Okay guys I've had a pretty good handful of people ask me about how these compare. So, last night a spent a couple of hours with them really giving them a listen with different types of music, and formed a few opinions.
The picture below was just for the sake of getting a picture of them next to each other. When listening to each pair they were placed in optimal positions and the unused pair was pulled away.
The LS-6's are just prototypes. The baffles were made a little to wide. There was too much real estate to the woofer side of the baffle, but they were fine for testing purposes. The production units look a lot better and have a full wrap of veneer.
Surprisingly they sound more alike than one would think. There were back and forth aspects that favored one over the other and clearly there is no one "best". It really depends a lot on the room size, and what a person is willing to accept as a plus or a negative as to which speaker one might favor over the other.
I'll try to break this down into separate aspects.
Bass response: I'd have to give the edge here to the LS-6's, but this comes with a footnote. Keep in mind that my room is 17" by 23" and has 9' ceilings. It is also well treated.
Drum tracks like the Chinese percussion from the Burmester 3 CD, or Drum solo's really make the LS-6's shine. The extremely low distortion and low frequency extension really take covering this type of music to another level. Hard drum hits are made with good output levels with a minimum amount of cone movement. With the woofers hardly having to move, they settle back into a resting spot very quickly with no stored energy or inertia forcing a long decay time. The hit of the drum sounds more real than any other speaker I have listened to. It's amazing how many different aspects there are to it and how most speakers blend these things together. There is the sound of the initial hit of the mallet (or stick), then the sound of the skin of the drum and the resonation of the surface. Then there is its decay. Most speakers reproduce the hit but the decay of the drum gets lost in the decay of the woofer trying to recover from the hit. This aspect of the LS-6 is amazing.
There is a bass management system built into the LS-6 that will allow some flexibility in tuning the speaker to a particular room. Changing the resistance value can add or take away bottom end centered in the 70 to 100Hz range. This will allow them to be used in a room that might otherwise be overloaded. Still I wouldn't recommend them for small bedroom sized rooms. Recommended listening distance from them is 9 to 10 feet or more. You can get away with an 8 foot distance or less but you are starting to get to far into the near field.
With the OB-7 there is considerably more flexibility to the bottom end. With the four M-130's in a sealed box there is a more gradual roll off that starts higher up in their range. They are -3db near 80Hz. The rest of the bottom end is covered by the side loaded 12" sub. It is controlled by the rear mounted plate amp and can be varied in how high it plays and in output level. It works fine in large, medium, and even fairly small rooms. The bass is clean and sounds very good. At lower output levels it might even match the LS-6's. In a smaller room this might be a better solution in this regard.
Midrange or vocal region: This is a close call but I have to give the edge to the OB-7.
The LS-6 has really low distortion due to the multiple drivers covering that range and with a lower 1kHz crossover point to the woofers, the Neo's are more quickly picking up upper level harmonics with a little better speed and resolution than the OB-7. But, the OB-7 mid-bass woofers also have very low distortion due to minimized air pressure loading with the open baffle configuration. The lower ranges are also pulled away from the open baffle MTM center section and handed off to the four woofers. This relieves the mid-bass woofers form having to be in the compromising position of having to cover vocals and low bass at the same time. Then there is the added benefit of zero box coloration. This gives yet another advantage to the OB-7's. With the OB-7's vocals are a little more airy, relaxed, and inviting. I am a little more drawn to these speakers in this region.
Highs: The upper range clearly goes to the LS-6's.
The LS-6's have a much lower crossover point to the woofers (1kHz verses 1.8kHz) and it is really noticeable. The crack of a cymbal sounds more real in the LS-6. It has a much larger playing surface covering this area and much lower distortion. The hit of a cymbal has more feel and impact to it. The OB-7 sounds good and sounds right. In fact they sound very much the same, but the OB-7 lacks that impact. In the OB-7 most of the fundamentals of the hit of the cymbal is covered by the upper range of the woofers. It just isn't the same. The same goes for a piano. The piano sounds more real and more life like through the LS-6.
Imaging: This one is nearly too close to call. Each is good but different. It could easily be swayed by a comparison in a different room. In my room I give the edge to the LS-6.
Both image big and present a large realistic sound stage. The OB-7 is a little more airy as if there is a soft cushion of space between instruments and singers. All is well placed and allows varying degrees of depth. The LS-6 is a little more pin point. There is still a sense of space between everything but it is more defined. There is varying degrees of depth and image height as well. Some things are low or up front while other things are deeper or higher in the sound stage. The LS-6's seamed to be a little less finicky about placement too. I could give them a wider spread and or change the tow in with less effect on the sound stage. It was good regardless of where they were (in my well treated room).
Transparency: This edge goes to the OB-7.
The OB-7 had a more open sound to it that makes you look at the speaker and then the focus point of the music and swear that there isn't anything coming from the speaker itself. The LS-6 did this pretty well too and a lot better than most speakers, but not quite like the OB-7. A smaller baffle width of the OB-7 might also be contributing to this aspect as surface reflections are minimal.
Dynamics: Big edge here to the LS-6's. In fact this part is pretty clear cut.
If you like big dynamics and realistic playback levels then this speaker is for you. While the OB-7 is quite good in this regard, the LS-6 takes it to the next level. They will breeze through anything you can through at them. High output levels, no problem. Want to feel like your third row at a Metallic Concert? No problem.
Fun to listen to factor: LS-6 wins here too. It really makes you want to turn up the music and get crazy with it. Big grins all around here. I can't wait to hear what it does with the next piece of music....
WAF, (The acceptance of the significant other): This has to go clearly to the OB-7. It is less imposing. The baffle width is only 8" wide.
Value: That is debatable.
If I were to pick a personal favorite it might have to be the LS-6, but it is more expensive too. Crunching the numbers on the kit, the parts total came to $1,950. for the complete kit. That's with all Sonicaps. Alpha Core foil inductors, etc. The bass management system tag it slightly but is a must. Also keep in mind that the cost of the 16 flared ports from PSP are $128. It adds up.
The OB-7 kit is $1,150. plus whatever you might spend on sub-woofer plate amps.
More later, on this. If there is a certain aspect that I didn't touch on that you want to know more about then please ask.
