On a whim I bought a used set of Omega Super Alnico Monitors, 2 years old current production spec. To start I own a set of wonderful Living Voice Avatar 2's recently upgraded all the drivers to the R3 spec. The LV's are wonderful, i was not intending to replace them with the Omegas they were an experiment in full range drivers. I wanted to live with some for a few weeks to see if it was something i would like. I did not have the 18"-20" stands handy so i'm using some 15" concrete foundation blocks not ideal but high mass and solid I also have a lower chair to use. I would definitely get a quality 18" stand if I keep them.
My system; Finale Audio F 3008 FFX 300b integrated with Hashimoto tranys (RCA red Base NOS 6sn7, Japanese NOS Aprex's 12AX7, and Shuguang WE 300b's and Gold Lion 300b's) . Garrard 301, custom plinth in a high mass bamboo, Jelco L750 12" arm, VDH MC 10 and Denon 103 (shibata stylus). I'm running a Ifi Iphono2 and Manley Chinook phono stages. I also stream from Tidal through a mini PC and a modded MSB Dac link3 (yeah that's being upgraded next probably a bluesound vault 2i) All my wires and interconnects are silver; Siltec speaker wires(lol $2800 wires on $2000 speakers woohoo) and AudioNote AnS interconnects.
So what do i think? in short for the money an amazing speaker probably not for everyone but what they do well they do better than many speakers i've heard or owned in the 30+ years of this hobby.
So as many will know the full range drivers have some issues, rolled off top and bottoms and lack of weight.
The Omegas don't really stray far from this. I will say the top end is remarkably detailed and at 53 years old i don't miss the last little bit ( it's really a very little bit) of extension. They do total coherence like only a full range driver can. They are probably the fastest speaker i have ever heard. Even faster then some horns-els's i've listened to ( Le scalas, Quad 57 ). It's rather startling to listen to some passages, I was listening to Pat Metheny the other evening and i just could not get over the detail. On strings you can hear every finger movement like you are there. So over all i really like the top end of the Omegas. The midrange is also very detailed and with that speed the instruments jump out of the mix and are totally separate entities not blended in in anyway. one thing i have noticed is the drum kit seems to be more forward in the mix not hidden in the back. snare drum in particular is right there in the mix with every hit or stroke of the brush completely visible in space. It's a little strange to be honest that much detail in a drum kit is rair (or wrong not sure what but i like it). Sound stage is remarkable they totaly blow my Living Voice’s out the door in this respect and they are not (what i thought) lacking in this area. The sound stage comes out from the speakers and hangs right in the center of the room between you and the speakers. the speakers totally disappear here too so you get this huge very deep and wide soundstage. Did i say sound stage yet yeah that good.
Ok what they don't do: no base bump so at first they sound a little lean. well they are a little lean but that's the trade off i suppose to a fullranger. They tend to lack the weight in the midrange and low end of other multi driver designs but they do an honest 40-45hz in my room (very large space so hard to energise at times) the base is actually quite nice but it is lacking the weight and ultimate low end extension but hay they are stand monitors.
After three weeks i've not had the inclination to switch back to the LV's for Jazz, Blues and softer classic rock. to be honest they do not handle heavy rock well I think a sub would help this emencily. I do not listen to large scale orchestral music so can't comment there. That said I was able to dial in the VTA on my Denon easier than on the LV’s using Led Zeppelin's since I’ve been loving you that track sound wonderful on Vinyl) .
If you have a multi use room with a TV as well in the system i would definitely recommend a sub as they just don't have the weight necessary for movies but i would not say that's the design intent anyway.One thing though the voices in movies stand out much better than other speakers.
Over all i'm very impressed with the Omegas very musical and detailed without being in your face. I found myself digging for more jazz and intimate concerts as they just envelope you in the sound field. Human voices are remarkable by the way think goosebumps. I do think a Sub would help alot with the areas that are lacking like the lower bass and the lower midrange but that might be me just missing the bass boost.
The speakers are a very easy load on my 300b amp but i’m not a concert level listening guy to be honest i’m usually listening around 60-75db from my listening chair maybe up to 85db occasionally but i like my hearing, i like to keep my neighbors friendly too.
Are they better than the 4 times as expensive Living Voice speakers well that’s an argument i’m having with myself right now. The Omegas don’t do everything as well as the LV’s but they do suck you into the music so much more. Maybe i should sell the SAM’s and LV’s and buy the Supper Alnico HO floorstanders. Oh the love of a great hobby.
The Omega SAM’s I would recommend to anyone who has a need for music in their space on a budget and who likes low powered amps (SET for the win here) and what that brings to the mix. Add a sub if you need more base IMO. Great value In my honest opinion. Oh they are quite nice to look at too
As for how they work with my Finale Audio F 3008 fxx, seems flawlessly, tone is good drive is fantastic and there is power to spare. I would say they are very close to the LV’s for SPL at the same volume setting but better able to use the power I think honestly the LV’s could use another 10wpc but i like the 300b too much to give them up. So yeah the $8k amp drives the $2k speakers wonderfully lol. Really i would expect you can get wonderful sound from them from a much more budget conscious system and will grow with that system as you upgrade.
I would like to try a copper wire set on them to see if that flushes out the midrange a bit I just don’t own any copper at the moment.
To close i’m listening to Leonard Cohen’s final album “So you want it darker” and Leonard is right here in my room with me, voice fully fleshed out with all the wonderful deepness and feeling he brings.
