tvyankee for your sharing those insights with me and everyone who reads
these august threads...you have certainly peaked my interest a few degrees higher...

I am particularly interested in the way the Super 3 2V Bipoles load the room...
and how close they come to the magic of Open Baffle speakers...

I have learned from extended experience with Open Baffle speakers that how
a speaker loads a room is perhaps more important than any other consideration
in ones perception of the musical field...the bloom that holds the music in suspension
so-to-speak...

Thanks again for your feedback...

Warm Regards -Richard-

[fabaudio]

I got a good deal on a demo pair w/Skylan stands and man....am I pleased! As i mentioned in another thread I've always been obsessed with getting the midrange right. Not that the 2 extremes are not important. For many, many years I've toyed with electrostats, planars, floorstanders, monitors etc all to varying degrees of success. Thanks to some members here at AC I got interested in fullrange crossover-less speaker solutions. Suffice it to say I doubt that I'll ever go back to 2/3 way designs. Yes, it's all about harmonic integrity.
 These speakers can best be described quoting Richard's assumption "Super 3's on steroids". I've placed the Bipoles from 1 to 4 feet away from wall, with and without toe-in and they sound great anywhere in my 15'x13' studio(open to kitchen and hallway) Right now I've settled w/ 3 and 1/2 feet away (front speaker to wall), 9' apart, no toe-in and the soundstage is HUGE! To the superlatives of the Super 3's you can add deeper bass, smoother highs, much fuller 3D spacious and PHAT soundstage and most importantly the ability to play complex musical passages waaaay better! Add to that the flexibility of bipole, dipole, monopole and bi-amp configurations and you have a combination of features that make the Super 3 Bipoles a real winner! And there's the beautiful cabinet work - the rigidity - as I  tapped the panels I asked  myself " what the hell does Louis put in there-concrete"?
 I recently sold a pair of famous make floorstanders of a well known designer/musician that retail for $2,500.00 and I'm much, much happier with the Omegas. To these ears the Bipoles are well worth what Louis charges and more.
 
 And I haven't even heard the new version .............

 Frank

[-Richard-]

Hi Fabaudio,

Thanks so much for sharing your experiences with us of your earlier iteration
of the Super 3 Bipoles...very interesting indeed...and exciting as hell...

No doubt your experience as a musician has helped you to identify what is
most important in reproduced music...to bring you as close as possible to the
experience of "real" music alive and suspended in space...the bloom of the
Bipole sonic field...which like the Open Baffles...penetrates the room in an entirely
different way from front-firing-only speakers...

I like your tone of grounded and realistic appreciation for the Super 3 Bipoles
many charms...it is very nice to think that everyone who currently owns and
enjoys them has gone through many other speaker designs...and knows quite
well what the magic is that is working in these innovative speakers...an experienced
music lover with the background of a musician is someone to take seriously...
like DMason who also has a very strong background in music...

I deeply appreciate your feedback and willingness to share your insights with
us...and I await with quiet and intense interest the arrival of my own pair of
Super 3 2V Bipoles...to begin the long burn-in on the road to audio magic...

Also...

I am seriously looking forward to being able to drop Louis's newest Hemp
drivers...the 4 1/2 inch Hemps that Louis is actively working on...into the
2V cabinet...to experience the TONE that Louis feels will bring these speakers
to an even higher level of audio truth...

A speaker that will be able to be updated...yet another option that makes these
speakers unique...and fascinating...perhaps even future proof!!!!!!

Please share any insights you have with us...much appreciated...

Warm Regards -Richard-

[JLM]

Louis,

Don't mean to challenge your pricing policies, just thought it important to have an understanding of what is behind your product prices.

The concepts of the BPC are wonderful:  bipole or dipole function; 4, 8, or 16 ohm loading; and higher frequency dispersion of a smaller driver with improved mid-bass performance compared to open baffle.

[Louis O]

Hi JLM,

I understand completely and I'm really happy you brought it up because it very good for me to explain why the prices are what they are. I have a bad habit of not letting as much information out as I should. I sometimes don't realize that I have give more detail and really brush up on my communication.

The most expensive part of the business just happens to be the area in which I live. Everything is so expensive here especially industrial real estate and I try and will always do my bets to offer the best price I can.

Hi Richard, fabaudio, and tvyankee,

Many thanks fir the wonderful posts regarding the new bipoles and I really appreciate it. They are the sleeper in the line and I will do my best to get them out there. I’m into soundstaging and they are the best. They can fill almost any room and the balance with the added bass is so nice.

Looks like Vinnie will help me out with the site and lots of better pics and new info will be posted. The 4.5" hemps are on the way and I will know more after CES.

Hi Richard,

Sounds like you had a great time over Ram Labs. Roger and Sage are great and it's cool you're so close. The new 5 Watt 45 sounds pretty interesting and heard Roger liked your OB darkstars.

Thanks again,
Louis