Speaker Asylum: REVIEW: Omage AV21 Speakers by GaryAR

Model:	AV21
Category:	Speakers
Suggested Retail Price:	$99CAD
Description:	Bookshelf Monitor Speakers
Manufacturer URL:	Not Available
Manufacturer URL:	Not Available

Review by GaryAR ( A ) on August 11, 2003 at 19:19:56
IP Address: 24.93.24.172

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for the AV21

Another inmate (Silent) bought a pair of these speakers and raved about them, and after a couple of emails back and forth, and seeing some pictures of them, I decided to take the $70 plunge.
Let me tell you, he wasnâ€™t exaggerating in the initial posts. These things are the real deal: high-fi speakers for under $100, hard as that is to believe. Cabinet construction is much better than you would expect anywhere near this price, and the components are very, very respectableâ€¦ it would definitely not be possible to put together speakers like this for the same money at parts express. The only real downside is the binding posts, which only look like they belong on a $200 pair of speakers.
As for the sonicsâ€¦ I can honestly say that with them in my system I can sit back and really enjoy the way it sounds. Given that my main speakers are $1,500 Onix Ref 1â€™s, thatâ€™s saying something; something I wouldnâ€™t say about many speakers Iâ€™ve auditioned anywhere near the price of the Omages (or 5x the price, for that matter). Out of the box the speakers were impressive, Iâ€™d say about 45-50% of the Refâ€™s. After about 20 hours of break-in, theyâ€™ve really come to life. Theyâ€™re relatively laid back in comparison, but they donâ€™t lack detail in the least. Theyâ€™re rated 60Hz â€“ 20kHz, but that seems to be a conservative rating on the low end. Iâ€™ve yet to actually make any measurements, but my guess is theyâ€™re putting out reasonable volume into the low 50â€™s. The Kevlar driver is a beautiful thing to watch, much like the Atohm driver on the Ref 1â€™s excursion at volume is visible from across the roomâ€¦ these things move a lot of air. And the bass isnâ€™t boomy or bloated; instead itâ€™s tight and controlled. The soundstage is reasonable, with a relatively small sweet spot (they certainly come up well short of the Refâ€™s in this category).
Of course itâ€™s not likely that many people will put these speakers in a system like mine (I know I wonâ€™t permanently) but they can certainly hold their own when mated to several thousand dollars worth of electronics, and thatâ€™s saying something. When I ordered these, I hoped to end up with marginally good sounding speakers for my office at work. Instead, Iâ€™m now planning on buying another pair and the matching center (for a total cost of less than $250) to set up a home theater/multi-channel system in the basement. My last such setup was an Energy Encore package, and they couldnâ€™t hold a candle to the Omages.
If anyone wants to see some pictures of them in my system (or the impressive driver & tweeter outside the cabinet) just let me know.

Product Weakness: if the price were tripled, i'd complain about response above 20kHz
Product Strengths: insane bang-for-the-buck

Associated Equipment for this Review:
Amplifier:	Onix A-120
Preamplifier (or None if Integrated):	None
Sources (CDP/Turntable):	Philips 963SA transport/sacd
Speakers:	Onix Ref 1's, Omage AV21
Cables/Interconnects:	DIY Silver, eichmann bullet plugs on ICs
Music Used (Genre/Selections):	acoustic guitar, vocals, rock, bluegrass
Room Comments/Treatments:	all electronics on granite slabs
Time Period/Length of Audition:	1 week
Other (Power Conditioner etc.):	Perpetual Tech P1-A & P3-A (modwright II), revelation audio cables, modwright monolith
Type of Audition/Review:	Product Owner

Product Weakness:	if the price were tripled, i'd complain about response above 20kHz
Product Strengths:	insane bang-for-the-buck