[-Richard-]

Hi Louis ~

I believe I am speaking for quite a few of your AC friends and admirers when I ask you:
What is the status of your development of the 8" Hemp driver for OB implementation?

Is it possible to project a possible time frame for the appearance of an OB in your line-up
of excellent speaker offerings?

Thanks for considering this important question for those of us who are waiting patiently
for you to develop what we think will be a state-of-the-art speaker solution.

Warm Regards ~ Richard

[jrebman]

He took the words right out of my mouth .

I was just looking at the updated products page on the Omega web site and noticed that there are no Revolutions anymore.  Did I buy an already orphaned speaker, or is it just that you are waiting for the high-Q hemp driver to make the Hemp Revolutions with?

I'm not in any rush, just got a bit concerned when I saw no mention of any of this either in the products or news pages on the site.

-- Jim

[Vinnie R.]

Hey Guys,

I've been in touch with Louis (who has been a little behind these days and hasn't had the chance to post on his forum... but will soon) about this.

The 8" Hemp OB speaker is going to be cancelled.  Louis mentioned that they ended up costing much more to make than he expected, and he'd have to purchase upfront in a very large quantity.  He has already commited to purchasing large quantities of his newest 4.5" and 8" Hemps, which has gotten expensive.

He is also working on a Super 3XRS Dipole (uses the new 4.5" drivers) prototype.  I have it here and we'll have it at both the upcoming Montreal and Stereophile shows.  It has a very "OB-like" sound (being a Dipole), and is much smaller than what would be needed to get a similar sound out of an OB (especially in the bass).  I'll have to post more about it sometime... it is really extraordinary!  The music does not sound like it is coming out of a boxed speaker, and these speakers really seem to do a great job disappearing, again, like OB sound.  And it has that Hemp Tone  aa

I'm not in any rush, just got a bit concerned when I saw no mention of any of this either in the products or news pages on the site.

Louis took down the Revolutions because he is no longer using the B200s (as well as Fostex).  Going forward, he will only be using his own OEM Hemp drivers.  However, the Revolutions WILL be coming back with a special version of the 8" hemp driver (also a drop-in replacement for the B200) later this year.  These drivers will only be sold in his speakers and not to the DIY community. 

I'll leave it up to Louis to add more to this thread when he gets the time.  I'm just helping him out because he has been so busy...

Best regards,

Vinnie

[-Richard-]

Thanks Vinnie for keeping us updated.

I deeply appreciate it.

Warm Regards ~ Richard

[jrebman]

Louis took down the Revolutions because he is no longer using the B200s (as well as Fostex).  Going forward, he will only be using his own OEM Hemp drivers.  However, the Revolutions WILL be coming back with a special version of the 8" hemp driver (also a drop-in replacement for the B200) later this year.  These drivers will only be sold in his speakers and not to the DIY community. 

Good to hear that there will be something hemp for my Revolutions -- I'm in no hurry as my B-200s are just on their way back from Planet 10 where they got an extreme makeover, so I'll need to be listening to them for a while so I have an informed basis for comparison once the hemp drivers become available.

Again, Vinnie, thanks for the update and for pinch-hitting for Louis.  Wish I could make it to Montreal or NYC to see and hear all the new goodies.

-- Jim

[-Richard-]

Hi Jim ~

I am most interested in your take of Planet 10/David's phase plug application to your
B200's... his claim is that it allows the upper frequencies to spread out with greater
coverage of what he believes is the otherwise truncated dispersion pattern of the
B200's... I do not agree with David on this evaluation of the B200's limited dispersion
characteristics... however David seems to know his stuff and is a very active member
of the audio community and many believe his phase plugs really work and do what
he says they do.

Please keep us informed, Jim, of what you are hearing... I personally would appreciate
your unvarnished feedback on this.

Even though I am using the B200's in OB configuration, and you are using it in a cabinet
application, the all-over effect the phase plugs have on the dispersion characteristics
should be just as valid in both designs.

Thanks in advance for your help and insights.

Warm Regards ~ Richard

[jrebman]

Richard,

I'll be sure to let folks know what differences the modded B-200s make.  I suspect that high frequency dispersion is less of an issue in an OB configuration as you are getting a good bit of HF reflection from the backwave, and thus the beaming isn't as noticable.

In all fairness, the B-200 beams much less than one would think for an 8-inch single driver, especially given that it doesn't have a whizzer, which is testament to a very sophisticated and well considered design, but the fact is, at least in my room and setup, there are HF hot spots and a relatively small sweet spot.  I say relatively because it is actually dsomewhat wider than my Abbys with the Fostex FE-166e's with the smaller diameter cone and whizzer (which will also be getting a phase plug treatmeant as well.)

It will be an interesting experiment if nothing else.  I also asked Dave to make my plugs out of either maple or spruce and finish them in natural wood with no stain or paint, and he reports that they look incredible, and his wife said they are the best looking ones he ever made, so in the Revolutions with the quartered maple baffle and Italian Red Gloss sides, and the whole thing sitting on a 4" thick solid maple platform with big Mapleshade brass footers both under the platform, and between it and the speaker, the whole thing should look, as well as sound, pretty nice.

And just to add to the picture -- for at least a while, the speakers will be driven by the Music Reference EM7 amp.

-- Jim

[rajacat]

I hope you post some photos when your  Revolutions are complete!

Raj

[jrebman]

I hope you post some photos when your  Revolutions are complete!

Raj

Rajm,

I will certainly do that, but unless I can find somebody to take the picture I won't guarantee that it will look very good .


-- Jim

[-Richard-]

Hi Jim ~

Your insights are correct.... at least in my limited experience.

The OB application of the B200's does allow for far better HF dispersion then the
application I heard of Louis's first forays into employing the B200's into cabinets.

Of course the sheer amount of detail and instrumental specificity in the sound space was
clearly more precise with the B200 in cabinets. The tonal saturation was not as effective
however, as the OB application.

Cabinets create problems... the speaker designer generally must work-around those
problems to mitigate the anomalies that cabinets create. Here is where art and some
science must converge convincingly.

David's comments about the B200's HF resolution being a very narrow area of resolution...
"like having to sit with ones head in a vice" does not match my own experience. It is my
impression that his experience was with the B200 in an OB application.

The particular design of the OB baffles that were used for his listening sessions
may be playing a role in his perception here.

I suspect his room might also be affecting his sense of a limitation.

In my experience... using the B200 in several rooms in several different houses under
varying room material densities and all the rest of it... the B200 always performed with
remarkable tonal saturation... including excellent upper frequency dispersion characteristics.

You are obviously a highly articulate and well-seasoned listener, Jim. And I await your
impressions with great interest. Perhaps I will be having a date with David's phase
plugs before long... that is if I can ever bring myself to let go of my B200's long enough
to let him practice his surgical skills.

Warm Regards ~ Richard

[jrebman]

Richard,

Looks like my B-200s shipped from Canada on the 5th, so maybe I'll have them late next week, or the week after depending on the vagaries of Canada Post.

Now all I need is some kind of source in my office system .

Louis, as Vinnie told us, there will still be some kind of Hemp driver for the Revolutions.  Can you tell us more?  I'm mostly interested in what your best guess is on the timing, and as well what the impedance and sensitivity of the driver will be, and what you figure the final resultant efficiency in the cabinet will be.  Any info appreciated.

Thanks,

Jim

[-Richard-]

Thanks for staying in touch, Jim... I am very interested in reading your feedback
about what you are hearing when your B200's come home from surgery.

I hear those Canadian surgeons are quite good!!!!

Warmest Regards ~ Richard

[Louis O]

Hi Richard and Jim,

I would like to thank Vinnie for his post about the drivers and the situation regarding the Revolutions.

He was spot on in regard to being all hemp in the future. I do have the 2 test drivers and tried them in the revolution cabinets and they are a big improvement.

Timing wise I'm looking to have them available after the summer. It's very expensive to do and I have to put in an order for large quantity.

Things have changed a little and now they are an 8-ohm driver and 94dB sensitive. The motor and suspension is totally different than the MQ8LB.

Thanks again,
Louis

[jrebman]

Louis,

Many thanks for taking the time to respond -- I know you're very busy these days.

Good news, and I guess your predicted timing will allow me to become intimately familiar with my B-200s before it's time to make the swap.  That's a good thing, BTW -- just so you don't misinterpret.

Richard, as I said, I'm looking forward to this too but my limited resources have been going into my other system (a new tube pre in front of the Sig 70s) so the system in my office is a bit incomplete at the moment.  I will of course bring down the CDP from upstairs just to have a quick listen, but something more permanent will have to wait a little longer -- and by then my Scott amp should be back from its rebuild (and I now have a very nice collection of primo tubes for it for when it does come back.)  I'll probably also be starting a DIY, slightly modernized ST-35 clone for this system in a few months time.

-- Jim

[-Richard-]

Hi Jim ~

What tube preamp are you working with for your Signature 70's?
and what criteria did you use in selecting your preamp?

Can you describe what you are hearing that is different from the
built-in preamplifier? Also what kind of music are you listening to?

One more question: did you audition more than one preamp before you
made your decision?

Thanks for your feedback, Jim.

Warm Regards ~ Richard

[jrebman]

Richard,

Well, the tube preamp is supposed to arrive today, so I don't have any listening reports for you yet .  The criteria?  Best possible sonics at a reasonable price -- quiet, dynamic, good tube dimensionality and "magic" without tube "bloat", excessive warmth, flabby bass, and rolled off highs.  It also had to fit physically in my system's limited space, and that narrowed the choices considerably.  I bought, and had modded, an Eastern Minimax preamp, and did so mostly because a number of things about it appealed to me sonically, plus I could afford it and it easily fit in the physical space I have for it.  The basic, earlier units got some nice reviews, both in the professiional audio press and from many users here on AC as well as other forums.  This is the second (or possibly third) generation of the preamp which improved many things over the original, plus then was modded fairly significantly to take it to another level entirely.

Bill at Morning Star Audio gave me the name of a very experienced audiophile who had a Sig 30 and a pair of MaxHemps and had been looking for the same tube flavoring for his setup and eventually found this modded EE preamp and preferred it to a $7,000 Levinson, and further, though it was the best preamp bang for the buck he's ever encountered.

Don't worry, I will go into this in more detail -- though probably in a more appropriate forum -- once I have some time with the new setup.

Thanks for asking,

Jim