[Hifi59]

Hey I am considering the Omni vs Alpha Prime and the HE-560. Could anybody do a comparison with the Alpha Prime? Thanks a lot

I have the he-560 and will do that comparison as soon as my Cherry Omnis arrive. Having said that, I don't think
that they will be better than the Hifiman He-560s. They do have a 3 db peak at around 5-6 kHz but that is mostly
corrected by switching to their Focus-A ear pads instead of the included Focus Pads. After they break in, they sound
so good. I rank them just below my Audeze LCD-3f and just above the LCD-2fs that I also own. I'll keep an open
mind when I start listening to the Omnis and I'll just let them talk to me and we'll see if their personality speaks well for them. I'm thinking they're going to be very competitive with my other headphones. I also have the Oppo Pm-2 and Alpha dogs. I'm pretty sure they will be a better listen than those not that these are bad headphones.

 

[gangnamstyle]

   
My memory of the AP was that it's pretty bright.  HE-560 is also slightly on the bright side of neutral.  The Omni is warm.  
 
They're very different, so you're going to want to figure out what sort of tonality you want.

Ah, I see. Thanks! Would you say the Oppo PM-3s are better?

 

[gangnamstyle]

I have the he-560 and will do that comparison as soon as my Cherry Omnis arrive. Having said that, I don't think
that they will be better than the Hifiman He-560s. They do have a 3 db peak at around 5-6 kHz but that is mostly
corrected by switching to their Focus-A ear pads instead of the included Focus Pads. After they break in, they sound
so good. I rank them just below my Audeze LCD-3f and just above the LCD-2fs that I also own. I'll keep an open
mind when I start listening to the Omnis and I'll just let them talk to me and we'll see if their personality speaks well for them. I'm thinking they're going to be very competitive with my other headphones. I also have the Oppo Pm-2 and Alpha dogs. I'm pretty sure they will be a better listen than those not that these are bad headphones.

OK thanks. That will be much appreciated! The Hifiman looks pretty tempting... but so do the Alpha Primes and the omnis....

 

[Stillhart]

 
Ah, I see. Thanks! Would you say the Oppo PM-3s are better?

 
Better than what?  
 
To be clear, I made no value judgements in my last post, I just said they all sounded different.  I really like the Omni, I think it sounds really good.  But it's more of a complimentary sound to the HE-560 than a competitive sound.  The PM-3 is a great little headphone that I obviously love a lot.  I haven't compared it directly to the Omni yet, mostly because I want to continue loving the PM-3.  

 

[ThePianoMan]

One of the big selling points of the Omni and ZMF cans in general is not necessarily superior technicalities to other headphones on the market (although the technicalities are quite excellent) but musical engagement and enjoyment factor. Depending on your tastes, you can get a ZMF that rocks, lets you chill, or one with which you can do a little of both. Will you get the utmost in microdetail/plankton, or the ultimate treble sparkle, bass linearity/extension, etc.? Probably not. But think about how many headphones have all of those? Or, how many headphones that have superb technicalities really engage you musically? I've found that no one aspect of the Omnis sticks out as being unduly superb over any other (technicality-wise) and it manages to be a superbly engaging and musical headphone because of this. It also has excellent technicalities, but not at the expense of the music. Just my two cents. (my other headphone is a Beyer DT880, so take that as you will)

 

[ThePianoMan]

   
Better than what?  
 
To be clear, I made no value judgements in my last post, I just said they all sounded different.  I really like the Omni, I think it sounds really good.  But it's more of a complimentary sound to the HE-560 than a competitive sound.  The PM-3 is a great little headphone that I obviously love a lot.  I haven't compared it directly to the Omni yet, mostly because I want to continue loving the PM-3.  

I feel like this is one aspect of the Omni (even more than the blackwood and Vibro) is a headphone I feel very little need to compare to other headphones such as the Ether, HE-560, Alpha Prime, etc. It's just such an enjoyable sound that it really fulfills a different listening need than those other headphones. It's a hard quality to describe!

 

[grizzlybeast]

  One of the big selling points of the Omni and ZMF cans in general is not necessarily superior technicalities to other headphones on the market (although the technicalities are quite excellent) but musical engagement and enjoyment factor. Depending on your tastes, you can get a ZMF that rocks, lets you chill, or one with which you can do a little of both. Will you get the utmost in microdetail/plankton, or the ultimate treble sparkle, bass linearity/extension, etc.? Probably not. But think about how many headphones have all of those? Or, how many headphones that have superb technicalities really engage you musically? I've found that no one aspect of the Omnis sticks out as being unduly superb over any other (technicality-wise) and it manages to be a superbly engaging and musical headphone because of this. It also has excellent technicalities, but not at the expense of the music. Just my two cents. (my other headphone is a Beyer DT880, so take that as you will)

It doesn't do everything perfect but it does so many things dang near ideal. This is...no lie at all...the first headphone I dont say ..."well if only".. except maybe "well if only ZMF designed an open back with the same exact signature but the benefits of a fully open design, and without having to fight the inherent issues of all t50 drivers." You guys know Im a ZMF fan but I reallllly mean this with all my heart. 

 

[grizzlybeast]

This does what I wanted the LCD 2.2 to do.

 

[Wildcatsare1]

This does what I wanted the LCD 2.2 to do.

That's exactly what I am looking for the Yin to my HD800's Yang!

 

[gangnamstyle]

   
Better than what?  
 
To be clear, I made no value judgements in my last post, I just said they all sounded different.  I really like the Omni, I think it sounds really good.  But it's more of a complimentary sound to the HE-560 than a competitive sound.  The PM-3 is a great little headphone that I obviously love a lot.  I haven't compared it directly to the Omni yet, mostly because I want to continue loving the PM-3.  

I understand. The PM-3 was the headphone on the top of my list to get to replace my Fidelio X2s- they were wayyyyy to bass heavy for me, and I listen to a lot of Hip Hop. I like accurate representations of the music that I listen to and I thought the neutral PM-3 would satisfy me. However, I decided that I would might as well buy an end game headphone. That being said, I'm still a student on a budget and I would like to spend as little money as possible. I can get the Alpha Primes for 650 and the Omnis for 750. It's hard to choose...

  It doesn't do everything perfect but it does so many things dang near ideal. This is...no lie at all...the first headphone I dont say ..."well if only".. except maybe "well if only ZMF designed an open back with the same exact signature but the benefits of a fully open design, and without having to fight the inherent issues of all t50 drivers." You guys know Im a ZMF fan but I reallllly mean this with all my heart. 

  One of the big selling points of the Omni and ZMF cans in general is not necessarily superior technicalities to other headphones on the market (although the technicalities are quite excellent) but musical engagement and enjoyment factor. Depending on your tastes, you can get a ZMF that rocks, lets you chill, or one with which you can do a little of both. Will you get the utmost in microdetail/plankton, or the ultimate treble sparkle, bass linearity/extension, etc.? Probably not. But think about how many headphones have all of those? Or, how many headphones that have superb technicalities really engage you musically? I've found that no one aspect of the Omnis sticks out as being unduly superb over any other (technicality-wise) and it manages to be a superbly engaging and musical headphone because of this. It also has excellent technicalities, but not at the expense of the music. Just my two cents. (my other headphone is a Beyer DT880, so take that as you will)

Would you guys say they are bass heavy? I like more neutral sounding headphones. 

 

[Claritas]

Would you guys say they are bass heavy? I like more neutral sounding headphones.

It's the most neutral ZMF. More neutral than A-Prime, which becomes fatiguing fairly early on.

That's exactly what I am looking for the Yin to my HD800's Yang!

LCD3 pre-fazor.

 

[Wildcatsare1]

It's the most neutral ZMF. More neutral than A-Prime, which becomes fatiguing fairly early on.
LCD3 pre-fazor.

Are there any reliability issues with the pre-Fazor LCD3? Seems that I keep reading about people having problems with blown drivers.

 

[grizzlybeast]

^I had a problem with my LCD-X(drivers replaced)and read around  that it was a common issue. 
 
Quote:

 

   

I understand. The PM-3 was the headphone on the top of my list to get to replace my Fidelio X2s- they were wayyyyy to bass heavy for me, and I listen to a lot of Hip Hop. I like accurate representations of the music that I listen to and I thought the neutral PM-3 would satisfy me. However, I decided that I would might as well buy an end game headphone. That being said, I'm still a student on a budget and I would like to spend as little money as possible. I can get the Alpha Primes for 650 and the Omnis for 750. It's hard to choose...
Would you guys say they are bass heavy? I like more neutral sounding headphones. 

if you say wayyyyy too bassy for you and the x2 is only considered slightly above neutral then you may feel the same about the blackwood Omni. I haven't hear the x2 but I am only saying that because of how may "yyy's" you put in that "wayy'..y".  The x1 wasn't too bassy for me and is barely considered basshead level. But then like Claritas said the Alpha is fatiquing. in my opinion slightly above neutral around here is neutral to me and closely resembles studio monitors. The "neutral" bass people talk about actually sounds nothing like studio gear used for mixing. I will go out on a limb though and place a very high bet that the pm3 cant touch the Omni in SQ and realism.
 
Your best bet for the price is buying a good headphone and using an eq to lessen the bass or boost it(a bit harder to do). If you don't mind treble peaks and odd timbres and don't want to eq a headphone then reach for something hifi (yet unrealistic) sounding. You can also eq treble too but sometimes that is a bit more troublesome because the treble section is usually less predictable and you end up sucking out the life of the music until trial and error gets you close to ideal. 

 

[Claritas]

Are there any reliability issues with the pre-Fazor LCD3? Seems that I keep reading about people having problems with blown drivers.

It's a problem with all Audezes; seems to be worse with the fazors though.

Would you say the Oppo PM-3s are better?

No. Small earpads, very shallow soundstage.

 

[Wildcatsare1]

if you say wayyyyy too bassy for you and the x2 is only considered slightly above neutral then you may feel the same about the blackwood Omni. I haven't hear the x2 but I am only saying that because of how may "yyy's" you put in that "wayy'..y".  The x1 wasn't too bassy for me and is barely considered basshead level. But then like Claritas said the Alpha is fatiquing. in my opinion slightly above neutral around here is neutral to me and closely resembles studio monitors. The "neutral" bass people talk about actually sounds nothing like studio gear used for mixing. I will go out on a limb though and place a very high bet that the pm3 cant touch the Omni in SQ and realism.

Your best bet for the price is buying a good headphone and using an eq to lessen the bass or boost it(a bit harder to do). If you don't mind treble peaks and odd timbres and don't want to eq a headphone then reach for something hifi (yet unrealistic) sounding. You can also eq treble too but sometimes that is a bit more troublesome because the treble section is usually less predictable and you end up sucking out the life of the music until trial and error gets you close to ideal. 

Haven't heard the Omni yet, will when I get back from Europe, but I didn't care for the PM3. Personally, I preferred my Alclair RSM Quads for portable use. Then my Home headphones HE560/HD800 were vastly superior to the 3s, so they went on down the line.