Forgot:
Deering $1,700
OME $1,900

Thanks!

You'll know when you play them. One will call to you more than the other, and that's all that matters.

All things being equal, the Ome. It’s long out of production, so the price is stable. Both are easily converted to openback, should you ever want.

Check out the finish; I'm not a fan of the Eagle finish (gave one away because of it) but I don't know the Ome

Thank you all so far very much for your input, I greatly appreciate it. I am going to go play both, or whatever is still available, and make a decision tomorrow. One may be more banjo then I will ever need (both actually) But I just want a nice, mellow banjo that will be worth more then a cup of coffee when I leave a poor widow to clean up my messes. Actually, they both are probably worth more then our car, and will be a Lot more fun to to play with!

Fwiw I have an Ome xx and I love it. Never played an Eagle

Thank you. These opinions and personal preferences, and any info that I dont know enough of to know what I dont know mean a lot to me.

The OME has a silver spun tone ring which makes it lighter but I don’t think it sacrifices tone, quite the opposite.

I had an Ome Double-X with an earlier version of the Silverspun ring that had no holes. Great tone and good volume. I consider the Ome, with either tone-ring version, preferable to the Deering, and worth the extra cost. 

Thank you!

I favor the Ome with whatever tone ring is in it. 

I like Deerings too; they are solid, consistent, sound 'right' and feel good.

If the Ome has the silverspun, it is a radically different sound than a cast tone ring; more sparkly and delicate with a specific voice, whereas the cast rings are a bigger tone. 

My preference is based on the intangible 'feel' of the older Ome models and there is no good reason for choosing one or the other, throw a rock, inspect, play and follow your heart.  

Thank you. I was planning to go over today to try them out, but just checked the website, closed christmas and... juneteenth.