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 10 responses by gmood1

I agree with you guys on the Omegas..After all I own a pair as well. The Omegas are my prefered speakers at the present time. I can't wait to drop in a pair of 8 inch Hemp drivers. Hopefully in a couple of months they will come available for sale.
Yeap Joey..fostex based speakers would be the perfect speakers for the nonbelievers in the breakin theory. If you can't hear the difference in these speakers after the first initial 100 hrs. You need to seriously look into a new hobby! :-)

Good luck and have fun !
Rene it's a little unfair to compare these two models. The Super 3R is a bookshelf and the Abbys are floorstanders.There's no doubt about it. The Abbys are definitely easier to drive. They also throw a much larger soundstage and the bass is much deeper. Don't get me wrong the Omega 3Rs are very nice in a small room. I listened to the Abbys on Grommes monoblocks . I believe these amplifiers are 55 wpc if I'm not mistaken. It sounded better on them than the ASL Orchid 2a3 3.5 wpc. The Orchid could just barely get the Omega 3's up to a decent volume.
It sounded strained the entire time we listened to them.

Room placement isn't that big of deal with these speakers as Rich has pointed out.
Just give them atleast 6 1/2 feet apart and a few feet off the rear wall..they will be happy.Since this model uses the whizzer cone..you can tow them in to cross in front of you, without losing soundstage depth or width.

The speakers can sound very warm and rich..it depends on the equipment you put in front of them. The Abbys are much richer sounding than the Omega 3s..I'm sure the extended bass has something to do with this.The 6moons review nailed every thing I heard with the Abbys. The review is correct..if you add a subwoofer, the placement becomes even less of an issue.

I didn't see the need to even consider the larger Ben model. With a sub or even better two the Abby makes this $5500 speaker sound pretty bad!
Here's another option..and you can save some money if you want to. Bob Brines can build you a custom pair the way you want it for a base price of $850. Click on the link FT-1600 MkII .
Hi Joey I use Omega Grande 8's in custom cabinets. They are slightly larger than the normal versions.You can expect 100 hrs before they start to really open up.
The fostex drivers will improve well past 200 hrs.These speakers are like fine wine they only improve with time.

When you first fire them up. Expect the top end to be closed in. Also their going to be a little grainy. Each speaker will stick out like sore thumbs.What I mean by that is the sound won't be seamless between the two speakers.You will hear two separate speakers from the start. Once you get some time on them you will notice they start to blend together, until it is a seamless sound.
The really good stuff doesn't show till past 100 hrs of use.
I've said this several times before. If you really want to hear these speakers shine. Pair them up with sealed stereo subs.
That's if your room is large enough. I've had fullrange floorstanders and large Magnepans along with some other speakers. My former floorstanders which retailed for $3200 , cannot compete with the Omega speakers paired with powered sealed subwoofers.Everything just seems more controled and open but delicate. I'm getting some serious dynamics with a 6 wpc battery powered integrated. Since the amplifier doesn't pull heavy bass duty. It gives the midrange and highs and effortless sound.

The subs add a foundation to the music. You feel and hear those spacial ques in the music. I like the fact I still have tight well controled bass even at very low listening levels. Most passive floorstanders lose their bass at low volumes. At 60 db I still feel the kick of the drums without that bass overhang.
Rene I use two Adire Ravas. My room isn't huge at all. 25x14 ft with a 10 ft vaulted ceiling. I have my speakers on the long wall roughly 7 ft apart. My subs are a few inches behind the speakers just to the right and left of the speaker stands. I sit 9 feet back and can't distinguish where the subs are in the room with my hearing.

Louis actually recommends the CSS CLARUS subs and the Adire Ravas with his speakers. Don't be caught up in the low price thing . These subs are true audiophile quality sounding units.If they weren't I would have sent the first one back and never considered a second unit. They are also dead quiet no humming. This is my pet peave !
Most think two subs or more in a room is overkill.
But the part they don't understand is running each sub off a different channel gives you low frequency presence in the music not boom and rumble.Looks like the 6moons reviewer on the Abbys has figured this out. He mentions it in the review.

If I ran these units both in mono it would probable give me a headache with too much bass. That's ok for movies though. :-)

If you notice the CSS CLARUS sub is actually an Adire based unit. The drivers come from Adire as well as the amplifier. Two of these units run in stereo would be nice with the FR speakers.

I use the 206E driver in my Omegas. They are more forward than the smaller drivers. They also beam more. But the key is tow in. Unlike multi driver speakers that really collapse when towed in too far. This speaker thrives on a severe tow in. You can actually bring the soundstage out infront of the speakers. Just by towing them out. The more your tow them in the further back the soundstage gets. The crazy thing is the soundstage width doesn't change at all.
The soundstage width is just as wide if you have them crossing behind you or crossing infront of you.

Changing drivers out in these types of speakers is a snap. Just undue the connections on the drivers and drop in another pair. You can go as far as changing to a different kind of driver to change the tonality of the speaker.

Tubes are terrific on these speakers. But I prefer my Clari T amp with dual sub outputs instead. It's got dynamics that no low wattage tube amplifier that I've heard can produce. The quieter the amplifier the better these speakers sound IMHO. I can tell you it doesn't get much quieter than using a battery powered amplifier. The ClariT also doesn't sound like a solid state amplifier either. Too me it falls down the middle between tubes and solid state. Louis at Omega liked it so much over his reference $2000 SS amplifier. He and Vinnie have teamed up on an amplifier called the Lotus. From what I gather so far it's basically a ClariT in a pimped out chassis with different binding post and a voltage meter.
Miklorsmith
You seem very excited about the Druids. How about post a link for them. Maybe one day I will get a chance to hear some.At the moment for my musical taste I'm content with Fostex/Sub combo.But who knows there's always tomorrow! LOL
Since your also a ClariT owner..your alright with me! :-)

I'm looking forward to the Omega Hemp drop in drivers at the moment.
Miklorsmith
Those look impressive..I bet they will rock out!
That tweeter reminds me of the Fostex Super tweeter. My BC Acousitique center channel uses one.By the way the BC Acousitiques are great matches with Fostex speakers.
Well.. good for you restock..I'm glad to see the combo working out for you. That sealed sub really makes a difference doesn't it! Imagine what two of your subs configured in stereo will sound like..it makes a big difference.

Enjoy!