OWM3 with rti8

kaku42
kaku42 Posts: 33
edited February 2010 in Speakers
i just added a couple of owm3 to my 2 rti8 (with psw505) since i cant put heavy surrounds
I am very disappointed by owm3. can hardly hear anything through it even though surrounds are set at +9db.
the test tones sound fine but you have to climb up a ladder and place an ear near the surrounds to hear anything distinct
Is OWM3 such a bad choice with rti8 - does rti8 overpower it so much?
Post edited by kaku42 on
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Comments

  • rallyshark
    rallyshark Posts: 417
    edited January 2010
    Sounds more like the source than the speakers to me:) You say the test tones are fine right? Maybe what you're listening to just doesn't have much surround decoding in it. Have you tried stuff like music with it set to multi channel stereo etc.?
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  • packetjones
    packetjones Posts: 1,059
    edited January 2010
    I had the OWM3's and the A5's at one point. I felt the same way really. I was really only happy with them when listening to music in 5 channel stereo. They did do the job of surrounds for movies and such but did not have any real authority at all. I was happy when i replaced them with the A3's i have now.

    Keep in mind though that surrounds do not really get a lot of use and are there mainly for ambient noise and they do a good job of that. They dont have any punch to them at all though.
    Front - RTiA5's
    Rear - RTiA3's
    Center - CSiA4
    Sub - PSW110
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  • kaku42
    kaku42 Posts: 33
    edited January 2010
    rallyshark wrote: »
    Sounds more like the source than the speakers to me:) You say the test tones are fine right? Maybe what you're listening to just doesn't have much surround decoding in it. Have you tried stuff like music with it set to multi channel stereo etc.?

    Yes, I have the receiver set to the logic7 by Harman Kardon. More importantly, I listened to the football transmission yesterday. I have another polk set up upstairs (a complete 5.1 set) and the surrounds sound much better in that set up with football.
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  • kaku42
    kaku42 Posts: 33
    edited January 2010
    packetjones wrote: »
    I had the OWM3's and the A5's at one point. I felt the same way really. I was really only happy with them when listening to music in 5 channel stereo. They did do the job of surrounds for movies and such but did not have any real authority at all. I was happy when i replaced them with the A3's i have now.

    Keep in mind though that surrounds do not really get a lot of use and are there mainly for ambient noise and they do a good job of that. They dont have any punch to them at all though.

    I think you nailed it - there is some sound out of it but no punch at all. I think i just wasted money on this. Should have just run the fronts without any surrounds. I cant hang rti4 or any such bookshelfs
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  • VSchneider
    VSchneider Posts: 443
    edited January 2010
    I was considering OWM3's for my back, but went with bookshelves. They seem to need to be crossed over pretty high to sound well, but my older receiver has only one frequency for all channels.

    I think OWM3 are very good at what they do - create surround ambiance with a small foot print at modest cost. How much more do you want from shallow 4" speakers, guys?
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  • grimmace19
    grimmace19 Posts: 1,429
    edited February 2010
    I just unboxed and hooked up my Owm3's from newegg (129) bought them for a wall mountable wife approved speaker for a spare bedroom. Hooked them up to the fronts of an onkyo 505 and am very impressed. For how shallow and only having 1 driver I think they are fantastic. I don't run as high end of stuff as you guys in here but christ for 129 bucks I think they are great.
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  • packetjones
    packetjones Posts: 1,059
    edited February 2010
    When i first got my OWM3's i tried them as fronts for an afternoon to see how they sounded. I was pretty impressed with them in a 2 channel sitting considering the size and what they are. It is when i moved them to the rears that i felt that it did not carry over to surround duty.
    Front - RTiA5's
    Rear - RTiA3's
    Center - CSiA4
    Sub - PSW110
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  • curved
    curved Posts: 664
    edited February 2010
    grimmace19 wrote: »
    I just unboxed and hooked up my Owm3's from newegg (129) bought them for a wall mountable wife approved speaker for a spare bedroom. Hooked them up to the fronts of an onkyo 505 and am very impressed. For how shallow and only having 1 driver I think they are fantastic. I don't run as high end of stuff as you guys in here but christ for 129 bucks I think they are great.

    Agreed - what do you want for a tiny enclosure with a 4" driver. You can't have the best of both worlds. Either you tell your wife how it is and get some RTi4's or the work with the OWM's. IMO, it sure sounds better than nothing.
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