Ohm Walsh Micro Talls: who's actually heard 'em?

Bondmap,

I have gone through various 5.1 and 7.1 configurations for the sides and rears, trying combinations of the Super 2's, the 100 S3 omnis, the mini-micro omni's, bipoles, dipoles, and three sets of direct radiators. For my money, there is no substitute for 7.1 if you want a full soundfield back there.

My current home-theater configuration is as follows.

LCR: 3x100 S3 behind an acoustically transparent screen.

Side Surrounds: 2 x Super 2 (with the 100-S3 drivers).

Rears: 2 x 100 S3 in a half-sized omni version.

The LCR are behind an acoustically-transparent screen. The LCR and side surrounds are powered by an Emotiva XPA-5 amp, and the rears are powered by an Outlaw 7125 amp.

I am using a Yamaha RX-V765 as a pre-pro.

Everything is crossed at 80Hz to an Epik Conquest subwoofer.

I also have 2xMicro-Walshes in the mini-omni design, which I may use as heights/wides if I go above 7.1 or I may use as part of another system.

Finsup,

My room is rectangular--about 12.5 feet by 17 feet. It is closed off from everything else by doors, but I wouldn't call it hermetically sealed.

I've gone through a bunch of speakers for the side and rear surrounds, and I've come to the following conclusions. I prefer them at least two feet above ear level. I don't like direct radiating. I prefer them to match the fronts as close as possible.

Finsup: I have a 7.4 HT system with all 100-S3 drivers. I use Yamaha's YPAO (RX-V763 with external amps), and it works fine. I also have a 2.1 system with 2XO's; an older HTR-5990's YPAO (no amps) works OK there as well.

Rbf1138: In my 7.4 system I have four Epik Empires, with the Empires EQ'd using an SVS AS-EQ1, x-overed at 80Hz. My 2.1 system uses an older ACI Titan XL with no EQ on the sub, x-overed at 80Hz. I also have a 4.1 system with two Microwalsh Short omnis for the mains. The sub is a Paradigm Ultracube 10, EQ'd with an Anti-Mode 8033, x-overed at 100Hz. All the subs work fine with the Ohms. I also have used the inexpensive Behringer 1124 Feedback Destroyer as a sub EQ and gotten good integration with the Ohms.

Finsup:

Speakers:
Left/Center/Right: 3xOhm Walsh 100-S3
Left/Right Surrounds: 2x 100-S3 in Ohm Walsh 2 cabinet
Left/Right Rears: 2x100-S3 half-sized and in omni config.

Subwoofers:
4xEpik Empire-2 up front and 2 to side of listening position

Electronics:
Oppo BDP-83 blu-ray player
Yamaha RX-V765
Emotiva XPA-5 Amplifier (for LCR and surrounds)
Outlaw 7125 Amplifier (for rears)
SVS AS-EQ1 subwoofer equalizer

Display:
Panasonic AE-4000U front projector
100 inch acoustically transparent screen

Cabeling:
Monoprice

Room:
12.5x17x8
listening position about 9 feet from screen
Some acoustic treatments and dark curtains/rugs

I got the surrounds, Empires, Yamaha, XPA-5, 7125, AS-EQ1, Panasonic, and screen at steep discounts (on sale/used/rebates).

Mapman, Finsup:

I got the Ohms because of their reputation for vocals (you see a lot of people over at AVS complaining about dialogue intelligibility in movies) and music (I'm a big fan of Bollywood). And they deliver the goods there!

Given what's on a modern soundtrack and the well-known room-mode issue, HT pretty much requires subwoofers. I prefer a sealed design. The Empires are great for music and integrate well with the Ohms. But the Empires leave a little to be desired below 20Hz.

The Ohms have one slight drawback for HT. They are not what HT people would call high sensitivity, and hence they can't be easily played at reference level.

When properly set up, a surround system playing a well-engineered 5.1/7.1 soundtrack creates a bubble of sound around you. The effect is quite dramatic.

Finsup:

The spec sheet that came with my Ohms says the sensitivity is 88 dB/W/m with a recommended peak amplification of 200 Watts. This means that, absent room/placement effects, I can get 102 dB's/speaker at 9 feet. Reference level requires 105dB's/speaker, which would mean 400 watts, and most people would recommend having another 3dB's of head room, which would mean 800 watts!

http://www.doctorproaudio.com/doctor/calculadores_en.htm

In any case, the Emotiva is 200 watts into 8 ohms and the Outlaw is 125 watts into 8 ohms.

Many people in HT are moving to speakers with higher sensitivities. For example a sensitivity of 94 means you can divide the wattages above by 4!