Yea, the BM2 was a short lived product... only a few out there. There was a dealer for BC that just passed away in the finger lakes of NY (disclaimer - I have no affiliation), his estate might still have a pair available if interested... there is guy listing that dealers BC amps and BC501 dac on usa audiomart, helping that estate out. They are not sure what to do the Ohm BM2 speakers, so they might be had (with a pair of BC speaker cables thrown in) for the right Ohm customer ;-) Its worth a listen to if interested... |
Yup, unique is the right word. Blue Circle doesn't have any mention of the BM2 on its web site, including in the History section. Too bad. |
Monk, sounds like things are working out just the way they should. Enjoy! You have some very unique speakers there! |
Well, the switch does help dial in the enjoyment factor! But I am a tweaker by heart :)
The BM2 replaced Merlin VSM-MXe's so they must be doing something correctly! What Ohm's do for large scale, dynamic performances has to be heard. 2c3d when set up in a audiophile manner (ie no Video screen between them, well out into the room), whether it's large symphonie or piano/voice... you're there, they're here... good stuff indeed! |
Jwc2012: Well, I sorted out the short. It seems the unbalanced main outputs on my preamp have failed. The wires are fine. Fortunately, my preamp has three sets of unbalanced main outputs, so I switched to a different set. Everything works fine, although I am a bit upset that this will be an issue if I ever sell the preamp. I'd either have to have it repaired or take a much lower price. Most of all, I thought I was buying a bullet-proof preamp, but the first one I bought had the same issue out of the box. I exchanged it, and 2.5 years later, I have the same issue with the second unit. I suppose the weight of the long RCA cables might have pulled something loose in the preamp, but that should not have happened. In any case, I now have the cables dressed in a way that does not stress the output jacks.
But I am back to basking in glorious Ohm Walsh sound! |
Monk,
Very cool you have the Blue Circle OHMs! I'd love to hear those.
OHM models 5 and 5000 have 4 three way level adjustments. Perspective equates to a mid-range adjustment essentially on those. I suspect yours is similar?
The other three are for treble and low and mid bass.
I find the controls extremely useful to help tweak the sound as needed to compensate fro room acoustics. |
Hi all! I have read every post here in this great Ohm thread. I have a pair of Ohm manufactured Blue Circle BM2 speakers, see the review here http://www.soundstage.com/equipment/bluecircle_bm2.htm
Now I have 2 questions, Who are those that use the tweeter switch? Your thoughts on this in room tweak?
Also, does anyone have a "Ohm Perspective" switch on their pair? I have a 3 way switch on the inside of the speaker terminals, similar to the type of jumper on a back of German Physiks? In that it seems to adjust the in room response (more vivid, more musical, more damped sort of thing)... May pair seems to have this custom tweak and I am still getting a hold on what it seems to do here... Anyone have this on their Ohms? |
And yes, I agree with your comment about John S. He's what I'd call a real mensch. In dealing with John, it strikes me that Ohm is very much his avocation, as well as a vocation and business enterprise. Pretty cool, and quite rare in this day and age. |
Bondmanp--sorry to hear of the short! Any idea of the cause? Hope the repairs don't set you back too much--or too long. |
Just a quick update. Loren Charles of Mark & Daniel Audio sent me an e-mail informing me that there was some sort of mistake at the factory. My Omni Harmonizer that I ordered weeks ago was never shipped but that they are now on there way. So I have to wait a couple weeks longer to see how well they blend in with my OHM 3000. Yeah, I'm a little upset. |
Jwc2012 - Thanks for the post. John S. is a real gentleman, and very generous (I speak from my own experience).
Mapman - Of course it is possible that something in how the chord and plugs are connected could be different. However, it was an upgrade done by the cable seller, Audio Art, to a power chord. I doubt anything changed besides the plugs.
Of course, Murphy's law rules: Now having all the cables needed to move my amp closer to my speakers, I did so, and was rewarded with a short in one or more of the ICs. I am stuck with headphones until I sort this out. :-( |
Bondmanp I also noticed some difference with my Pangea AC-9SE power cord when I plugged it in. Maybe just my imagination- most engineers would say that there's no theoretical basis for a difference in sound, but it's one of those minor tweaks. |
Hello all,
It's been a while since I last posted here. When I last did so, I was thinking of possible ways to improve the sound out of my original OW 2s. In the meantime, I got a great deal on a pristine set of OW 2XOs on EBay. Of course, UPS promptly trashed one of them in transit (hey, I got off light--they only trashed one). The mounting board was shattered and the tweeter was knocked loose & rattling around inside the can (what DO they do when shipping boxes?).
I called John S at Ohm who said to ship the cans back for repair and matched revoicing. (Some good advice from Mr. S: have UPS do the packing to deprive them of heir favorite defense, it's your fault for packi g poorly.) I sent them off and in about a week, they were back, along with a replacement mounting board. Even better, John S comped the "high repair" and new board, saying 'it's on the house.' Perhaps he was in the holiday spirit in the run up to the holidays, but a shout out and thank you to John.
The board repair and reinstallation were simple, except that the new board was slightly too big and I had to sand it down to fit. The metal bracket used to screw the old cans not the old particle board mounting panel also didin't fit, but they are unnecessary because the new plywood boards are much higher quality and sturdy enough to hold the screws and the can in place.
John S had told me that he still voices each pair of cans personally to maintain the house sound and that they are voiced as close as possible to the newest generation of Ohms. For that reason, he said, many people think their repaired speakers sound better than before, though the differences are subtle..
Because I still have the original 2s for he moment, I could do an A/B comparison with the repaired 2XOs. At first list, like someone who posted earlier, I wasn't pleased with the difference. The 2s sounded more precise and more detailed, especially in the high mids and up. In comparison, the refurbed 2XOs sounded, well, blah--flat and rather lifeless. On many recordings, the sound of the two sets was virtually identical. But on others, they were quite noticeably different, and the differences weren't subtle. The repaired 2XOs suffered by comparison--highs a bit too rolled off, lacking detailed harmonic and salient reproduction, weaker dynamics, and murky, indistinct imaging and soundstage.
I wondered if the repair had gone wrong or if UPS had managed to damage the cans somehow, but figured after all that hassle I'd just see if I'd get used to them.
Nearly two months later, I decided to give the comparison another try. The differences now are even more pronounced. Only now the 2XOs are vastly improved and now show the limits of the original 2s. Something in the can(s) seems to have needed some running in. Don't know what it might be--supposedly Ohm only glued back the tweeter and replaced a broken inductor coil. The clarity and overall sound of the 2XOs is now beautiful, and much more balanced. The sound is much richer, warmer, and better integrated top to bottom. The midrange is notably more robust, though the highs still sound a bit rolled off. Now, in comparison, the old 2s (still wonderful speakers btw) sound not only bright, but their sound is thinner and dryer. The detail I was picking up before was due to the accentuated highs. The 2XOs now image much better with more detailed resolution, and give a better sense of acoustic space in the room or hall. They still seem to be getting better, with the soundstage broadening out beyond the speakers. They didn't do this before when playing the same tracks, and the 2s never did this and still don't. I doubt that this is the result of my ears adjusting.
If this is an evolutionary improvement in sound, score one for Darwin. Now I'd really like to hear the most recent models (or maybe I wouldn't since I won't be spending that kind of money any time soon). But once again, I'm happy and grateful to have these extraordinary speakers. |
Bond,
Your findings with the different power cord plugs are interesting.
Are you sure the only difference was the type of plug? Could the connection to the cord itself perhaps have been more sound with the new plug versus old?
In any case, interesting that you heard a difference. |
Thanks for you thoughts, Wtf. Very instructive. |
Well, the results of my power cord upgrade are in. If you had told me five years ago that for under $3K I could own a pair orf loudspeakers that allowed me to hear the difference between brass plugs and copper plugs on the same power cord, I would have probably said that wouldn't be possible for $30K. But here we are. Needing a rather long power cord in order to move my amp nearer to my Walsh 2000s, I had to stick with lower-priced brands. I once bought a pair of ICs from AudioArt Cables, and liked them, so I spoke with Rob Fritz at AudioArt about a 5.5 meter power cord. Since the long run was pricey, I went with the entry-level Wattgate plugs, which are made of brass. While the cord sounded okay, there was a frequent emphasis in high frequency sibilants that was not pleasent, most often on female vocals. I talked to Rob about it, and he suggested I upgrade the cable plugs to copper Furutechs in order to eliminate the issue. I have to admit I was skeptical, but I tried it anyway. Well, eureka! The copper plugs fixed the sibilance issue, and sound really smooth, with nice extension at both ends, improved dynamic slam, and excellent soundstage width. The power cord was a good deal, but I am still shocked that my relatively inexpensive system with my Ohms was able to resolve this tiny difference in the power cord's plugs. |
This weekend, i experimented with the ohm 100 series 3 speakers back in the sun room, which i have not tried in quite awhile in that in the past, the bass was always just too heavy in there.
What a nice surprise this time that they are sounding spot on! The only difference is this time they
are each sitting on a one foot square ceramic tile acting as a plinth under the bass ports in the bottom. They sit on a thick wool oriental rug on a tile floor, that i have always had trouble with acoustically. Its a keeper
now! I can see why all newer 1000 series models have the plinth on the bottom. IT helps avoid too much interaction between bass port and floor/room acoustics.
Triangle titus are back in the larger family room where the 100s were prior on my second system. Set up nicely on stands (for the first time ever in that room) and no sub this time. The m&k needs to be rebuilt, a project for another day.
The triangles too sound quite glorious, a natural mate with the warmer electronics in that system. I think i can live without a sub there for a while with no problem. The 100s sounded the warmest I have ever heard OHM Walshes sound in my second system, with the NAD pre-amp, TAD Hibachi monoblocks,and mhdt Paradisea tube DAC. The Triangles are more efficient and tend more towards the cold/analytic side and benefit nicely from warmer gear upstream, including a tube or two.
As it stands, i may just donate my ohm Ls that i custom rebuilt myself a
while back to my sister. They will work well for her i think. These are in
my
unfinished area and do not get used often, only on occasion while playing
table tennis. I can easily pick up something inexpensive to replace those
eventually just to try something different. |
Since acquiring my Rubys, I've wondered about the Omni Harmonizer. I'd love to hear your impressions after you've had a chance to evaluate. I wouldn't have thought to mate it with Ohms. +1 |
|
Since acquiring my Rubys, I've wondered about the Omni Harmonizer. I'd love to hear your impressions after you've had a chance to evaluate. I wouldn't have thought to mate it with Ohms. |
Like wtf, I also keep MMGs to rotate with my Ohm 100s (w/ a pair of Rythmik subs, in both cases). Additionally, I have two very high quality full-range speakers available for spot duty. Any of these set-ups will produce -IMHO- outstanding results, however, the Ohms still see 90+% of the active duty. |
I own the OHM 3000, the only minor complaint I have is the soft dome tweeter is not as extended as a good ribbon tweeter. So I have on order, a add-on supertweeter which will sit on top of the speakers. The new Mark & Daniel Omni Harmonizer AMT supertweeter should arrive within the next two weeks. Can't wait! |
My "problem" with my Walsh 3's is that I'm happy with how they sound now, so I have no real desire to upgrade to the newer offerings. I thought I read in a previous post that the 3's had rubber (or treated cloth) surrounds so they don't need refoaming like the 4's and even 5's did. Anyway I'm not hearing anything unusual from them so I guess if it ain't broke don't fix it. |
Bondmanp .. just now finding the time to give my impressions of the 3 speakers. One reason I looked into other brands, besides curiosity, was my living situation changed and the room my stereo was going into was a bit larger. Nonetheless I used the MWTs for quite some time before finally making another purchase. In order to stay with Ohm's I would have had to step up to the Walsh 2000's to accommodate the room and at the time I simply couldn't spend the money. So I looked for something completely different and the Mark & Daniel Ruby caught my attention. I picked them up here on A'gon for less than half of the retail price. The Rubys are a 2-way stand-mount with an AMT tweeter. In comparison to the MWTs, the presentation is completely different .. much more forward and in-your-face. They do what monitors do really well. Although the Rubys have real body and presence, the soundstage isn't as wide as the MWT, but very good. These little monitors are fun, punchy, and go deeper than the MWT. The highs seems a bit more extended and a bit brighter without being fatiguing in the least and have wonderful coherence. The MWTs are a bit more laid back but certainly not dull in comparison. The MWTs present the scale of instruments much more realistically IMO and I'm sure I don't need to mention the wide sweet spot of the Ohms.
The MMGs came about because I had a little extra cash at the time and wanted to hear a panel, which I never had. Like many, I also think they are one of the great audio bargains. The MMGs and the MWTs share similar properties like scale of instruments, tone, and coherence. I love the sound of these little panels and they work better in my room than the others. I've thought about stepping up to the 1.7s when the time comes, but they are simply too big. Perhaps the 2000's will be next .. I do love the Ohm sound and I really want to hear the newer drivers. Unfortunately that won't be for quite a while due to a recent DAC purchase. I will also check out the Golden Ear Tritons you mentioned.
other gear:
Mac Mini 2010
Chordette QuteHD DSD DAC
SOtM dX-USB HD usb to s/pdif converter & mBPS-d2s battery ps
Odyssey Audio Cyclops Extreme/SE Integrated (w/ps upgrade) |
Remember tbat the newer Walshes in particular are very transparent and many tweaks can be done to fine tune the sound, including ICs.
My experience was similar to buttecreekers when i first hooked up my walsh 2 series 3 ohms in place of original walsh 2s. Totally different sound and presentation overall. The difference was in no way subtle. |
Welcome, Polarin! Glad to read about your recent acquisition of a pair of Walsh 3's! The Ohm Walsh sound is one that I instantly loved at first listen!
I'd like to share my thoughts on a recent upgrade to my Ohm Walsh 4's, that I purchased new back in 1985(and was still very happy with them).
After receiving the Columbus Day sale e-mail from John S., at Ohm, I decided to take the plunge and upgrade to the 4.5000's. I've only had the upgrade for about month, but I must say that the 4.5000 sound presentation is completely different to my original 4's!
At first listen I didn't like the presentation at all! There sound was so far off from what I was used to hearing. The low end is so much more prevalent, that I was overwhelmed by it! Also, the mid range is much more apparent now, than with my 4's.
I have been experimenting much with the various switch positions, and have found a combination that is fairly enjoyable. I am re-listening to many recordings, and finding a more complete overall presentation. I have also toed in the speakers about 20 degrees, and that seems to give a bit more centering to vocals. Although, I still find that there is a bit to much separation, mainly within the mid range male and female vocal frequencies, for my taste. But I am still working on those areas.
I am driving the speakers with a McIntosh Mc-352, and my normal listening levels range from -5dB to -15dB. The precision(and crispness) of say a kick or tom drum, or the snap of an electric bass guitar string, is what is most striking to me! The speed is fast and tight. There are passages within certain compositions, that I find the mid to upper mid range, to be too overwhelming for me. Which quite possibly could be the recording itself.
There are a couple of build issues I'm dealing with, but John S. has been very receptive in dealing with them thus far.
Overall, the more listening I do, the more pleased I become with this upgrade. |
Been reading this thread for a while now and thought I'd jump in and sorry if this gets long but I think it's a worthy read...After going "retro" a few years back and settling in with some pristine walnut Advents I've recently had the itch to acquire some new (used) speakers. I wasn't looking to replace the Advents per se' but had the itch to fool with something different.
Well, on my local CL a pristine set of Yamaha NS1000m's pops up and I've always been intrigued by these and the guy lives like 2 miles from me so I call and schedule a demo but came away unimpressed. I know it wasn't an ideal audition but I just couldn't get excited about them especially for $1000 so I passed.
About a week later a nice set of Ohm 3's show up on CL and this guy is literally walking distance from my house so I figure what the heck, even if for no other reason but to cross them off my list.
Now I remember Ohm's from Tech Hifi back in the 70's when I was cutting my teeth in this hobby and all I remember of them was the venerable Ohm F's. My cousin had a pair and I new they needed lot's of power and current, (but not too much!)and were somewhat difficult to place. But when everything was right they did things no other speaker could do.
Anyway, back to my audition...I hand the guy my CD of Steely Dans "Every Thing Must Go" album, he pops it into his low end CD player running through a mid-grade Denon AVR and... WOW!!! Crystal clear music was just flowing everywhere and I mean EVERYWHERE! I was flabbergasted at hearing music portrayed in such a manner that I really wasn't sure how to react. So I kept my best poker face on and he and I just BS'd about god knows what but track after track I was smitten by not only what I was hearing but HOW I was hearing it. I was intentionally moving around his room while listening and the music just sounded good no matter where I stood.
Now I've had plenty of "different is not necessarily better" moments when auditioning audio equipment, but I knew these were something special and I bought them on the spot (which I rarely do) and here's where it gets kinda fun for me. I bring them home and the wife gives me that look, (you know the one) so I disconnect the Advents (which she's never really liked the dated look of) and popped the Ohm's in their place. I get em connected to my so so Onix 120MK2 amp and she's watching X Factor so I just ran that through the Ohm's and she is ecstatic! NEVER before has she ever thought ANY of the countless brands of speakers that have passed through our family room sounded better (or worse) than the previous speakers they replaced. She was going on and on about it and then it hit me, she sits quite a bit to the side of the sweet spot and with these Ohms it just doesn't matter, the sound is damn near the same no matter where you sit. She even likes the look of them which is always a plus but the real kicker is when she tells our friends how much she likes them.
Now the critical part for me is after having settled in with these for the last month or so I will say that there is the odd song that still sounds a bit better to me on the Advents, however for the majority of stuff I listen to the Ohm's are just right. But when you factor in the enjoyment of how they sound anywhere in the room or even while moving about it's simply a no brainer to me, these are ultimate keepers, consider me a convert! |
Wtf - Thanks for the update. I bet I am not the only one who would love to hear your impressions of the differences of the three speakers you own. If you have the time, that is.
I also love music and gear, but space and finances require me to keep my purchases well-spaced and sensible upgrades rare. I am on year three with my Ohms, which replaced my 9-year-old Vandersteen 1Cs. Anything can happen, but I would not be surprised if I am listening to the Ohms for the rest of my life. I really cannot find anything in them to complain about. Of course, since I frequent hi-fi shows and audio club meets, you never know when I will hear something that is both affordable and good enough to make me think I could improve on the Ohms.
I will say this: The only speaker other than the Ohms I would recommend in the ~$3K price range for tower speakers is one that is newer than my Ohms, and one I only heard last summer - The Golden Ear Triton. I have yet to hear anything else in this price range (which is my price range) that I could live with long term.
Being this happy with my Ohms allows me to focus on improvements elsewhere in the system. So far, the Ohms have clearly revealed the value, or lack thereof, of any changes to gear or wires I have made. Current focus is on cabling. |
Hey guys good to see this thread alive and well .. it's been a while. In fact it's been so long that formerly I posted under Jmelvin. I had problems with my account during the transition and ended up creating a new account, hence the name change.
Since last posting on this thread, and that was back in '09 I think, my system has evolved .. new amp, DAC, and loudspeakers. What can I say? Love music. Love gear. My change from the MicroWalsh Talls was nothing more than a desire to hear a different flavor of loudspeaker. So after 7 years or so of ownership I decided to go back to a stand-mount, the Mark & Daniel Ruby, and was not disappointed. After having these for a while I wanted to taste a panel so I purchased the Magnepan MMG, and again I was not disappointed. I guess this is the start of a loudspeaker collection as I still own all 3 with no intentions of giving any of them up. I love each flavor!
So why am I posting? Yup, I recently put the Ohms back in the mix just to hear them again. I must say, I'm very happy I held on to them. These are such great speakers .. they do so much right. As you all know, the presentation is unlike any other. More people really need to hear an omni.
Cheers .. Happy New Year |
Wishing you a speedy recovery, Tim. |
Bond-great on the 2000's, and boy, I do not envy you with cord/cable changes, those are the kind of "upgrades" that typically would drive me mad! But yes, the Ohm's are very revealing of anything in the stream, but the good thing is, I also find them very easy, no matter what is there for the most part.
I am sadly missing my Ohm's very much. Health and financial issues have forced my hand and my entire system was sold over the last few months. At some point though down the road, I would like to be able to get another pair. I guess I have just gone through a major purging/simplification at this point. But I will be back. Tim |
Frazeur - My 2000s are singing wonderfully. A recent power cord change to my amp is over-emphasizing some HF transients, especially on certain female voices, but the cord is still running in, and upgrading the plugs should fix it completely. I just need money! It's amazing how revealing the Ohms are of changes upstream. I've been listening more often and for as long as I can lately. |
You could be right Bond, there sure are a lot of them out there though. Thanks for the offer on the vortex box. One of my friends just built one himself and loves it. I haven't been over to check it out yet, but something I have given some thought too. In the meantime, the Naim and its abilities are doing what I need at the moment!
How have your 2000's been doing? Hope all is well with you! This little part of the forum has been a bit quiet of late, always enjoyed a good Ohm read. Been wondering if anyone was able to take advantage of Johns Black Friday sale at Ohm? Tim |
Frazeur - I haven't had the time or the inclination to search through the Logitech forums to get the story. Unfortunately, making a great sounding music player for very little money doesn't mean much outside our very rarified world. Since you can't walk down the street with it, or import 32kbps audio files from some cloud somewhere, or make phone calls on it, or surf the net while you listen, the SBT had limited appeal to the current generation of attention span-challenged 20-somethings. A real shame if they don't replace it or license it to someone. The SBT happens to be a match for the Vortexbox appliance made in heaven. Maybe the Vortexbox folks will buy the rights to the SBT technology? Who knows. Yes, there are many ways to skin the music server cat, but the SBT was one of the easiest, most cost effective, and high performance ways ever. If you need any info on the Vortexbox from a happy user, just let me know. |
I've had my 5000s 4 months now and they sound better than ever. It does take a long time to break them in! Driving them with 600 watt bryston and they are very dynamic with that. I have slabs of granite anchored with tip toes and use transparent cables. I'm very pleased with the sound. Vocals are very lifelike and bass is full but not boomy. Not at all harsh either. I have just got through reading these 1800 or so posts and I'm convinced more than ever I made the right choice! I had traded in my ohm I's that I had for 30 years for the 5000's. the I's are a great speaker too. Bought some PSB stratus golds about 7 years ago and I sold them and kept the I's John S told me the I's were the best coventional rock speaker they had made |
Bond, shame the Squeeze Box are no more, not sure what happened there. Right now I just go lossless with my iTunes via Apple TV or directly to my Naim Uniti. There are so many ways to skin the cat, have also been thinking about a vortex box as well, but that will be way in the back burner at this point! Tim |
Tim - I do use Pandora for background, especially when I am ripping & tagging CDs onto my server. But for serious listening, I try to avoid lo-res sources like Pandora. While it sounds unoffensive on my system, it can't get near the presence and dynamics of full res FLAC files through my SBT and Superberry DAC. |
I do the same thing Bond, only am usually streaming Pandora mixes or whatever is on my iTunes radio. Always nice for those moments when you just want to sit back and relax and not fuss with anything. The Ohm's always sounded great.
I do have to say, some of the better mixes/soundtracks on blu-ray can be very dynamic and well done, but a lot too can be downright crap. Like most things no matter if it is CD, LP or otherwise, the recordings can be a mixed bag. Enjoy. Tim |
"Many TV shows and films dissappoint, but music from my own library almost never does. Lovin' my Ohms!"
Amen, brother! |
I had a sublime experience last night. I threw the SBT on random song mix mode and relaxed for a while, lights down, chair reclined back. On came "Nathan Jones" by Bananarama. Don't laugh, I really enjoyed 80s and 90s pop. I remember this LP - "Wow" - which came out around 1990, as a really bright sounding CD. Well, yes, it was bright, but not at all in the bad way I recall from my pre-Ohm days. On the contrary, while light in the bass, it was highly detailed, smooth, and I heard lots of details I'd never heard before. I sat there with a silly grin on my mug for the whole cut. I find myself more and more often chosing to flip on the Squeezebox Touch rather than switch in the TV or watch a film. This is a good thing. Many TV shows and films dissappoint, but music from my own library almost never does. Lovin' my Ohms! |
See John at Ohm for the Black Friday sale! Got a notice in my e-mail, so if you have been holding out, now is a great time to buy. Happy Holidays folks! Tim |
Yes, and yes, Mapman. I am a real prepper. Everyone laughed at me until Sandy hit. Unfortunately, while I know how important a whole-house generator is, I just cannot afford one, so that was the one hole in my preparedness. My basement system was protected by a sump pump and a water-powered sump pump backup. I powered everything down and disconnected from the wall sockets prior to the storm, and made sure all but my subwoofers were elevated a few inches off the floor. When we lost power, and evacuated to my parents, I took the music server's portable backup drive with me. While not an expensive item, the time spent loading my music (about 1/3 done after a year and a quarter of ripping) is not covered by insurance. But the power came back on Saturday, and by later Saturday night I was enjoying some badly missed listening (my folks have a very crappy stereo). Thanks for asking. |
Bondman,
I recall you live in NJ/NY metro area.
Here's hoping that you came through Sandy OK. |
If it's not out of the question for you, Carja, I can highly recommend computer audio for digital. I went Mac-and-DAC about 7 yrs ago and was sold immediately. Hi-resolution downloads really do sound better in my system - IMO. |
Coot I can only put them some 15" from the wall, but the stage depth is pretty good nonetheless. My living circumstances (and my wife) prevent anything else. The 5000's include adjustment switches that help with adjustment for room placement (ask John for specifics). My only "weakness" is my SACD/CD player, which will have to do for now, but if I had $1000 to spend it would be without question on the OPPO BDP-95.
I was happy with my Sumo (130 wpc) until I got the McCormack- made a nice difference, but I liked the Sumo for a year so just enjoy what you have and upgrade as finances permit. I don't think that Conrad-Johnson is abandoning the brand- in fact, they will install upgraded capacitors in a DNA-250 if desired, and I'm sure that their service is good too. It comes with a 3 year warranty if you register it. |
Carja - Thanks for your input. A few years ago I was hot on McCormack 500 and then they seemed to fall off the map. Seem to be weak on marketing which makes me nervous - as in about to disappear from the scene.
I see your photos. Looks like you have limited space as I do for the 5000s. I have a lot of air space due to large openings, but there is no way I can put these 5 ft from the wall. 30-32 inches is it. I know the staging suffers, but otherwise a nice natural sound - on chamber music especially. I'm satisfied except the old B&K runs out of gas and gets screechy and congested when I turn it up. |
Coot I'm very happy with my McCormack DNA-250. The bass respose was noticibly improved over my Sumo Polaris II. Note that the McCormack is rated at 250 wpc, but that is into an 8 ohm load and the Walsh 5000's present 6 ohms so the output is over 300 wpc to them. And the price of the amp at around $2500 is very attractive. The other thing is that if you want to upgrade the amp, Steve McCormack (who lives in Vista, CA) offers upgraded caps, etc at a variety of price levels. |
Thanks Bondmanp. I guess I'm just expecting to hear a bit more detail in the mid thru high range frequencies. I still love the Ohm Walsh sound. The imagery is wonderful. I'm not sure I'm looking forward to having to remove the old binding post/control board, though. Taking a hammer, of sorts, to my beautiful speakers will be a bit disconcerting!
Dave |
As a happy owner of the 2000s and an older pair of MWTs, I would say, expect clearly audible, but subtle differences. Not night and day changes. This is a good thing. Unlike some speaker makers, Ohms continue to be voiced similarly by the original designer, John Strohbeen, and he is good at getting speakers to sound the way he wants them to. So, the Ohm house sound is retained, just refined further in an evolutionary way. |
Thanks Mapman, for taking the time to respond. I've been somewhat out of the loop regarding Ohm Walsh speaker model progression. So I must admit that I'm not familiar with models 100S3, or 5S3. I would only guess that those model upgrades are the predecessor to the x.x000 series of upgrades.
I've been so happy with my 4's all these years, that it's only been within the last few years that I have taken up the interest again, in speakers, that is.
About a year ago, or so, I had John design and build me a 3000CC custom center channel. I say custom because it's mounted from the ceiling with the driver being inverted 180°! After trying a couple of different center channel speakers over the past decade, I decided to speak with John and see what he could do for me. I am very pleased with the results.
I listen to a lot of multi-channel music, and for the first time the forward sound stage has a timbre match that is much more seamless (I should have done this long ago)!
So, I'm excited and hopeful, that the 4.5000's will be a very noticeable audible difference.
Dave |
