[el dub]

Fed-Ex dude delivered a nice surprise today in bentley finish. While I don't have the second room wired yet, I couldn't resist replacing the silverline/sunfire combo with the new omega set up with a RWA 30.2 integrated and Cary CD.

Right out of the box, I'm digging the alnico/single drivers matched with the deep hemp cube. Clarity is amazing. The magic seems to emanate from the mid's as the musicians appear to occupy the room. 

Gaudi + Nusrat Fateeh Ali Khan  - Dub Qawwali - proved the combo in question has an decent bottom end and fantastic realism.

Music From the Motion Picture, "Once," showcases the intimacy of female vocals on a single driver system.

And Jimi Hendrix Live at Berkeley CA 5-30-70 proved the combo could just plain tear the house down...

Thanks, Louis.

scott

lw   

[opnly bafld]

Do the 6" drivers have a whizzer?

The real LW,
Lin

[el dub]

Yes there is a wizzer.

The real laughingwillow..... 

lw

[rajacat]

Some photos please!

-Roy

[fiveoclockfriday]

I may just be out of the loop, but what's the Super 6? I just recently bought a used pair of Super 5s (hemp, but not AlNico). I'm curious as to how much of an improvement that would be.

-Eric

[almonduck]

Did I miss something?  I didn't know the Super 6 (which I assume are the 6.5 Alnicos) were available.

[el dub]

The super 6 is now available with 6.5" ALNICOs. I'm guessing we scored one of the first pair. 

No means of taking pics at the moment. The old nikon digital wasn't shooting well last time I tried to use it.

lw

[aphid_2008]

I've been lurking here on AC, and gathered a lot of information--perhaps it's time for me to provide some. 

My Omega Super 6 XRS Alnico speakers arrived yesterday. I've taken some hasty pix, and posted in my AC gallery for those interested: http://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?action=gallery;area=browse;album=1526

BTW, the finish on mine is "Karelian Birch," a veneer Louis found in response to my request. Notice also that Louis graciously used brass screws, as discussed in another thread: http://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=56606.0

As my new DNM Reson speaker cables have yet to arrive, I haven't even hooked them up for a preliminary--and long-awaited--listen. I'll post more as things come together.

Cheers.

[el dub]

I had a little time this afternoon to mess with our set up and the results have blown me away....

Anyway, a few months ago a new RWA 30.2 integrated showed up at our door and I replaced a manley stingray with the 30.2. The sonic improvement was immediately evident to me, giving the silverline 15's more slam and detail. When the Omegas' arrived I simply replaced the silverlines/sunfire for the alnico's and deep hemp cube. Easy enough, but after a little listening to well known recordings I wasn't real impressed. We seemed to lose some slam and high end detail and gain a few manners in the process.

Today I hooked the omega's up to the manley and have been pleasantly surprised. The detail and bass are back as well as some nebulous tube magic which is more evident with the omegas than two-way silverlines. I had been afraid that the rwa would jade me from enjoying the manley, and that the stingray couldn't hold its own with the 30.2. But I was wrong. When the smoke clears, the rwa will power the silverlines and the manley will take care of the omegas in the kitchen. Just as I had planned. Yeah, I saw that one coming. hahaha

Btw, I'm guessing break in of the omega's might have something to do with the sonic improvements, but the difference with the manley (in triode mode) was immediately noticeable.

lw

[ikakenewa]

I've been talking to LC lately about these and it seems inevitable that I move up from my XRS's, as much as I love them.

I've got a serious case of the upgrades right now and these pics certainly aren't calming my nerves any.

el dub, any listening notes you could give would be appreciated. I am particularly interested to hear how the 6.5s handle high mids and trebs.

I've had the opportunity to listen to both the biga$$ maggies and Gallo Ref 3.1s lately. Both are wonderful speakers and both have that wild planar 3d soundstage (less so in the case of the Gallos, natch) and at first it's intoxicating. But then I recognized, partic with the Gallos, that the high end was far more constricted and less lively than my XRS's--percussion I grew used to hearing on Nick Cave's latest (Dig Lazarus Dig!!!) was totally lost on the Gallos...the front end of the system wasn't that great but still. The Mags suffered from this same tonal flatness. I mean, both of these speakers are awesome but their faults really made me miss my XRS's, that visceral and incredibly lively presence. I recognize, yet again, how special the relationship is between a single driver fan and their Omegas (aawwww!) sort of like my cranky bike friends who insist on riding fixed gear bikes!

[el dub]

I know I might get some jeers for this, but the high end on the omegas sounded more rolled-off with the rwa than with the tubed manley. And the silverlines sound more detailed and alive with the rwa.    To my ears, there is mucho tube magic between the manley and omegas. The highs also seem to be more up front or at least more balanced with the manley. But the rwa provides more detail to the silverlines, imo.

One factor might be sensitivity. The silverlines are rated at 90 and the omegas 92 or 93. The twenty watts of push pull triode seem to match better with the more sensitive single driver and the 30 watts from rwa provide more oomph to the less sensitive silverline two-ways.

As I've yet to listen to the super 6's without the deep hemp cube, I can't really comment on their bass. With the cube, the bass seems adequate so far. (I've grown used to hearing the little sunfire eq cube shake the foundation.) When all is said and done, one room will be voiced toward the acoustic side and the other for the deep reggae groove and the bass guitar of Phil Lesh. But they will all be connected and should bring down the house when the time is right.   

[Louis O]

Hi everyone,

I got a lot of splaining to do.

I have been going through a lot behind the scenes with the new drivers and it was taking up so much time getting it all straightened out. The last issue revolved around paint of all things and I got everything under control.

The first pairs did go out and so happy they made it to Scott and aphid_2008. I'm very happy with the new drivers and finally got my 6.5" back. It's been a long time since the Grande 6s.

These are all alnico and I tried real hard and succeeded in getting them built for less than the 8" alnico. It will show in the prices. They are not anywhere close in retail price. It was a big deal for me and stuck to it. I had to get a lot made, but I believe in this driver as much as the others and glad it happened.

The 6.5" will be in two versions.

The Super 6 Alnico and the Super 6 XRS alnico. I want to go with 2 versions of the each driver in a bookshelf and also a XRS style floorstander.

The XRS version is two for one as they are vented and sealed. This is the reason for the foam ball. You have a lot of placement freedom with them. In Vented they will go down to F6 @38Hz.

Both are 93dB and a very easy load.

Many thanks to aphid_2008 for sharing the pics and I will have more posted in more finishes. aphid_2008 XRS's do have options. The veneer is one and this one really looks great and the binding posts are Mundorf. I find these to be the best, but they are pricey. I would be happy to use them if anybody wants them.

I will post pics of the driver front and back and right now it's great to have the 6.5" alnico all set.

I will have the AC discount in full force for about a month.

Hi Scott,

Break in is pretty big and I heard a lot of what you mentioned. I had your speakers hooked up to a leben with el84 mullards and man it knocked me out. This combo rips and the speakers were green. The break in is a lot like the 8" alnico and nothing worse. The suspensions are not quite as stiff so it may be a few hours less. Also the hemp fiber settles in to where it likes and that's when it's in the groove. It's totally pure hemp with nothing else.


Prices and the special next.

Thanks,
Louis

[el dub]

I'm running JJ's at present, but plan on upgrading to the Mullards.

Louis: Speaking of foam balls and brass screws... Those were the only items missing from my wish list on the super 6's.    However, I'm sure you will rectify that given the opportunity, eh?   

Anyway, thanks again for a kick-arse set up that is delivering tubed magic right out of the box. 

(What could be more appropriate than a thumping version of Peter Tosh's "Legalize It!")

lw

[DaveC113]

el dub, I've tried my 4" driver XRS with a few amps. I got my Tubelab Simple SE amp (new JJ ecc99 driving 6550s in triode mode) done a couple month ago, and it is BY FAR the best amp I have used with the XRS. With the other amps, things were good, but the SET amp just makes the speakers disappear, and the tone is amazing. I did spend $6-700 just on parts for this amp, so its not really a fair comparison, but I will try it with JRebman's Sig 30.2 pretty soon, which should be a more even test.  aa

Dave

[el dub]

We're maybe 25 hours into break-in. I couldn't be happier.

Today I switched the stingray over to ultralinear and am surprised by the difference. The 40 watts u/l make for a considerably more dynamic sound with the Omegas than the 20 watts triode, maybe coaxing a little more from the top end as well. I could never tell that much difference between the two modes with the silverline speakers. If anything, the u/l setting made the silverlines sound a little more brittle, imo. But there wasn't much difference in dynamics between the two functions with the silverlines. Anyway, I'm sticking with ultralinear for the time being. The Omegas seem to like the extra juice. 

Thanks again, Louis.

scott

[el dub]

Really starting to dig the reggae sound through the omegas. Full, deep, smooth and fast.

lw

[el dub]

I did a little A/B'ing with a friend the other day between triode and ultralinear...

For the most part we both preferred triode mode over u/l when played through the Omegas. We have a few recordings that do sound fuller and more dynamic in u/l, but the open and airy approach of the stingray in triode was generally more pleasing. Some of what we listened to sounded overly focused and compressed in u/l mode.

lw

[DaveC113]

I initially thought UL was better for some music, but I rarely use it anymore unless I'm planning on really cranking the volume. Triode sounds more natural to me.... CFB was also a bad idea, I never use it... I'm going to re-wire it w/o cfb, but I now have a switch in the chassis I have no use for. 

Dave

[el dub]

What's cfb? 

lw

[DaveC113]

sorry, Cathode FeedBack....