OHM Speakers

•MicroWalsh Tall
•They perform very well in both music and film (2 channel only).
•Exceptional performance*: Boxless sound (they disappear), neutral, beautiful mid-range, very smooth and integrated through the frequency range, large sweet spot, very easy to place, can easily handle high dB levels.
•Weakness: Not quite as pinpoint imaging as I'm used to with dynamic designs. Veneer finish is nice, but not quite the same level as some others that I've seen.
•Other speakers considered: Meadowlark Kestrel, Swift, Kestrel 2. Dynaudio Audience 62, Vandersteen 1C, Proac Tablette and Studio 100, B&W 704 and 705, Magnepan 1.6, Paradigm Studio 20 and 60, Audio Physic Yara, psb Stratus Bronze, Totem Arro and Hawk.
•I'm using a McIntosh MA 6200 Integrated, Sony SACD/DVD player, Rega Planar 2 turntable with Kimber 4TC/ PBJ cables.

*Other pluses : customer service is the best that I've seen, lifetime upradeability and a handmade speaker delivered to my door from Brooklyn.

>Walsh 5
>Great performancer, boxless sound, neutral, very nice mid-range, very smooth, they do not hurt your ears no matter how loud you play them, do not need a sub-wolfer, seamless from top to bottom, large sweet spot, and very easy to place.
>There coherent, no listening fatiuge.
>Need LOTS of ss power, they do take a very long time to break-in.
>Von Schweikert VR4 GEN.111.
>Sunfire Signature amp. Legacy pre-amp. and 12 gauge solid copper wire.

I owned Ohm Walsh 4's from 1985-1995.
Great speakers.
Great customer service from Ohm. I had a slight problem (one speaker sounded louder than the other); Ohm sent me a new "top" for no charge.
The surrounds rotted and the voice coils burned out and it brought me to tears to get rid of them.
On the other hand, they went to shit in ten years.

Here's the long story, I'm bored:
I'm a Magnepan/Nht1259(home-rolled) fan now. Also experimenting with VMPS at present, jury still out on VMPS,though I'd venture that they are too difficult to be fun for me. I'd snap up a pair of Ohm's in a heartbeat--except that they have just gotten really expensive. Those $300 Magnepans on top of a gigantic, hated-by-the-wife woofer like the NHT1259 (each box is six cubic feet internally!) sound better. And I suppose they should, as the woofer boxes weigh 200 pounds each. Have I mentioned my wife hates them. Totally punchy, though, and she knows it.
Let me know if you find a deal on some Ohms. I figure around $1000 a pair I'd be interested. But they do fry voice coils and surrounds after a decade or two, like most speakers.
Paul"I'm getting old, dammit"

<On the other hand, they went to shit in ten years.>>

The foam on my first pr. of Ohm,s, which were the 4XO's lasted 15 years but only one speaker did the foam go out, (it would buzz at times, that is how i knew something was wrong. So i replaced just the one. Never had any other problem with them. The ones i have now are the 5's, (only about one year old and they out-perform the 4xo's by a good margin. They will more than likly be my last pr. The latest walsh speakers use surrounds that last twice as long (was told by John at Ohm). I still have the old 4XO drivers stored away. If would interested you could make me an offer on them.

Really nice of you to offer the 4XO heads for sale. I'm sure these will sound at least very good. I just purchased a pair of VMPS RM40's used for $3000, and another pair of speakers just doesn't fit into my living room. Here's why. I've got a twenty-four foot living room, that is twelve feet wide for the first 14', then is only about 10' wide for the other ten feet, as well as having a lower (7') ceiling. I've got the VMPS RM40's in the middle, a pair of Martin Logan Quests in the back, and a pair of Magnepan MMG's on top of large (six cubic foot internal) woofer boxes as mains. So I've got three fun ribbony-electrostatic speakers in a small space wishing they (and I) had more room!! Anyway, I'm giving these VMPS speakers about five years--if electronically crossing and/or sealing up the funky passive radiators doesn't bring perfection (and nothing does) perhaps I'd consider a pair of Ohms. Tell Strohbeen to get off his ass and use a decent driver! The Ohms look like a friggin'cheap car speaker. They have a large, stamped frame, high excursion (with aforementioned crappy foam surround) woofer mated to a cheapy fabric dome tweeter. What a profit center! On the other hand, the old Ohm Walsh 4's I had still bring back many sonic memories--they could spacially perform well, and I do miss aspects of that great sound. Crappy tweeter/mid scratchiness that I just couldn't stand after years, though. I am quite appreciative of Ohm's ability to make a great speaker with crap components. Solid engineering at work. With their well engineered crossovers and cheapy drivers, Ohm defined a profitable, sustainable company! But for three or four grand or more who are they kidding? The MMG/NHT 1259 system I have is a super performer and costs about half the price of Ohms including electronic crossover, and is smokin' good! Wayy better than my Walsh 4's ever were. Give me a year or two and I'll classify the VMPS then! Great dynamics on the VMPS to 60 hertz, I'm still working on the bass and an upper midrange glare that can toast my ears.
Unless...
And life can be an unless. The "unless" is if you want to rid yourself of the 4xO heads for cheap. Then I'll play. Likely, I'd put them atop a piece of Sonotube I get from Home Depot. Let me know if you want to get rid of them to someone who will actually use them. I'm interested in having fun with speakers, and I can typically hear the difference between speakers. Electronics is a psychic clusterfuck as far as I can tell, and most high end electronics manufacturers are out to make a big buck on the "brain" effect! (idiot, like me, listener sees a 1/4" thick faceplate and thinks "good sound" and then hears "good sound") I enjoy listening to different speakers, though, and Ohms are a positive memory. You shoud consider wiring up those 4XO heads and use them for a 7.1 system! Try a 4' piece of 12" sonotube with a 36" long 3" diameter port in it. Stuff the enclosure with fiberglass, too. That's a start. With that much enclosure volume, you'd at least be on the right path. Most people make their speakers too small, is my outlook.
Use those heads if you don't sell 'em cheap!
Later,
Paul