Zu Audio Omen - High Sensitivity, Massive, Full-Range Driver, Cheap, LOL

[Ajani]

I have been trying to decide how to deal with having my front speakers blown by over zealous party guests and have been waffling between just replacing the fronts (Cambridge Soundworks ensemble) or replacing the entire speaker package. The holiday fever seems to be taking hold with me because I recently have read the posts about the Zu Omens. And then seeing their 13 days of Christmas specials really got my juices flowing. The 5 channel package was right up my alley however I figured I should really go all the way so I called Zu and asked about upgrading that package by replacing the Omens with Omen Def as the fronts. This system would be in my living room and would be driven, at least initially, by my existing Marantz SR7000. My interest here is two-pronged: 1) Set up a nice surround system for movies with the family and football and 2) set up a kick ass clean sounding system for music that will properly represent my collection of jazz, fusion, 60's and 70's rock and most importantly, Zappa. From what I have seen posted, this system would be a cost effective way to reach that result. Does anyone have any thoughts that would lead me not to pull the trigger on this? I have seen some great feedback to my other posts in the past and really appreciate everyone's perspective here.

The only question I can ask (as I've yet to audition the Omens) is what is the size of your room? The Definitions will require a very large room...

[Mr Peabody]

One thing you should consider, and I need to do it as well now that you made me think of it, the impedances run higher than normal. The Def is fine at 6 ohms, I need to look up the center and rears but don't have time right now.

[Ajani]

One thing you should consider, and I need to do it as well now that you made me think of it, the impedances run higher than normal. The Def is fine at 6 ohms, I need to look up the center and rears but don't have time right now.

They're both 12 ohm like the standard Omen.

[Mr Peabody]

With the center and rears both being 12 ohms you might want to send an email to Marantz to see how the receiver will react.

I'll have to check to see how the 5125 will react. I'll probably just have the 12 ohm center to worry about. I want to hear the Def before going ahead with the center.

[btbluesky]

Just placed an order for the omen bookshelf. Since I'm planning to use with a subwoofer, it should be fine. can't wait to compare it with the tekton ob6.5en and sierra1NRT upgraded!

[Ajani]

Just placed an order for the omen bookshelf. Since I'm planning to use with a subwoofer, it should be fine. can't wait to compare it with the tekton ob6.5en and sierra1NRT upgraded!

First off:

Welcome to the Forums!!!

Secondly:

Please post your findings when you get to compare the Omen Bookshelf to the Tektons... I'm sure a number of forum members (including myself) would appreciate the comparison.

[Geoffcin]

With the center and rears both being 12 ohms you might want to send an email to Marantz to see how the receiver will react.

I'll have to check to see how the 5125 will react. I'll probably just have the 12 ohm center to worry about. I want to hear the Def before going ahead with the center.

With any receiver, a 12 ohm load will not present a problem. In fact it's going to be dead easy to drive. It will however lower the maximum wattage output somewhat. I assume these speakers are high efficiency types so that will be of little concern.

With an amp that uses an output transformer like a tube amp, or certain SS models (Mac) it's best to match the windings to the closest average resistance to insure maximize power output of the amp. However, you can hook up an 8 ohm or greater speaker to the 4ohm taps without worry, you just will not get as much power. It is NOT recommended to go the other way round, as looking a speaker of low resistance into a higher rated tap can overload the current rating of the transformer.

[Poultrygeist]

Impedance has not been a problem with my Omens. I have used 16 ohm taps on several tube amps ( as recommended by Zu ) and I couldn't discern any difference in power or performance vs 8 ohm taps.

I'm floored that Zu's are considered for HT duty and paired with AV receivers. While Zu rates the Omen's sound as excellent with a receiver, that's shotgun marketing in my opinion. Using this analogy a Lambo would also make an excellent commuter car.

While they do excel with a variety of amps, one must remember that these are very high efficiency, full range, and crossover-less speakers ( with the Omens the super tweet hardly makes them more than just a single driver ). I just don't see their full potential being reached without a good low powered single ended tube amp somewhere in the mix.

[MntnMan62]

Ajani, my living room is pretty large. About 20' by 12'. As for power needed to drive them, Zu has said they are pretty efficient and easy to drive. Peabody, I like your suggestion of contacting Marantz to see how it will react to the speakers. I would love to hear from anyone who has the Omens to to get a feeling for how they like them. With their return policy, trying them out is a pretty safe bet. And my previous experience of buying Silverline Audio Minuets without hearing them turned out great.

[Mr Peabody]

One of the reviews I read, I think of the Essence, mentioned they hold together very well with higher power, remaining clear.

Manufacturers should admit the limits of their product though. I was at an event where the Martin Logan reps were at a store and showing off a new flagship, this was several years ago before they started making amplified speakers, they were telling folks it was alright to run the Logans with a Yamaha receiver. I don't see how in good conscience they could make that statement. Even if the receiver ran them without going into protection a HT receiver certainly isn't going to flatter the speakers.

[YBArcam]

I'm definitely interested in what people think of the Omens. I'm not in the market for another speaker, but one day you know I'll just have to try out something new. I demoed a pair of Monitor Audio RX2 earlier this year, with their 8" driver and rear ported design, and found them too much for my small room. I'd be a bit concerned with the Omen and it's 10" driver, though I gather the Omen doesn't have a port, which should help.

[Poultrygeist]

The Omens have two 7 inch slotted ports on the bottom and that's why they need to be elevated on legs or spikes. I added three inch legs ( lag bolts not screws ) to the front and two inch lag bolts to the rear. This gives a nice backward tilt and achieves the correct angle so the sound is at ear level when it reaches your seated sweet spot.

For critical listening the Omens with one large driver makes sense vs some of Zu's mutiple driver models as two large wide banders in the same cabinet may compete with each other. Doubling up on the big ten inch drivers would be impressive for HT action sound tracks though.

For those who haven't heard wide banders a 4.5 inch Fostex driver can deliver huge room filling sound. Just ask Poppa Chubbs about his horns which use this driver. You can get over 100 dbs SPL's of non distorted sound from the Fostex with only a couple of watts and the Omens 10 inchers have about the same level of efficiency.

My tiny 2.5 wpc MW achieves average listening levels ( low 70 dbs for me ) with the Omens at 12 o'clock on the volume pot in a 14X15 room. That means the Omens can get up to speed with little more than one watt.

[Poultrygeist]

To give an update, the Omens are still improving even after hundreds of hours of playing time.

I now have the Omens elevated two inches in front ( 3 inch lag bolt feet ) and one inch in the rear ( 2 inch lag bolt feet ). Since my floors are hardwoods I had to come up with something to place them on. I tried 12 X 2 inch vinyl wrapped concrete pavers but a better solution was industrial grade ribbed carpet mats from HD. I cut them in 12X12 sections and glued the rubber backing together, doubling their thickness. The carpet ribbing directly beneath the finger ports affects the sound in a positive way plus I can easily move them as they easily slide on the wood floors. The initially boomy bass is nice and tight.

I recently received a replacement Sure Class D ( TK2050 ) for my defective unit from Parts Express and have been thoroughly enjoying this amp driving the Omens with a tubed preamp. The MW is feeling a little neglected at the moment.

I spent last evening visiting a friend in Charlotte and listening to his system. He has some gorgeous Altec monsters driven by $$$$ Mac tube gear and of course I did a mental comparison with my modest system. After leaving I smiled all the way home. :-)

[btbluesky]

Just like to resurrect this thread to say. I LOVE MY OMEN Bookshelf. True it doesn't do anything below 55, but I have a directservo sub for that. Imaging is truly 3D. 3 feets from the rear wall, and the voice is 3D hanging at the wall.
But don't think a SET 8watt is enough. I had a 300B semi-mono 8 watts at first, sounds okay....but once I put a 25w KT88 mono, it's glorious with everything u throw at it.
The 300B is now serving solely for my tekton OB6.5 ....
P.S. I love my wife....

[Mr Peabody]

I finally tried some toe in on my Omen Def's, it provided more bass and a more intimate sound stage. I think this may be one speaker where I prefer the toe in.

[Poultrygeist]

The dynamic range of a live concert is 65-96 db. The Standard Omens will easily reach 96 dbs with just 2 watts per channel. I drive mine with an 8 watt 2a3 amp and can't comfortably go beyond 12 o'clock on the volume control in a 15X15 room.

If you feed the powered sub from a preamp connected to a low powered SET it's possible to dilute the signal causing the SET amp to work harder to amplify the sound. This is often the case when there's a mismatch in gain between the preamp and amp.

[Worf101]

So, are the Zu's the NEW nOrh's or the new Swan Diva's? Is this the new "flavor of the month" for the speaker crowd? Enquiring minds want to know.

Worf

[Ajani]

So, are the Zu's the NEW nOrh's or the new Swan Diva's? Is this the new "flavor of the month" for the speaker crowd? Enquiring minds want to know.

Worf

I haven't heard nOrh mentioned on these forums in a very long time...

Sadly, a lot of the custom order/boutique brands fall into the flavour of the month category.

[Mr Peabody]

Only speaking for myself, they are not the flavor of the month but just what I was looking for to mate with my CJ gear. My Dyn's are excellent but I began to wonder about a speaker that would be more efficient. I played around with some models of Klipsch which got me more interested but just didn't provide the fidelity or refinement I was used to. In other words I liked some of what I heard with the better Klipsch but not willing to sacrifice sound in other areas. I liked what I heard of Harbeth but still not efficient. I tried the Zu and really like what they do, efficient, dynamic and I don't seem to lose detail. The Zu actually seem to have more of a life like presence in the room.

I feel Zu is more of a nitch product. Most of their speakers unless getting the dual driver, are high impedance and designed for tube gear, specifically SET. In my opinion they perform beyond their price in sound quality and in real life they look and feel high quality. Mine are the sangria color. I've received more comments about my Zu than any other speaker I've owned, not sure why, the color, are they unique.... who knows.

[Poultrygeist]

In the past many full range devotees have added, almost as an afterthought, a super tweeter on top of their cabinets to gain a bit of top end sparkle and to capture some of the extreme upper frequencies which are difficult to hear at best. By integrating the super tweeters into their cabinets, Zu has been able to attract more mainstream customers who bought only 2 ways in the past and who wouldn't dare consider a full range crossover-less single driver but in reality they're getting just that. Great marketing strategy I say and glad that so many others can start appreciating the full range sound whether they know it or not.

[Ajani]

Poultry and Mr. P,

I'm just curious about any issues you've had with the Zu's... I realize you both like the speakers, but I'm interested in knowing if there are any problems with the sound, that could be a potential deal breaker (as the the Omens are still on my list of potential speakers).... My options are basically between the Omens and Revel... 2 completely different types of speakers, with very different sound... If I buy the Omens it will have to be without audition and no (practical) return/refund option...

Also what type of amplification do you recommend for the Omens? Would Class D be a good fit or are tubes/SET the only real option?

[Mr Peabody]

Keep in mind the Omen are 12 ohm speakers. The Omen Def having two drivers are at 6 ohms, and more expensive. My Linn 5125 is a digital amp being Class V, I run a Omen center, 12 ohm as well, and it seems to do fine but still no guarantee of good stereo results. I had my Krell hooked up to the Def's and it sounded pretty good although the synergy with Krell definitely went to the Dyn's. It's strange how some high powered amps just don't seem to have synergy with HE speakers. Krell was horrible with Klipsch. I plan at some point to hook my Bryston 3bst up to the Def's just to see how it sounds in my system.

Back on topic, the only potential thing I'd say for some to look out for is the vivid high end. It's not a problem for me in my room and gear, and I think you like that type of sound as well. I got the impression it may have been more of an issue for Adam though.

I would hesitate to give a full recommendation if going to use the XPA-2. Since a return would be difficult. My opinion on Emo, based on equipment I have, they seem to be.... well a positive spin would be "neutral" but another way is not so musical. I don't find the Zu masking anything, they are revealing so the synergy with the XPA-2 could be a bit harsh.

If thinking of building a different system the Zu with the right amp is magic. They are dynamic speakers so I feel they go better with amps that have a "boogie factor" or "pace" which means to me you get the since of rhythm in the music. I don't know if any of this will make sense If not Sean or Adam are good about talking to us who have questions about their product.

[Ajani]

Keep in mind the Omen are 12 ohm speakers. The Omen Def having two drivers are at 6 ohms, and more expensive. My Linn 5125 is a digital amp being Class V, I run a Omen center, 12 ohm as well, and it seems to do fine but still no guarantee of good stereo results. I had my Krell hooked up to the Def's and it sounded pretty good although the synergy with Krell definitely went to the Dyn's. It's strange how some high powered amps just don't seem to have synergy with HE speakers. Krell was horrible with Klipsch. I plan at some point to hook my Bryston 3bst up to the Def's just to see how it sounds in my system.

Back on topic, the only potential thing I'd say for some to look out for is the vivid high end. It's not a problem for me in my room and gear, and I think you like that type of sound as well. I got the impression it may have been more of an issue for Adam though.

I would hesitate to give a full recommendation if going to use the XPA-2. Since a return would be difficult. My opinion on Emo, based on equipment I have, they seem to be.... well a positive spin would be "neutral" but another way is not so musical. I don't find the Zu masking anything, they are revealing so the synergy with the XPA-2 could be a bit harsh.

If thinking of building a different system the Zu with the right amp is magic. They are dynamic speakers so I feel they go better with amps that have a "boogie factor" or "pace" which means to me you get the since of rhythm in the music. I don't know if any of this will make sense If not Sean or Adam are good about talking to us who have questions about their product.

The amp would be a real issue, since I have no desire to mess around with several options to find a good fit...

[Poultrygeist]

To get the best resolution from high efficiency speakers one needs a low powered single ended tube amp. I've tried the Omens with lots of amps, push pulls, solid states and class d's but the best have always been the single ended triodes.

I love the boisterous and meaty sound of the Omens compared to the other more refined but thinner sounding full rangers in my collection. The bass of the Omens must be tamed for hardwood floors as it's too full and relective due to those bottom finger ports. Once you elevate them, tilt them backward and and pad the floor the bass tightens right up. The Omens are very sensitive to positioning. They can get boomy in corners and prefer to be pulled out into the room with some toe in. But after 6 months I still fiddle around with placement.

[Ajani]

To get the best resolution from high efficiency speakers one needs a low powered single ended tube amp. I've tried the Omens with lots of amps, push pulls, solid states and class d's but the best have always been the single ended triodes.

I love the boisterous and meaty sound of the Omens compared to the other more refined but thinner sounding full rangers in my collection. The bass of the Omens must be tamed for hardwood floors as it's too full and relective due to those bottom finger ports. Once you elevate them, tilt them backward and and pad the floor the bass tightens right up. The Omens are very sensitive to positioning. They can get boomy in corners and prefer to be pulled out into the room with some toe in. But after 6 months I still fiddle around with placement.

Just a few quick questions:

1) Are there any SET's you recommend, in the sub $1K price range, for use with the Omens? (Was the Miniwatt up the job or was it not something you'd recommend as a long term solution?)

2) Do you have any other comparable size full rangers in your collection? If so, it might be possible that something like say the Tekton Lore could give a similar meaty presentation yet still retain the refinement...