Fostex based speakers: Cain Abby or Omega Super3R


It is finally time for me to ask some questions: I am completely stuck on the question of speakers: I am deliberating to wander off into single driver land. Any experiences and comparisons between the Abby's and Super 3's will be very helpful. Room size will be medium to small. Can you please tell me about your experiences with room placement of these speakers? Also, any comparison between the nearfield and the normal version of the Abby’s would be great.

Right now I only have a Jolida 302b tube amp with certainly enough, or even too much power. I am thinking of assembling an SET system around these speakers later down the road (Bottlehead amps, Wright Mono's, etc.). The Abby’s are slightly more efficient (97dB vs. 93dB) and might be easier to drive. Sources are an Audio Aero Prima and a Michell Tecnodec/DL103/Dino.

Thank you very much for your help.

Rene
restock

Showing 1 response by portlandlay

I think that in a review from the omega site the reviewer said that the 3r was a little leaner in the bass and midbass than the abby but less colored. He thought the abby cabinet was the culprit. Speculation to be sure and bias as it was a omega review. If it were an Abby review I am sure that it would have been biased the other way. Also, the real flea power stuff (1-2 watts) will be a little better with the abby than the 3r but both better with at least a few watts. I think Terry Cain said the Abby is great with higher power too.

The 3r is less expensive than the abby and might be logical for a fist step. However, from the looks of things I thing the solid wood cabinet of the abby is top notch and worth the money. I bought the last set of 3r's to come up on Audiogon last week but do not have them yet. Terry Cain only lives a couple of hours from my house and I will eventually get down to his place to listen to his great line. I can't own just one or two sets of speakers as I have so many rooms :)

Good luck, it is my first adventure down the single driver speaker path too. One thing for sure is that the higher efficiency gives a really nice and dynamic speaker.

Stephen