Omega single driver speakers


Has always been using speakers with multiple drivers and like sonic signature of Sonus Faber, Harbeth and etc, I started wondering whether I should try single driver, crossover-less speakers such as Omega CAM in my second system.
 
This is for chamber music, piano solo, and vocal (popular) in a medium sized room (16 x 40) with a low output tube amplifier. The speakers will be placed alongside the long wall, about 10-12 feet from my sitting position.

Any feedback on Omega, especially CAM? Thin or full sounding? Bass enough? High freq beaming or satisfactory? Warnings and recommendations (including other brands) are welcomed.
ffzz
It's all going to depend on your personal preferences, the size of your room and your listening style.

16x40 is a pretty big room.  Unless you sit and listen nearfield, I'm not sure that a single driver speaker is your best option.  Even though you'll be 10-12 feet away, I'm just not sure what kind of overall volume you'll get as that big room will just absorb so much of the sound.  For me, the real strengths of single drivers aren't realized unless you are in an intimate setting.

Sonus Faber and Harbeth are kind of on the other side of the spectrum from the single driver sound.  I actually migrated from Harbeths to Omegas and yes, the Omegas (depending on the model) will sound thinner.  Interestingly enough, I'd kept my Harbeths for awhile while I had my Omegas.  Whenever I'd go from the Omegas to the Harbeths I had a hard time.  The Harbeths sounded really thick and slow and syrupy.  It'd take a day or two for my ears to adjust to the difference in sound and then they'd be okay.  Going from the Harbeths to the Omegas was much easier on my ears and my brain adjusted much faster.

If you had a chance to hear them...especially in your system...that'd be way more valuable than anything anyone can say.  I know I never would have fallen for single drivers unless I'd been able to extensively audition them as I'd never thought they would satisfy me.
I received lots of good advice on a thread I posted, "Tekton or Omega." I called Louis the designer to get the real dope and we spoke for a while. The single driver speakers are fast, transparent, and detailed.
I listen mainly to classical and he said for complex music one of his 2-driver speakers would be better. No crossover, just 2 drivers which can reproduce the same frequency spectrum more clearly and at higher SPL’s.
Nice guy, give him a call. He offers an in-home trial.
Thanks both for the feedback.

Would you charaterize Omega sound as forward or recessed (as if the singer/performer is behind the line of speakers)? 


fizz - first to answer your question: to my ears my Omegas sound very slightly forward in my 11 x 20 room.

In any case, I've owned a pair of Omega Hemptones since 2005 and listen to them daily.  They're hooked up to my PrimaLuna integrated, and source material is played thru a Rega P9/Ortofon Jubilee; PrimaLuna  Classic CD player; Nakamichi DR-10 cassette deck; and a small Grace internet tuner.

I absolutely love the speakers and have no desire to upgrade.  One slight caveat - don't know anything about the model you're considering, but the Hemptones sounded pretty poor for the first 50 hours, opened up nicely after about 100 hours, and absolutely sung after 200 hours. Louis O. advised me that this would be the case, so I gave the speakers the time needed to break in and have been happy ever since.
@fizz, although I haven’t heard them, Louis told me they are not a laid-back speaker. That’s why I didn’t give them a try. For classical, I want a presentation that puts me mid-way back in the concert hall.
They seem to be a forward sounding speaker with very good imaging. That’s all I can tell you.

This is what he recommended for classical...
https://omegaloudspeakers.com/collections/tower-speakers/products/super-3-high-output-xrs?variant=34...

This one for a large room with less complex music...
https://omegaloudspeakers.com/collections/tower-speakers/products/super-8xrs?variant=38555364748

If you look thru my thread about Omega, you'll find that people love the speakers.

Fizz, I would recommend the High Output Alnico,omega speakers , very good speakers,Call Louis, I own the RS8 and the 3i, 
There are advantages and disadvantages to coincident speakers - basically locating your tweeter in the middle of your bass driver.  It certainly isn't a new idea - Tannoy did it and called it 'dual-concentric' many years ago (1940s).

The only way you are going to find out if they suit you is to try them out in your room against an alternative.
Not about Omega particularly, but I think single-driver speakers are more about what you don't get.  You don't get amplifier clipping, crossover distortion and time smear and stuff like that.  I think it's something you either appreciate or you don't.  I have a pair of Fritz 4.5" Fostex speakers that I think are just great for what they do.  But I also think they work best with low-powered tube amps, but that's me.  You should definitely try a pair and see if they have what you like.  My speakers now are too big to move around, but when I had my monitors, I used to switch them up with the Fritz every once and a while and it was really fun.  
I have a pair of omega super Alnico monitors and I absolutely love them. 

Maybe it’s the crossover less design that lets them flow effortlessly.  I added a sub and it is perfect. My Eml 45 mesh tubes sound spectacular. 

Even streaming tidal mqa from dcs bridge is incredible. 
Ffzz , what sub did you add.I have omega 3xrs and was thinking of adding a sub but wasn’t sure if I should get a rel 7i or a less expensive sub such as a rhythmic or speed woofer 10 s would do. 
I certainly would not. 38 hz to 20kHz? my back side. Bass is very disruptive to higher frequencies. It will cause distortion particularly at higher levels because of the long excursions it takes to produce bass.
In order to limit excursion you have to use a very big driver or many small ones like Bose 901. Even speakers that can easily run full range like big ESLs should have the low bass taken away from them. Next, a driver that size is going to beam high frequencies like crazy. I am all for controlled dispersion but in order to hear anything over about 12 kHz you are going to have to be dead on to each speaker. 
If you really want a single driver speaker you get ESLs and put subwoofers under them. Trying to do it with dynamic drivers is highly problematic more so than using multiple drivers and crossovers.