Why no love for omni designs?

[Melvin]

I’ve been wondering about this lately. As audiophiles and music lovers we continually seek the holy grail for our listening environments. For me this means a tonally accurate and convincing soundstage in my living room. I want a piano to sound like a piano, a saxophone to sound like a saxaphone, etc. I’ve listened to enough live music in the course of my 55 years to have a good idea what I would like to hear in my home. Over the years I’ve heard plenty of gear and on my budget I’ve managed to put together what I would consider a nice sounding entry-level audiophile system. Naturally, I’ve tried and still own, several types of loudspeakers which I rotate in and out of my system. Currently I have Magnepan MMGs, Mark & Daniel Rubys, and Ohm Acoustics MicroWalsh Talls. I honestly enjoy each of these fine speakers. Each have strengths and weaknesses of course and each represent a very different design and price point (all are below $2000).

 

Obviously there are manufacturers who produce well-respected omni designs priced in the stratosphere (MBL comes to mind), but there are others in the much more affordable category so many of us live in, namely, Shahinian Acoustics, Duevel, Ohm Acoustics, and Mirage. I’m curious as to why many audiophile shy away from them.

 

For me, I find the omni presentation very enjoyable. The soundstage is wide, deep, and well focused (contrary to belief by some). When friends come over we don’t have to listen to music shoulder to shoulder to really enjoy it because of a small sweet spot. In fact we can lounge most anywhere in the room and it still sounds great. So for as much as I love my little monitors and my panel speakers they simply can’t accomplish this with the same believability.

 

Perhaps it’s simply a matter of preference or the latest trend in loudspeakers which guides most of us in our choices, yet I still wonder after 8 years of omni ownership why more audiophiles seem to have so little love for them. Just curious I guess. What do you think?

[mayhem13]

That's actually an easy question to answer if you think about it.......

 

The human mounth, amplified instruments, horns, woodwinds, and most others are point source, and as such point source systems often win out in reproducing these sounds with an accurate representation of the original. recording tecniques also favor point source reproduction. A stage performance, which most are, is anything but omni in it's radiation patterns UNLESS you consider the ambience of the space. That ambience or those acoustic properties are not standard by any means, so an ominidirectional speaker WILL NOT be accurate to such performances on a consistent basis, and most likely not ever. As for studio albums, again same theoram applies.

 

Now if you have any personal experience with omni's, you already know the lsitening spot is pretty close to the speakers in a triangle....in the near center of the space, where the fundamental will always overpower any reflected energy. This arrangement isn't always practical or desirable and in such not many mfgrs are working with designs for such a niche marketplace. The DIY community is where all the headway is being made with designs and thinking, but it's still a fraction of the point source market.

 

IMO, open baffle or dipole speakers do a much better job in a typical listening environment than any Omni design. You get the accuracy of the point source, and if well designed a fairly good representation of space IF and only IF both the system and placement are well conceived. Again, you don't see a lot of commercial dipoles as they need room to breathe whoch often defies practicallity.

[Donnie]

I had to join this forum just to answer this question.

Melvin, you need to look at Decware/ Turning Point Audio's HR-1's. Radial plus point source.

I listened to these last year and am currently trying to charge up my bank account enought to buy some.

It is hard to describe how good that these sound.

[Melvin]

The human mounth, amplified instruments, horns, woodwinds, and most others are point source, and as such point source systems often win out in reproducing these sounds with an accurate representation of the original. recording tecniques also favor point source reproduction. A stage performance, which most are, is anything but omni in it's radiation patterns UNLESS you consider the ambience of the space. That ambience or those acoustic properties are not standard by any means, so an ominidirectional speaker WILL NOT be accurate to such performances on a consistent basis, and most likely not ever. As for studio albums, again same theoram applies.

 

Now if you have any personal experience with omni's, you already know the lsitening spot is pretty close to the speakers in a triangle....in the near center of the space, where the fundamental will always overpower any reflected energy. This arrangement isn't always practical or desirable and in such not many mfgrs are working with designs for such a niche marketplace. The DIY community is where all the headway is being made with designs and thinking, but it's still a fraction of the point source market.

 

I imagine this is why most omni designs are not true omni. Ohm's design, for example, uses a super tweeter and dampening material at the back of the driver to block early reflections (I believe). Decware's new design, as Donnie pointed out, is a quasi-omni as well.

[Melvin]

I had to join this forum just to answer this question.

Melvin, you need to look at Decware/ Turning Point Audio's HR-1's. Radial plus point source.

I listened to these last year and am currently trying to charge up my bank account enought to buy some.

It is hard to describe how good that these sound.

 

Thanks Donnie .. and welcome to CA. I was aware of the older discontinued Radials but didn't realize they were working on another. I'd love to hear them. Interesting company.

[shadow ewe]

Maybe you should have a listen to the Deuvel Planets, not mega $$$ but very easy on the ear. I have a friend who used them in a 7.1 surround sound system and movies were very enjoyable.