I have both CA-14 Cards and Omnis. I really like the sound of the omnis (just a personal preference) but I am not always in front of the speakers or in the spots where omnis are generally at their best. However, I would still like to use the omnis and am curious if there is anyone else out there that uses omnis either exclusively or predominantly and how have your results been? Thanks in advance!
I almost exclusively run my omnis these days (and have for several months). Out of the last 25 shows I've recorded, 23 of them have been using the omnis and I wish I had used the omnis for a 24th. At the same time, there were two shows of these 23 where I would have liked to have used the CA-14 cards, however, due to security issues, etc., I couldn't and ended up with a (IMHO) subpar capture.
I generally prefer ths sound that the omnis capture over the best placed cards and that was why I recently upgraded to DPA 4061s. The CA-14 omnis served me well but I also like the idea of having something that is smaller, and IMHO, better sounding. I would not say the DPA's are even 2x better sounding than the CA-14s but at 7-8x the price (new), I wouldn't have gone that route if I didn't get a good deal on a used pair.
For recording, I generally try to get as close as I can to stacks towards the front of the club. If it's not GA, then I always try to get seats in the first eight to ten rows of a theatre/smaller venue. If I'm at an arena/amphitheatre/stadium show or even a larger GA club where I can't get up close and get stuck back by the soundboard area (i.e., a 3000 capacity club), I'll run the cards because I can't get close enough. There will be times where your cards will be better suited to pull a better recording, however, I find I usually go with the omnis and am very happy that I did.