DBOPK - Decibel Omni premium kit (pair)

The Decibel OMNI loudspeakers are omnidirectional. That means they distribute the sound in all directions not just forward. The Omni is a medium sized floorstanding unit which can be positioned alongside, even behind furniture, and projects the sound upwards to reflect off the ceiling and walls. They are intended for general stereo use, particularly in rooms where conventional forward facing speakers are hard to position. They also work wonderfully as surround speakers in a home theatre system. They are efficient enough to be used with modest amplifiers but deserve better. They have been designed to be placed close to walls and the bass response benefits from such positioning. They can also be placed up on a sideboard, even in wall units, such is their versatility.

Why omnidirectional? It’s actually quite simple really. If you had a musician playing an instrument in your lounge room, the sound you would hear would be largely reflected – from the walls, floor and ceiling, and only a small proportion would be direct from the instrument to your ears. Most recordings are close-mic’d which captures just the direct sound. These speakers attempt to recreate that direct-reflected balance of the live performance. It’s been done before by several manufacturers such as Bose & Sonab but we are unaware of any DIY kit that has used the principle.

The premium model uses a Nomex bass driver with a Vifa tweeter. Performance is impressive and the sound remains clean at very high levels. The choice of drivers, crossover design, and performance measurements have been done by Stones Sound Studios, who have an excellent reputation in Australia as loudspeaker consultants.

Assembly instructions.