Zu Dirty Weekend vs. Omega Super 3 XRS

Discussion in 'Audio Hardware' started by 5-String, Jun 28, 2020.

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  1. 5-String

    5-String μηδὲν ἄγαν Thread Starter

    Location:
    Sunshine State
    With the Dirty Weekend sale coming up next week I was thinking of purchasing a pair to use with my flea watt amps. Then I thought of Omega Super 3 XRS which is similarly priced.
    My reservations about Zu has to do with my suspicion that it might not be the best speaker for the type of music that I am mostly listening, which is a lot of acoustic material, such as jazz and classical.
    My impression from what I am reading, as I have not heard either speaker, is that the Omega tonally might be a better option.
    Has anyone auditioned both? Which one would you recommend?
     
  2. 5-String

    5-String μηδὲν ἄγαν Thread Starter

    Location:
    Sunshine State
  3. HiFi Guy

    HiFi Guy Forum Resident

    Location:
    Lakeland, FL
    Not the same speaker, but I love my Souls.
     
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  4. sambamaster

    sambamaster Forum Resident

    I bought one of the first original Omens when they were introduced in 2010 or so. Ran 'em with a 3 watt Fi X. Amazing sound and mostly playing acoustic jazz (lots of Keith Jarrett) and classical piano (Gould), but lots more. Kate Bush too! I've since moved to Italy and sold those Omens and bought Druid Vs (to actually replace my DeVore O96s in the living room). I love what Zu does for less money than DeVore (but different sound, obviously). Currently, at this minute, using a Yaqin 84L amp with 12 watts (which will soon move to the bedroom system)...my normal amp in the living room is an 8watt 300B SET , also from Yaqin...totally amazing for classical and jazz, but also rock and so on. Not sure how these speakers get pigeonholed the way they do, but to my mind, they are very versatile, as were the Omens...which had plenty of bass, and were quite balanced...i never found them to be too forward. (Now, I once had on lone a pair of Omegas (one of the hemp models)...I love their creator whose name I can't remember...I hung out with him a bit at an audio show many years ago...but I didn't find them very satisfying...YMMV.)
     
  5. sambamaster

    sambamaster Forum Resident

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  6. fcallington

    fcallington Forum Resident

    Location:
    Hailey, Idaho
    I think Darko reviewed both. I have the Omens and I think they play jazz and instrumentals very well. Based upon what I've read about the Omegas, I don't think you can go wrong with either. Zu has their 60 day return period, so at least you could try them and if you don't like--send back.
     
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  7. 5-String

    5-String μηδὲν ἄγαν Thread Starter

    Location:
    Sunshine State
    Great review, thanks for sharing :thumbsup::thumbsup:
     
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  8. seikosha

    seikosha Forum Resident

    Both are great speakers. The Zu’s are better if you like a little more bass and volume to your music. The Omegas are super transparent, have detail the the Zu’s gloss over, they are fast and image beautifully. Neither one is better than the other, your personal listening preferences will determine which one you prefer.
     
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  9. dchang81

    dchang81 Forum Resident

    Dang I wasn't planning on getting speakers, but tempted by the dirty weekends. Was looking at omegas but that sale price looks good
     
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  10. dchang81

    dchang81 Forum Resident

    how often do these dirty weekend sales happen, and are they the same 1k? I guess wondering if i am missing out if i skip out on this july 1st price.
    edit: man, in general their prices seem to have gone up a fair bit from when i last looked years ago.
     
    Last edited: Jun 28, 2020
  11. Benzion

    Benzion "Cogito, ergo sum" Forum Resident

    Location:
    Brooklyn, NY
    I have not heard the Omegas, but I am an owner of Zu DWII

    The ONLY thing they are good for (IMO) is acoustic Jazz and small-scale Classical. To my ears, they sound off with everything else, but absolutely shine at what I use them for.

    I drive mine with a 8 WPC SET amp.
     
    trd likes this.
  12. 5-String

    5-String μηδὲν ἄγαν Thread Starter

    Location:
    Sunshine State
    Thanks, that's great cause that's what I need them for, I mean, I have other speakers and other amps, but I want to use the ZU with a Cary 300SEI in a system that will play mostly jazz and classical. I have read that they are kind of a party speaker, whatever that means.
     
  13. JRF

    JRF Forum Resident

    Location:
    The Deep South
    The ZU DW's sound great with Jazz and Acoustic music to my ears.
     
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  14. Benzion

    Benzion "Cogito, ergo sum" Forum Resident

    Location:
    Brooklyn, NY
    They are literally "voiced" around human voice, and put that forward. For lack of voices, they will put the leading instrument forward. The respond very well to 300B's 8 Watt, and sound very natural with anything small scale and acoustic.

    With Jazz fusion, the likes of Return to Forever and Mahavishnu Orchestra, as well as large orchestral Classical pieces, lack of dynamics becomes apparent right away. Part of it is attributable to the SET's 8 watt of poeer, but even with 35 WPC PrimLuna they sounded better with acoustic and lackluster with electric music.
     
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  15. dchang81

    dchang81 Forum Resident

    Don't they use eminence guitar speakers?
     
  16. HiFi Guy

    HiFi Guy Forum Resident

    Location:
    Lakeland, FL
    Your amp would be the issue with my experience. I tried my Souls with an SET amp. The mids were glorious, but bad bass frequencies were...just wrong. I had a it bit over double the power on hand that you did.

    With a quality PP amp, I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend the Zu DW.
     
  17. james

    james Summon The Queen

    Location:
    Annapolis
    seems weird, no? Why would that be the case? Or a better question is, why do you think that might be the case?
     
  18. Benzion

    Benzion "Cogito, ergo sum" Forum Resident

    Location:
    Brooklyn, NY
    I have both a SET and PP amp, 8 and 35 Watt respectively. The Zu sound similarly with both. Better with my SET, if anything. No lack of bass for acoustic music.
     
  19. Benzion

    Benzion "Cogito, ergo sum" Forum Resident

    Location:
    Brooklyn, NY
    My ears, perhaps?
     
  20. james

    james Summon The Queen

    Location:
    Annapolis
    I haven’t heard them, but your description makes me think that they don’t like to break a sweat. I’d be interested in hearing what you mean.
     
  21. Benzion

    Benzion "Cogito, ergo sum" Forum Resident

    Location:
    Brooklyn, NY
    I've described them many times already, in various threads here. Just do a search.
     
  22. HiFi Guy

    HiFi Guy Forum Resident

    Location:
    Lakeland, FL
    It’s possible that the Dirty Weekend sounds similar- they are designed to be forgiving.

    My Souls are a different animal, and the difference is profound.
     
  23. struttincool

    struttincool Senior Member

    Location:
    USA
    [​IMG]

    I keep going back and forth on ordering the Omen DW. They just need to be better than my current speakers- Bottlehead Straight 8 from about 2000. I paid $700 for the parts, plus another $200 for the cabinets. They are 16ohm with about 96db sensitivity. Currently using an 8wpc 300b integrated. I can clip them but it takes a high volume in a large room.

    I'm not going to change anything to accommodate the Omens if I get them.

    I haven't compared what I have to many other speakers. Obviously, I like the Straight 8's well enough. Non- fatiguing, not in my face, revealing of changes to other components. Good sound stage and detail.

    Here I am talking myself out of trying the Omens...haha. Will they be a little better in enough areas than the Straight 8's?
     
  24. Richard Austen

    Richard Austen Forum Resident

    Location:
    Hong Kong
    1) Never buy a speaker you can't audition.
    2) Generally moving between speakers of a similar price class - may bring some advantages and usually disadvantages. This is called sideways moves. Playing merry-go-round from $1200 speaker to $1200 speaker to $1200 speaker usually doesn't get you anywhere.

    To me changing speakers should merit a true upgrade where it improves all the things you want improved and doesn't take a step backward from the other speaker - unless you know and accept what that step back entails.

    In your case you don't even know if the Omega or Zu will sound better than what you have. If you can't audition these - audition something close. Single drivers can be nice but they are not without their faults.
     
    onemug likes this.
  25. head_unit

    head_unit Senior Member

    Location:
    Los Angeles CA USA
    Physics says a 4.5" driver is going to be challenged to reproduce bass, no matter what the cabinet. And if you play jazz and such too softly, you literally cannot hear the lows due to Fletcher-Munson. So without a sub, this speaker does not make overall sense to me. I know, I once heard a KEF with a small woofer and more recently a 4" ELAC, surprising bass for their size, but relatively nearfield and moderate volume.

    My experience with the Dirty Weekend, well there was this time at a motel in Des Moines and er, um, anyway the SPEAKER sounded nice playing John Mayall's basically acoustic The Turning Point from vinyl at an L.A. audio show; I don't recall the amplification.

    Whatever you get, your tube amp will interact with its' impedance a LOT, so a reasonable return policy and price is paramount.

    Yup! And yup that single drivers avoid crossovers...but have their own response flaws. It's just a design limitation.
     
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