OMEX SYMPHONY 2S & 3S

It’s not that a void on the market needs to be filled as one can already choose from hundreds of anti-vibration products. Yet, there is always a place for new brands offering well-thought-out, perfectly made products, and the British Factor One seems to be one, based on their OMEX SYMPHONY 2S & 3S feet.

Introduction

Whether you like it and/or believe it vibrations, not the (welcomed) ones that carry sound to your ears through the air, but the other (unwanted) ones that affect the components and ultimately diminish your sound experience, are not your friends. That’s even more true if you’re an audio perfectionist trying to push the limits of your setup’s performance. So while you may believe that manufacturers of your electronics and speakers did a fantastic job of protecting their creations from the influence of vibration, or that your TV cabinet or solid floor solves the issue, you should do yourself a favor and try some specialized products such as anti-vibration racks, platforms, feet, and others. First of all, vibration damping may not always be the focus of audio manufacturers, and secondly, they can’t foresee all possible conditions their product will work in.

Still not convinced? Let me give you two simple reasons to give it a try as, at least as I see it, there are two possible outcomes of such experiments. One, you won’t hear any difference at all and will have a strong argument against this type of product in your hand if someone asks you why you don’t use them. Two, more likely, if you ask me, you will realize (usually after you try some anti-vibration elements in your setup and then go back to listening without them) that your system can sound differently, and in most cases slightly better, and that not using anti-vibration products is not really an option for you anymore. In any case, you can’t really lose, can you? So why not try it?

A nice, solid rack should be the first item to invest in, but then you should still check out other products, such as anti-vibration feet or platforms (the latter usually cost more) used under individual components. There are some simple, inexpensive ones on the market, and there are also some more elaborate designs, that, naturally, cost more. The tested OMEX SYMPHONY feet belong to the latter category and come in two flavors in general, the more affordable „As”, and the tested „Ss”, and on each level, there are still two versions marked as 2 and 3. The difference between them is a number of layers of isolation or vibration damping.

The „As”, as explained by the manufacturer, are constructed using discs made of an Aluminium Polymer Compound (APC) with Stainless Steel ball bearings between them. The center tuning forks are machined from a contrasting density of APC. The „Ss”, on the other hand,  feature Stainless Steel discs with Ceramic ball bearings between them. In this case, the tuning forks are CNC machined in Brass and, as the manufacturer says, are perfectly weighted to contrast the Stainless Steel. They all come in sets of four in nice, yet not flashy boxes filled with foam cutouts that protect the feet in transport. The manufacturer, knowing I use several components in my system, sent me five sets, three of 3Ss and two of 2Ss so that I could use them with several components simultaneously. Let’s get to it.

Design and features

Actually, the design of the Omex Symphony 2S and 3S has been already explained earlier, but let’s dive into it a bit deeper. These feet feature stainless steel discs (2S two of them, 3S three of them) with three ceramic ball bearings between each two of them. Stainless steel’s job is to effectively absorb and dissipate vibrations, thus minimizing their propagation and impact on delicate circuitry and structural forms alike.

As the manufacturer explains, in order to complement these attributes and refine the sonic signature Symphony S’ so-called tuning fork, which sits in the center of the upper disc, is machined from a high-grade brass, which is directly and thickly 24ct gold-plated in order to create a softer barrier between that of the brass and its stainless steel discs. The design encompasses a varying metallic density to the disc structure itself. In order to dampen and control the flow of resonances, this tuning fork sits inside an internal chamber within a central spine. For isolating electronics, Symphony’s tuning fork resides below the top of the device to ensure that it itself is not activated by first-hand resonances, allowing it to perform its job in damping those resonances prior to reaching the ball-bearing decoupling points. On the bottom it sits in a ”socket” machined in the bottom disc and at the point of contact it „wears” a rubber (I believe) o-ring.

Each Symphony 2S and 3S features an outer micro-grooved upper and lower disc, whose job it is to grip the underside of electronics and the surface of a rack shelf more effectively than that of a smooth surface. This gripping effect has a greater ability to contact and transfer resonances from the equipment and begin the process of eliminating them from the delicate circuitry in one direction and the equipment supports in the other, enhancing shelf-to-shelf isolation.

The 3S version of Symphony features also a central disc, or as the manufacturer refers to it a “Scrub Layer”. Its job is to further reduce induced vibrational activity from each resonant point – both electronics and rack or speaker and floor have less opportunity of interacting with each other and thus isolating feed-through and feedback activity more effectively.

The Omex Symphony 2S and 3S can also be used with speakers. For that, they can accommodate a spike centrally within their tuning forks. The top layer becomes more of a weight-loaded funnel using the top disc as a means to freely resonate off any initial high-frequency resonances with the central spine ending the speaker interaction with the floor and giving it a new coupled point of reference which then becomes decoupled through the bearing points, allowing for a cleaner, tighter and more concise sound.

What’s important for potential users are sizes and, most of all, loadings. As for the latter, Symphony A will accommodate a weight of 45kgs each and Symphony S 80kgs per device. Neither require particular loading to work at their optimal performance. The dimensions of these feet are as follows: 2S – 20mm tall and 40mm in diameter, and 3S is higher at 30mm while keeping the same diameter of 40mm. Both Omex Symphony 2S and 3S come packed in sets of four in nice, yet not flashy boxes filled with foam cutouts that protect the feet in transport.

As you can see, these are not particularly large or high feet which means one doesn’t need much additional space for components placed on them. One more thing to remember – whenever you choose to try out some feet don’t place them under original feet but rather next to them. Usually placing after-market feet as close to the original ones as possible works best but there is no reason not to try any setup that comes to mind.

Sound

I tried to encourage you to check out some anti-vibration elements in your system because based on my experience and everyday practice I know these work. I need you though, to manage your expectations. There is no magic in such products, just physics (generally speaking). They can’t really improve the performance of your components. What they can do is to allow the latter to utilize or reveal more of their true potential. Can you see the difference? Whether it is an amplifier, CD Player, DAC, phono stage, loudspeakers, or any other audio component, they were designed to achieve a certain level of performance based on the ingenuity of their designers, components they used, results they wanted to achieve, sometimes a budget they had to meet.

When components land in customers’ setups though, the conditions they operate in may (in most cases!) hinder that optimal performance. Whether it is room acoustics (the key element for all audio setups), noisy power grids, or omnipresent vibrations, they all make your setup sound not as good as it could in optimal conditions. Let’s skip the acoustics and power, as these are not subjects of this review, and focus on vibrations. Anti-vibration elements’, such as the tested Omex Symphony 2S and 3S, job is to improve the operating conditions by getting rid of (most) unwanted vibrations so that the component placed on them gets closer to or maybe even reaches its optimal level.

So once more – there is no magic involved, it’s not snake oil, it is (seemingly simple, but actually not that simple) physics. Hence your 5k amplifier won’t sound like a 50k one, nor even like a 25k one no matter what rack/platform/feet you shall use with it. But it may/should sound better than with no (additional) anti-vibration treatment at all. By better I don’t mean twice as good, nor even 50% better, we are talking, if we are trying to quantify it, about just a few percent improvement. So is it really worth it, you may ask? That’s for you to answer – try it yourself, after a while of using whatever product you decide to test, remove it and you’ll know whether this small improvement is something you can live without or not. Audio is a perfectionist hobby, so, at least at some level, any improvement that brings us closer to music and offers a better, more vivid, more immersive experience, is highly welcomed.

Obviously, there is one more, quite important factor in one’s assessment of any component’s performance – individual taste or preferences. So when looking for the right anti-vibration feet for you you may find that these are not the same ones as for your friend or a reviewer. And that’s OK. As a reviewer, I see my job as providing you with information on interesting products and giving you an idea of what you can expect when you use them. Ultimately, the choice is always yours! OK, enough beating around the bush, let’s get to it.

I hope that by now it is clear that I consider Omex Symphony 2S and 3S worth your attention – otherwise, why bother with that long introduction? So what can you expect from them besides good looks, and ability to accommodate quite a heavy load? To assess that I spent a long time with them using them in my setup with most of my reference components but also with several reviewed ones from various price ranges. The reviewed feet accompanied some very expensive products, such as, for example, (75 kEUR) Kondo GE-10i tube phono stage, and quite expensive ones such as Grimm Audio MU-2 Music Player, Mola Mola Lupe, and Accuphase C-47 solid-state phono stages, GigaWatt PowerMaster power conditioner, but also relatively inexpensive (at least in comparison) such as my ESE Lab Nibiru phono stage. The conclusions you will find below are based on common elements of all of these experiences.

I wasn’t surprised to find out that the tested feet influenced the performance, or the sound coming from the speakers, each and every time to a smaller or larger extent (larger still fitting those few percent I’d mentioned before). Importantly, I found the sonic results quite consistent across all types of components and price ranges although not always equally desirable. The consistency proved the concept behind Omex Symphony 2S and 3S. After all, they did effectively reduce unwanted vibrations which translated into similar sonic effects in all cases. That’s all one can ask from such products.

Let’s start with the only case when I wasn’t sure if the impact 2S and 3S had on the sound was what I wanted or maybe ultimately even leaned against it. It was the case of the ESE Lab Nibiru solid-state phono stage (see the review HERE). It is a relatively inexpensive device (around 2,2 kEUR) and yet delivers performance at such a high level that for the last 7-8 years I haven’t even once thought about getting rid of it (but I upgraded it to the latest version after reviewing it). It does have its own character – it is fast, dynamic, and clear sounding, and it does not add any softness or warmth to the sound. It makes it a perfect partner for my 300B SET, but also for GrandiNote Shinai Class A solid-state integrated that are both rich and a bit warm on their own, so what they need is exactly what Nibiru has to offer.

Putting it on both Omex Symphony 2S and later on 3S resulted in its qualities being even further enhanced. Now, someone who prefers high fidelity above all most likely would have been delighted. The focus, clarity, transparency, definition – it all further improved. For me though, a SET and Class A fan, the sound got a bit too dry, a bit „too skinny”, so to speak. I missed some flesh on the precisely presented, hard „bones” of the music. There was nothing wrong with the performance, but the direction of the changes didn’t quite fit my taste (!) in this particular case. So yeah, I preferred Nibiru placed directly on a wooden shelf of either of my racks. But that’s me. Your conclusion could be different.

The other phonostage, GrandiNote Celio Mk IV (see the review HERE) was another story. Also, a solid-state device, operating in Class A, it offers a significantly richer, denser, and a bit warmer, one may say more „tube-like” sound than Nibiru. Omex Symphony 2S (in this case there wasn’t much difference between 2S and 3S so I would use the former with it and save money for another set) got rid of a small portion of the „fat” from the meat, toned the musculature, so to speak. It translated into a touch leaner, more focused, yet still rich, still a bit warm, and most of all very natural presentation. And in this case, with all my amplifiers, it was a welcomed effect. The character of the phono stage was preserved but the clarity, transparency, and precision of presentation improved slightly, yet enough to enjoy the effect, particularly with any high-quality vinyl releases.

That’s another issue – high-quality releases benefited from using the tested feet with the phono stage by appearing even more resolving as if the stylus was able to retrieve even more tiny little details that were presented with even more clarity and precision. Importantly (at least for me), it didn’t turn the presentation into an overly analytical, or dry one. With lesser-quality records, the results sometimes were positive, like on AC/DC’s „Live”, where Omex Symphony 2S forced a more orderly, or less chaotic presentation while maintaining or enhancing other key features of the performance such as explosive dynamics, high energy, powerful, deep bass, and the so important midrange with Brian Johnson vocals and Angus Young guitar.

On the other hand, on one of the U2 albums, they emphasized the „dirty”, „dry”, and „sandy” (as I call it) character of that recording making it less bearable (I mean, I love the music, but hate the sound and with Symphony 2S I hated it even more even if Bono’s vocals sounded a bit better). The results with the aforementioned Kondo GE-10i tube phono stage, which by the way is one of the least „tube-sounding” tube-based devices I know, were similar. The focus and transparency of the presentation further improved which led to some „new discoveries” on several albums I’d known pretty well. With some of the lesser, yet still decent, quality albums, Omex Symphony feet brought more order to the presentation thus allowing me to dive deeper into the mix and enjoy even more tiny details and subtleties that without Symphony 3S were not that clearly presented. Yet, at the same time, when playing those either poorly recorded or released, or simply heavily worn-off (due to heavy use) albums, with the tested feet under Kondo, but also other phono stages, made their downsides even clearer.

What about tube components that are part of my reference setup? How did they react to placing them on Omex Symphony 2S and 3S? The first one was my modified (by the designer, who replaced the output transformers with ones from the top model) ArtAudio Symphony (sic!) II 300B SET. I love the sound that good 300B SETs offer. I know these can sound quite different depending on the design and tubes, but they all (I mean the good ones) share the same organic, immersive type of music experience that I love. They are not perfect, no audio components are, but they offer, at least from my perspective, the most satisfying, most natural, most convincing performance. And yet… And yet, placing my Symphony II on Omex Symphony 3S (even more so than on 2S) elevated my experience to an even (slightly) higher level. And I loved it!

I love the warmth of my amplifier, how natural, palpable, and holographic the presentation is, and the tested feet without taking away any of my favorite features, added more separation, more focus, and more clarity to it. The definition of, say, each string pluck, each drum and cymbal beat, or even sounds of a trumpet, was just better, enhancing both tonal and dynamic differentiation on the micro level and allowing me to „see” the texture of the sound even better. Yes, that meant that the presentation got a bit more analytical, but in a way that only enhanced the organic feel that I love my Western Electric 300Bs for. So yes, as it turned out, my SET could sound even better. To be honest, until this moment, with most feet I’d tried, the quartz Acoustic Revive platform had always been a better overall choice. Omex Symphony 3S feet were at least a worthy competitor, and with some music, I liked them even better.

I had to try Omex Symphony 3S also with my LampizatOr Pacific 2 D/A Converter. Shortly after I got it I replaced the original feet with Graphite Audio IC-35 cones (check out my review HERE), and only quite recently I supplemented them with the same brand’s ISSB-40 Isolation Spike Bases. Actually, the manufacturer revised its lineup and now he sells IC-35 Premium, which combines both, cones and bases. And these work really well with my reference DAC. I still wondered if 3S (because, let’s be honest, with the more expensive components I automatically opted for using the more expensive feet) could change or maybe even improve anything. Since my DAC stands on three Graphite Audio cones I also used three from Omex, two in the front, and one in the back.

Pacific 2 is a tube device and yet its sound is not only very natural but also quite neutral. The Graphite Audio cones while preserving the high resolution, clarity, and transparency of the sound, add a touch of a fill-in or some richness to the sound making it sound a bit more like a tube device. That’s why I chose them as the best fit for my taste. Replacing them with Omex Symphony 3S, to my surprise, didn’t change much in this respect. I mean maybe a little tiny bit but at the same time it improved, also a tiny little bit, clarity and transparency.

All in all the performance did not change much, it was more about a slight shift of accents not a change of sonic character. Which one feet I like better? I honestly don’t know. The 3S were able to „clear” a bit some slightly chaotic or „muddy” recordings allowing me to enjoy them even more. The Graphite Audio’s feet added a touch of charm and presence to some vocals and acoustic instruments which made them even more irresistible to me (!). So yeah, faced with the choice between the two sets in my system to better fit my preferences I would probably flip a coin and be happy with either choice.

Last but not least, I utilized all five sets of Omex Symphony in my system simultaneously. I used 2S (because they are not too high so didn’t raise the speakers too much up) under my GrandiNote MACH4, 3S under Pacific 2, my custom music server, and Symphony II 300B SET. Sometimes using so many anti-vibration elements (the same can go for cables) that all have very similar influence on the sound in a system may result in „overdoing” it. Not in this case, though.

What I got was the right mixture of all the highly appreciated features. The sound was very natural, some could even say organic, a touch warm, palpable, and spacious, and at the same time precise, resolving, detailed, and focused. I like the improvement in terms of PRAT as well, especially because I am a fan of blues and rock music. It was still my favorite „tube” sound but in the best meaning of this term, so rich, smooth, and very coherent, yet perfectly organized, with each element in the right place, with highly impressive dynamics, energy, and clarity. Long story short, if you like what a set of Omex Symphony 2S or 3S does for your setup you can (almost certainly) add as many more as you like (or can afford) and it will enhance the effect without any downsides.

Summary

I found the „new kid on the block”, Omex Symphony 2S and 3S by Factor One, quite impressive. The impact on sound of both models is consistent, with the three-layer one being simply a bit higher and having a bit more influence but of the same character. The effect of increased focus, precision, and (at least perceived) higher resolution due to effectively lowered vibrations may not always be what you need. Yet, I am sure that in most cases, you will appreciate it and it may be hard to go back to listening without these feet in the setup.

Even one set used, in such a case preferably with the main source or an amplifier (especially if it is a tube one), will noticeably enhance the performance of the system (or actually reveal a bigger portion of it) but the more Omex Symphony footers, whether 2S or 3S or both, in your setup the more focus, clarity and precision they will bring to its performance sound. The prices strongly suggest and the tests confirm, that both models are meant to complement the performance of high-end or even top high-end (such as Kondo’s phono stage) components of any kind, sources, amplifiers, preamplifiers, speakers, or even power supplies. In my opinion, that’s exactly where they belong.

Prices (when reviewed):

• Omex Symphony 2S (set of 4): £600.00
• Omex Symphony 3S (set of 4): £900.00

Manufacturer: FACTOR ONE

Technical specifications (according to the manufacturer):

• Disc material: stainless steel
• Tuning fork material: 24ct Gold Plated Brass
• Ball bearing material: ceramic
• Load capacity: 80 kg max per device
• Weight: Symphony 2A – 72g each – 546g set of 4 boxed; Symphony 3A – 105g each – 665g set of 4 boxed; Symphony 2S – 173g each – 962g set of 4 boxed; Symphony 3S – 258g each – 1298g set of 4 boxed
• Boxed dimensions: 155 x 165 x 65mm

Associated equipment:

• Digital source:  a custom passive server with WIN10, Roon, Fidelizer Pro 7.10, JCAT NET XE, and JCAT USB XE cards with FERRUM HYPSOS Signature power supply, KECES P8 (mono) linear power supply for the server, JCAT USB Isolator
• D/A Converter: LampizatOr Pacific 2 +Ideon Audio 3R Master Time (USB signal regenerator)
• Analog front end: J.Sikora Standard MAX turntable, J.Sikora KV12 tonearm, J.Sikora KV12 MAX tonearm, AirTight PC-3, phono stages: Grandinote Celio MK IV, ESE Lab Nibiru V 5.
• Power amplifiers: GrandiNote Shinai, Circle Labs M200, Art Audio Symphony II (modified)
• Preamplifier: Circle Labs P300
• Loudspeakers: GrandiNote MACH4, Ubiq Audio Model ONE Duelund Edition.
• Interconnects: Bastanis Imperial x2, Soyaton Benchmark, Hijiri Million, Hijiri HCI-20, TelluriumQ Ultra Black, KBL Sound Himalaya 2 XLR, David Laboga Expression Emerald USB, David Laboga Digital Sound Wave Sapphire Ethernet
• Speaker cables: Soyaton Benchmark
• Power cables: DL Custom Audio 3D-S-AC Connect, LessLoss DFPC Signature, Gigawatt LC-3
• Power: Gigawatt PF-2 MK2 and Gigawatt PC-3 SE Evo+; a custom power line with Gigawatt LC-Y in-wall cable; Gigawatt G-044 Schuko and Furutech FT-SWS-D (R)
• Network: Silent Angel Bonn N8 + Silent Angel Forester F1 + optical LAN isolator
• Racks: Base VI, Rogoz Audio 3RP3/BBS
• Anti-vibration accessories: ROGOZ-AUDIO SMO40 and CPPB16 platforms and ROGOZ AUDIO BW40MKII feet, Franc Accessories Ceramic Disc Slim Feet and Wood Block Platform, Graphite Audio CIS-35 and IC-35