3 speakers, 2 amps, 1 dac - Omega Super 3U, Overnight Sensations MT, and Fostex P1000-BH shootout

Discussion in 'Speakers' started by thegunner100, Nov 16, 2016.

  1. Dino

    Dino Friend

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    You remember correctly, @JoelT

    Nelson Pass: "I designed the 555. I believe the Mk II added a couple of what were considered improvements, and it seemed to me that it included triple darlington outputs instead of 2 follower. I might have the schematic around, but all told it was a simple bipolar design with a current sourced input diff pair followed by a common-emitter
    gain device that was also current sourced. This drove the followers.

    It was typical of all the 5XXX amps that I did the first one and then they improved it until it had too many parts, and then I would design the next in the series..."

    http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/solid-state/5280-adcom-555ii-nelson-pass.html
     
    Last edited: Dec 21, 2016
  2. fraggler

    fraggler A Happy & Busy Life

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    Well, I finally finished building my Overnight Sensations and so far, I like them. They haven't necessarily blown me away coming from my Energy RC-10s, but for near field use, they definitely handle soundstage and placement much better. I will update when I have more ear time and real time. Definitely worth the the effort and money to make them.
     
  3. fraggler

    fraggler A Happy & Busy Life

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    Since I last posted, I moved from a cheap little TPA3116 amp to an Adcom 5200 and I added some more stuffing to the cabinet. I have gone from liking them to loving them. The amp upgrade was nice, but getting the right amount of stuffing completely transformed them. Initially, I thought they sounded a little metallic and hollow with not as much bass as I had read about. I didn't think it sounded bad - just not what I was expecting. Well adding another handful to each gave me palpable bass (in my nearfield setup), and the metallic/hollow character is gone. They sound remarkable now. I highly recommend anyone building these in the future to play with the stuffing to get the most out of these.
     
  4. fraggler

    fraggler A Happy & Busy Life

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  5. Cakecake

    Cakecake Guest

  6. Cspirou

    Cspirou They call me Sparky

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    I didn't know these were Carmody designs since there isn't a write up on his site. Probably more information on the forums.
     
  7. fraggler

    fraggler A Happy & Busy Life

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    Yeah, still no real write up yet. Only one guy on the tech-talk forums has built a set so far. If I have money leftover after finishing off my home theater, I will give these a shot for my office. Move the OSMTs to the dining area.
     
  8. ktmracer12345

    ktmracer12345 New

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    Any update on this? I was pretty set on the OSMT’s, but now the S2000’s have me intrigued.
     
  9. fraggler

    fraggler A Happy & Busy Life

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    Nope, wouldn't be until end of year if it happens.
     
  10. JohnBooty

    JohnBooty New

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    Maybe you're in luck! The MTM version of the Overnight Sensations have an additional 6dB of sensitivity thanks to the second woofer. The difference is remarkable. With high(ish) sensitivity speakers like this you can have your cake and eat it too - use a high end amp like the First Watt and still get all those tasty dynamic peaks. Without spending megabucks.

    If budget allows you can consider Paul C's newest design, the S2000 MT and MTM. I would describe it as a very solid upgrade to the Overnight Sensations, for not too much more money. The MTM version has even more sensitivity and power handling than the OS MTM, with IMHO a better tweeter and a better woofer. They are killer for 2-channel music and they would be great for home theater too I think.

    (I think I'm sticking with high sensitivity speakers from here on out)
     
  11. JohnBooty

    JohnBooty New

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    I've built a lot of OS MT and MTMs over the years (I've been giving them as gifts) but man, the S2000 is a very solid upgrade for not much more money. They are appreciably better than the OS in every way. Not a "night and day" difference, but solid wins across the board.

    I put my review on the S2000 MTM product page. I'll just link to it instead of blabbering even more here.
    https://www.diysoundgroup.com/home-...o-size/all-home-audio-kits/s2000-mtm-kit.html

    As with the OS, I definitely recommend the MTM over the MT if budget can possibly allow it.
     
  12. thegunner100

    thegunner100 Hentai Master Chief

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    @JohnBooty Thanks for the review! Pretty sweet that you were able to compare with other DIY offerings too. My OSMTs were built by someone else, so I have no DIY experience to actually build any speakers.

    Any pics of the speakers you have built and your listening room? The problem with the MTM's is with near field or desktop usage. IIRC, MTMs are more strict with their vertical dispersion.
     
  13. JohnBooty

    JohnBooty New

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    Yeah, that's true. I'm not sure about the dispersion issues, but if nothing else the MTM would be a waste of money for nearfield... one would be paying more money and would only be using a fraction of their output.

    Here's some pics of most of my builds. Some "duplicate" builds aren't there, because who needs pics of every single OS MT build? OS MT, OS MTM, S2000 MTM, Classix II, C-Note, Speedsters. The one notable build that's missing is the Amigas. My Amigas was nothing special and I kind of screwed up the finish, but those are amazing speakers.

    https://www.flickr.com/photos/johnbooty/albums/72157660778178773

    Here's the listening space where I "test" things. I put "test" in quotes because shamefully, I don't do proper outdoor measurements. I just subjectively evaluate, so take all I say with grains of salt.

    https://www.flickr.com/photos/johnbooty/41219243255/in/album-72157660778178773/

    Here are the S2000s at my brother in law's place. I tested them in the same spot as everything else. They were a fixture there for about two months. But I didn't snap any pics at the time.

    https://www.flickr.com/photos/johnbooty/40313462600/in/album-72157660778178773/
     
  14. fraggler

    fraggler A Happy & Busy Life

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    Thanks for sharing, Mr. Booty! Would you mind digging a little deeper into a comparison between the OSs and S2000s? I really like the voicing of the OSs, but I could use more detail without boosting treble. Do the S2000s still keep that somewhat relaxed, rolled off Carmody tuning?
     
  15. thegunner100

    thegunner100 Hentai Master Chief

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    @JohnBooty Wow, really great work you've done with those builds! You mentioned measurements... do you have any to share?
     
  16. JohnBooty

    JohnBooty New

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    Yeah, I'd call it a similar voicing to the OSs. There's a bit more detail in general thanks to the tweeter and woofer being more betterer in general than those in the OSs. I too wouldn't mind a bit more treble, but that's purely a "me" thing... I'm 42 and my hearing's not the best above 9K unfortunately.
    Thank you! I'll try and do some outdoor measurements this week. No promises. I'd say the odds are about 50/50. Unfortunately I won't be able to include the S2000s since I already handed them off to the brother in law, the lucky bastard.
     

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