I have an update on the Omen vs. Lore thing.
If you guys go back over my posts in this thread youll read that last year I received a pair of Tekton Katz Meow V1. My first full rangers and I loved them, still do. In December I received a pair of Zu Omens. Love them too. I could easily live with either pair. I received* a pair of Lores about a week ago and after breaking them in I compared them to my Omens.
In my small room (12 x 13) with my 2A3 SET, I played a variety of music on both speakers. There was plenty of bass from both (not unusual in my small room), but the bass from the Lores sounded tighter and a little more tuneful. It was easier to follow bass lines in songs, the notes were more distinct. Also on the Omens, at times it seemed as if the bass was wandering into the midrange and interfered with the clarity of vocals in particular. The Omens sounded very full, but not quite as clear as the Lores. When I played complex music loud, the Lores held together and gave a real solid presentation, they were fun to listen to. They seemed to be an easier load for my amp.
Last night I brought the Omens and the Lores to a friends house (oh, my back!) that has a bigger room at about 18 x 14 or so. We first hooked the Lores up to his tube preamp and Carver amp (400+ watts into 8 ohms or something ridiculous). It was not a good match, so after a couple of songs we decided to swap in a 100 watt EL34 beast. Much much better. We played a bunch of music and took mental notes. We swapped the Omens in and played the same music. A lot of my notes from my small room applied here as well. The difference in bass was more noticeable in the larger room, with the Omens able to fill the space a little better. But as in my room, the bass on the Lores was tighter and also more musical. Also, I suspect because we were playing louder to fill the larger room, the differences in cabinets became more apparent. Vocals on the Omens were not as smooth as the Lores. For example Norah Jones sounded silky smooth on the Lores, but not on the Omens.
All in all I am very impressed with the Lores. I tried to give each speaker a fair shake and put them in different systems, rooms, and playing different music. Myself and my 2 audio friends all had pretty much the same impressions. We all liked both speakers but there were a few things the Lores did that we liked a little better.
*In the interest of full disclosure - Eric heard that I had Katz and Omens and that I liked them both, and asked me if he could send me a pair of Lores because he was curious to get my impressions of both speakers. He said that after I broke them in and compared, I would send them back or if I wanted I could buy them at market value (this pair is B Stock due to a small blemish on the top of one speaker).
