Jim,
I spent the remainder of the day yesterday rediscovering many of my recordings. The upgrade made a big difference. Just about every aspect has improved. The new drivers seem faster. The highs are silky smooth and natural. There is better integration between the mids and highs probably because of the new crossover. And the soundstage is bigger. I am pleased with my "new" Duos.
Thanks,
R.C.
_____________________________
Jim:
I have been immersing myself in the music of my Omega upgrades for the past week and I realized that I really owe you a letter in exchange for that pleasure. So here it is.
First of all, thank you for the introduction to the upgrade and further back, for the entrée into the music making world of the Duos. I am really writing about my excitement with the upgrade but I must tell how I got here from where I was in the world of the audiophile (Yes, it IS a silly word…) Jim, I have been involved with audio equipment for many years and have owned all manner of lovely speakers in the past that were accurate, phase correct and boasted stratospheric frequency responses that would test the hearing of a dog.
I particularly loved my various beloved electrostats (several brands over the years) They sounded splendid on all manner of demonstration discs and I loved showing off recordings of music I never listened to or liked because they sounded so “accurate”
At the other end of the high tech spectrum, my best friends have owned Klipsch Corner horns for years and I often had the chance to hear these plywood monsters with their ancient drivers and overall dated design. Certainly not hifi! Inexplicably, however, I jumped at the chance to hear music I loved on their system. Listening to Van Morrison belt out “When the Healing Has Begun” had me becoming “involved” in the music itself (OK. I was “air drumming”, if you must know. And quite well I thought…) When I took this treasure home to play on my much more “advanced” speakers I heard perfect…..time alignment or impulse response or something. But not so much Van Morrison.
Then I ran across your ads for Avantgarde speakers. Inexplicably, they were about the music and not so much about the speakers. Hmmm…..Perhaps only a guy going through midlife crisis would jump into the purchase of expensive speakers that went so defiantly in a totally new direction for me but those ads spoke to me in a really sensible new language and I was hooked. Your ads are great! (You may blush here…)
Jim, when the Duos arrived and I turned them on, I was transfixed. I can honestly say I was mesmerized and listened to music for hours. Really listened to music. Not imaging, not bass detail. Just music. Van Morrison, Joni Mitchell, Bill Evans. Real music. I could not imagine there being anything better than those wonderful speakers and I was listening to stuff I actually loved.
When I first heard about the upgrade I could not help but be intrigued. How could this be better than the Duos? (The beginnings of the rationalization that always precedes an unnecessary purchase for me) The cost was substantial. ($7000.00 for four drivers and two crossovers? Ouch!) I am not a wealthy man by any means but I love music. To my surprise, the cost for the upgrade was the same as the difference in cost between the two models of speaker so I was not being penalized for already being an owner. What a concept!
Needless to say, the cheque was soon on the mail. (When the heck do I get to the upgrade??)
OK. The upgrade. Simply put, it has transformed a speaker that was already the best thing I had ever heard. New detail and involvement on every disc and yet, most importantly, with a smoothness and low distortion that has really allowed me to reclaim my worst recorded discs (Translation: The stuff I like the most!) Let me not exaggerate. These old recordings certainly don’t suddenly blossom into audiophile spectaculars. What they do is achieve an effortless quality that allows me back into the music while hearing past the flaws into the performances. Well recorded stuff sounds marvelous of course but that’s the easy part, isn’t it? It sounds simplistic but everything that I loved before they just do better.
Was it worth the cost? Here’s the question I posed to myself. Could I have spent the same amount of money on something else in my system and gotten a greater improvement and had more pleasure? In my case not a chance. In terms of pleasure per dollar, how about two weeks in Paris instead? I love Paris but after two weeks I have only fond memories. The Omegas I come home to every night and they certainly speak my language!
Sorry for the ramble, Jim, but I really do want to thank you (and Avantgarde) for giving me back my music. I will have to close now though. I think Van Morrison is calling.
Best,
L.F.
