Zu Superfly Mk1-B vs Zu Omen Def Mk1-B?


Hi

Anyone have thoughts on superfly Mk 1-B vs Omen Def Mk 1-B?

With new driver, they say Omen Def 1-B now has sensitivity of 100 db/W -- which is close to superfly Mk 1-B (101).

In past, I would get superfly as sensitivity is very important, but now with this new Omen Def I am no longer sure what the difference is. Also, if new driver is so much more sensitive, why is superfly sensitivity unchanged?

I have well loaded dual subs, so I could run 2 Omen Def + 2 Sub and get close to def performance?
zanon
I have never owned the Superfly, so I can't comment on them. I do own the Omen Defs and recently upgraded to the new Nano drivers. I had the HO drivers from the Superfly previously, and the sensitivity is the same as the new Nanotech drivers. I run the Omen Defs with a nice sub and they are fantastic. Running the Omen Defs with a pair of subs sounds like a great option to me. If you want to get the ultimate sound, I would recommend upgrading the xover on the tweeters to what the Superfly has (Mundorf Silver in Oil caps). That makes them equivalent to the Def IIIs (minus the built in sub and cabinet bracing). It improved clarity and air, and removed a slight harshness I could hear when the speakers were driven hard.
To draw the distinction between Superfly and Omen Def's differing architectures, generally, I'll polarize the difference. Omen Def is a big, bursty, rambunctious party speaker that's musically fun and has the image scale and breadth to succeed for 2.0 home theater on a bombastic Blu-ray soundtrack. Superfly, on the other hand, is the precise, audiophile speaker with excellent dynamics and pinpoint spatial imaging, that offers the detailed event unity of the single-FRD Zu speakers and their focused tone. Of the two, Superfly is the more more controlled, faithful speaker but won't load a room as thrillingly.

The upgrade to nano drivers narrows the differences over the polarized distinction above. That is, Omen Def gains accuracy and event unity while keeping its spatial scale, and Superfly gains liveliness and better spatiality while keeping its single-driver tonal and event integrity. Superfly also has less cabinet talk, due to tauter surfaces and construction.

Just a note that Omen Def isn't equivalent to Def III "...minus the sub and cabinet bracing." The cabinet in Def 2, which is the basis for the further-braced Def 3, is stiffer, heavier and more damped than Omen Def, and "talks" considerably less. This is not a knock on Omen Def -- it wouldn't be possible to offer Definition's cabinet at Omen Def pricing. Just pointing out a reality.

To the question of "...could [I] run 2 Omen Def + 2 Sub and get close to def performance?" the answer is that you can get close to Def2 performance, but it won't be identical and you still may perceive it as some distance away depending on how sensitive you are to the cabinet talk and what you SPLs are. The Def2/3 cab also channels rresonance to ground more effectively, with the thick wood plinth providing a resonance-sink foundation that the Griewe exhaust Omen architecture can't duplicate.

Phil