Are Ohm Walsh Speakers the Poor Man's MBLs?

I own Ohm 100s and have extensively auditioned every MBL except for the new extremes. They sound almost nothing alike. MBLs are a more dynamic, exciting speaker that can startle with sheer SPLs and 3d imaging. Ohms are actually far more neutral in octave to octave balance, and have wonderful imaging with body and weight, but nowhere near the front to back depth.

For an hour, I'll take MBL. For the long haul, I prefer Ohm. Just MHO.

Marty

PS A good subwoofer will help the Ohm narrow the gap in dynamics and impact, but not front to back imaging.

Map,

I haven't. I want to be clear, the front to back imaging from the Ohms is very good, relative to most speakers that I've heard. In this respect, the little ProAc Tablettes and MBLs are more striking, great fun and really dramatic, but not essential to me. The Ohm 100s image really well, but can't do what I'd call "audiophile parlor tricks". Maybe I'll pull the 100s out into the room for an experiment, but, more likely, I'll just live with 'em the way they are.

Marty

Map,

MBL likes to demo the 101 at trade shows with an electric blues recording (don't know the title) played at ear shattering volumes. Standing in the crowd about 15 ft from the speakers, the entrance of the solo guitar jumps forward in a "touch it" kind of way. I've also noted this effect on big band and orchestral music demos of this speaker at 2 dealers and, to a lesser extent, on demos of the 116 (or possibly 111, can't quite recall), and 121 at another dealer. Very cool, but I'm not inclined to build my system around this.

Way back when, I owned Tablettes and, as you noted, the effect was more prominent on orchestral fare. My gut instinct is that my Ohm 100s won't really pull this off regardless of positioning, but one day I'll try your experiment and see what happens when the speakers move into the nearfield.

Marty