I think that in a review from the omega site the reviewer said that the 3r was a little leaner in the bass and midbass than the abby but less colored. He thought the abby cabinet was the culprit. Speculation to be sure and bias as it was a omega review. If it were an Abby review I am sure that it would have been biased the other way. Also, the real flea power stuff (1-2 watts) will be a little better with the abby than the 3r but both better with at least a few watts. I think Terry Cain said the Abby is great with higher power too.
The 3r is less expensive than the abby and might be logical for a fist step. However, from the looks of things I thing the solid wood cabinet of the abby is top notch and worth the money. I bought the last set of 3r's to come up on Audiogon last week but do not have them yet. Terry Cain only lives a couple of hours from my house and I will eventually get down to his place to listen to his great line. I can't own just one or two sets of speakers as I have so many rooms :)
Good luck, it is my first adventure down the single driver speaker path too. One thing for sure is that the higher efficiency gives a really nice and dynamic speaker.
Stephen
The 3r is less expensive than the abby and might be logical for a fist step. However, from the looks of things I thing the solid wood cabinet of the abby is top notch and worth the money. I bought the last set of 3r's to come up on Audiogon last week but do not have them yet. Terry Cain only lives a couple of hours from my house and I will eventually get down to his place to listen to his great line. I can't own just one or two sets of speakers as I have so many rooms :)
Good luck, it is my first adventure down the single driver speaker path too. One thing for sure is that the higher efficiency gives a really nice and dynamic speaker.
Stephen