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

Mapman. What ICs do you like with the Ohms? I had been using LAT ICs and speaker wire with nice sound.

Sndsrtaud,

IT can vary, but I use DNM Reson ICs throughout my system. I like these for their flexibility, cost effectiveness, coherence and overall clarity. The bass tends towards the leaner side compared to some ICs but is very articulate and full and a nice match to the OHMs.

For a fuller low end, I also like MIT networked ICs. I use the older and less expensive Terminator series ICs. I tend to prefer these more with my monitors.

FOr speaker cables, I have no clear preference. I use industrial grade in wall speaker wire to my f5s which reside in the room adjacent to my gear. The results are very good having tuned everything accordingly.

In my main room where my gear resides, I use more expensive AUdioquest cv6 speaker cables. I have had my 100s and Triangle monitors in there. My Dynaudio monitors are in there currently. The CV6 sounds very open and dynamic in there with all, but the OHMs tend to respond to tweaks the most.

Kbuzz - I started with a new pair of Ohm Walsh 2000s in my combo 2-channel/HT system, leaving my Vandersteen center and surrounds in place. The back surrounds were and remain a pair of Paradigm Atoms. I sold my Vandersteens (2 pairs of 1Cs and the center). Then I found a pair of MicroWalsh Talls here on A'gon from a nice, local seller. They were a little banged up, but nothing horrible, and the price was right! These are now my L/R surrounds. I doubt you'll see a used Ohm center for sale. I bought the smaller center channel from Ohm (talk to John Strohbeen, and he'll let you know what is appropriate for your set up). It was $700 plus shipping. It is not very large. It is shaped like an upside-down "T". The cabinet is about 16" wide, 3" high, and 5" deep (all approximate). Sitting atop the cabinet is a can roughly the size of a MicroWalsh Tall can, with its cap. I have it on a low, angled stand beneath my Plasma display. While I am much less passionate about film than music, I feel my surround presentation is more than adequate. The uniformity of sonics from one Ohm to the next is outstanding, and a hallmark of John Strohbeen's, IMO.

Phealon: Congrats on the wonderful find! I agree with you about the need for a base. I have cement floors (carpeted). While John was confident that bases were not needed, my floor is uneven, so the speakers rocked a bit (not rocked as in rock 'n' roll, but as in wobbling). I ordered a custom set of cradle bases from Sound Anchors for about $325, with three-point adjustable spikes. Sure enough, the sound improved, with cleaner transients, better definition and increased detail.

Stph: That Kedo speaker uses a Manger midrange driver!! I have heard this driver in a local DIYer's speaker, and it is a remarkable thing. It is a very expensive driver, and the carbon fiber cabinet ain't cheap, either. These have to be $30,000 speakers. Although not a walsh design type, this speaker is clearly designed for 360 degree radiation.

Dear Mapman...what sort of image height do you perceive when the vocalist is at realistic listening levels i.e. singing between speakers or slightly behind the speaker plane? If 5-6ft, does this effect extend to multi-tracked lead vocalist in either channel?

Reading back through this Thread I'm staggered at some of the amplifier power reserves being rumoured. In the case of 500W or 1000W > 4 ohms, how does the Ohm 5000 react to Telarc 1812 type peaks? I've seen this type of program material blow many a fine bass driver :(
What is your experience?

Many thanks....

".what sort of image height do you perceive when the vocalist is at realistic listening levels i.e. singing between speakers or slightly behind the speaker plane? If 5-6ft, does this effect extend to multi-tracked lead vocalist in either channel?

That's a hard one to answer.

Specific recording parameters are a big factor. You get what's there. Often, that is a lot. There is always good natural ambience to vocals that make them sound natural in the space and easy to locate, usually somewhere between the driver height and the ceiling, from a typical listening position, but are seldom pinpoint in location, more like a live performance than what you would hear typically between two smaller stereo speakers.

THis tends to carry over even into mono recordings and make those seem very lifelike with a natural 3-d ambience, though not stereo, sometimes it can be hard to tell it is pure mono.

The omni-like wide dispersion helps keep the presentation sounding coherent from most anywhere you would listen from, so the sweet spot is essentially quite broad.

"Reading back through this Thread I'm staggered at some of the amplifier power reserves being rumoured. In the case of 500W or 1000W > 4 ohms, how does the Ohm 5000 react to Telarc 1812 type peaks? I've seen this type of program material blow many a fine bass driver :(
What is your experience?"

I have 5s, series 3, not 5000s, which I expect are similar, but I can speak for the 5s.

I have some old telarc CDs and records and I have witnessed exactly what you are talking about back in their heyday. They are known for overall dynamic range and peaks.

Lots of music I play has very demanding peaks, like orchestral, big band, electronica, etc., both on CD and record.

My goal with the OHM 5s and use of monster amps as I call them with same was to be able to raise the roof and go as loud as I would like without stress, breakup, compressed dynamics, etc. Like the biggest baddest systems one might hear out there, but at a price point I might handle.

I would say I accomplished that goal and have been most pleased. WHen I listen, I realize how fortunate I am to have been able to get to where I am audio/sound wise.

Some recordings make me nervous when I know what is coming next, not wanting to have to deal with any expensive repairs due to accidents, but I have yet to hear any of those bad things in my main rig with the BC ref1000m amps and the OHM 5s. I am not as brave with the rest of the gear I have at home, though most of it does quite well still in these regards by most any audiophile standards I would say.

Moon,

I'd agree with Mapman, the height thing is really recording specific.

One of my favorite "studio-stunt" recordings to demo the imaging capabilities of the Ohms (100s w/ a pair of Rythmik subs in my case) is found on Lindsey Buckingham's "Under The Skin". The track "It was You" bounces grouped/multi-tracked vocals around the stage - left/right, up/down, forward/back. This is not exactly a natural, audiophile approved recording technique, but a dramatic demo of how well the speakers place sources in space.

Similarly, "Q sound" recordings are shown in full glory.

IME, with more traditional recordings, results will vary too much to generalize.

Marty

Moonglum: I agree fully with Marty and Mapman regarding image hieght. I have just 6' ceilings in my man cave, and with good recordings, the vocalist is about a foot or so beneath the ceiling.

FWIW, I run my 2000s with an Odyssey Audio HT3 (w/ cap upgrade), rated at 150 watts/channel. I do have them rolled off below 80Hz, first order, as my Vandersteen subs roll in. So, the level to the Ohms is down 6dB at 40Hz, and 12dB at 20Hz. I do not push my system so loud that it hurts my ears, but I play it pretty loud, and the system also serves as part of my home theater rig, which can get pretty loud, too (but I don't think I usually watch at "Dolby reference levels"). In the 2.5 years I have had them, I have never felt that they were either underpowered or being over-driven.

And, just like Mapman, I take great pleasure in the fact that, at a fraction of the cost of statement speakers and gear, I have a system that gets closer to SOTA performance than I'd ever hoped for.

Hi Mapman,
Many thanks for your most detailed and informative reply. As a 'Stat user I can readily identify with the effects that you describe. It's good to hear that you are also experiencing "phase" effects which can place the sound in other parts of the room. Strangely enough I tended to hear those effects more with my old LP12 t/t than with the current Raven unsuspended table (I think attributable to the fact that the Raven has more dynamic contrast which ultimately leads to a more natural sound.)
I won't mention the Logans presentation but simply say that the reason I asked was that I've been interested in Ohms for some time.
It's always good to get genuine enthusiasts views (which you guys obviously are). The fact that you are so enthusiastic suggests that the Ohms are something special.

I only have a single reservation regarding the Ohms and that is the fact that John uses a fairly massive driver to cover most of the audible spectrum from DC upwards.
10K is one serious upper limit for a bass/midrange driver but I guess we should acknowledge that some speaker designers swear by only using one driver (period) and thereby no crossover. :)
Do you feel there is any sense of strain by the bass driver to capture those upper frequencies?
Best regards.....

Hi Marty,
Interesting.
I remember a collection of Beach Boys recordings where many of the tracks had been clearly recorded in the same studio with the same treatments. In these cases the voices appeared uniformly over 5ft but some tracks were clearly done elsewhere. In one case, a Beach Boy's voice appeared at the top of the L panel (>5ft) while his opposite number appeared (extraordinarily) at the BASE of the R panel (just above the sub-woofer)!!

Generally I find that height is a function of loudness. Full height is coincidentally achieved when the vocalist is pretty much level, or a whisker behind, the speaker plane - but sometimes can be even further back. Drums and guitars are generally about 3-4 ft from the floor while flutes etc tend to be same height as the vocalists so it all leads to a very realistic presentation.
Adding surround sound DSP increases the phasiness and results in all performers becoming slightly "taller" :)
Reverb embedded within the recording is the primary reason for outside-the-loudspeaker effects just as the complete absence of reverb causes the sound to appear dead centre of the panel.
Agreed that this sonic trickery is not based on reality but a function of the speakers using the room's reflective surfaces and also reverb/phasing within the recording itself.
It is undeniably entertaining and experience enhancing :)

Thanks Bondmanp....funny you should mention a sub-woofer. I've looked at 2 "omnis/quasi-omnis" in particular : the Deuevel Bella Luna (needs a subwoofer?) and of course the Ohm 5K (which for music, probably never needs a sub-woofer?) Certainly given the Ohms rendering of Organ music, it suggests that the Ohm is often better than many dedicated sub-woofers! :)
This really makes the Ohm a front-runner in my book. I've heard too many speakers that drop off at 40Hz e.g. the Maggie 3.7 and for me that's just too limited.
All the best....

Moon,

No ill effects from the wide range driver that i am aware of. I believe the Walsh driver confguration has a lot to do with its effectiveness from top to bottom, a fairly unique capability of Walsh drivers i would say.

Hi Mapman,
I'm seriously considering booking the odd 1 week holiday here and there and taking in demos of the 2 speakers I mentioned (Duevel's full omni vs Ohm's quasi-omni).
Matthias, the European distributor is a very helpful chap and has offered the facility of User demos if I'm ever in the neighbourhood. I missed the chance to hear them during a recent German hifi exhibition (and to be honest he's probably given up on me thinking I've gone elsewhere but I simply take reasonable time to evaluate and choose products). No point in pestering the man when we have a Forum like this. :)
I believe he also does his own active-crossovered version of the 5K which even John is impressed by relative to the top performing passive Ohm 5K.... :)
I don't know how many people own them but the bass performance is clearly enhanced by this method.
(Can you buy the "upgrade kit"? Food for thought :)

Hi guys, nice to see this thread still moving along. I think with the image height as others have said, is very recording dependant as is soundstaging(althought the very nature of the Ohm makes these things even better in my mind). I notice varying image height very much when I am playing around with my MWT/omni's. Last night I was listening to many different types of music, from Yellowjackets, Pink Floyd, and then decided to listen to some Who. On "Who's Next", image height was to the top of my 8' ceiling, whereas the other recordings I had been listening to were more about the 6' foot or so height. The omni MWT's are very interesting, the stage is more set back from the front plane of the speakers, yet pretty much blows the wall behind them away. My Ohm 3000's tend to be more all around the speaker. The MWT kind of challenged my preconceived notions of what they would sound like in a 2-channel setup-I had purchased mine with more of a surround/rear duty in an A/V setup.

Moonglum, the next time you see or talk to Mathias, give him a "hello" from the USA for me. We corresponded a couple fo times via e-mail quite awhile back. He seems to be a very wonderful guy and has a passion for the Ohm's. I too would be intersted in hearing an actively driven pair of 5000's myself! Enjoy the music! Tim

Interesting how different recordings sound with the Ohms, isn't it? I just put on the remastered vinyl of Are You Experienced. On a conventional system, Jimi's sound effects bounce from speaker to speaker; on my 5000's, it seems to swirl- very cool to listen to. Then I put on a new version of Abbey Road (vinyl), which while very enjoyable seemed to have the top end of the treble muted. Just seems that the record is biased to the bass side.

I've noticed that in my setup if I sit close, about 8 feet from the speakers, the bass is less noticable than if I move to 15 or 20 feet back. My particular room has an open dining room behind my listening area, with lower ceilings than in the main room, and also two steps up from the other floor. The net effect is that if I shift into the dining area I get the "blacony in the concert hall" sound. Nice to have these options, depending on my mood. James

I think the recording is a big factor in staging/imaging/height more than we care to admit. I do find it interesting how each recording in general is different in certain areas.

Before I bought the Ohm MWT'S omni's, I had this idea that because of the way the tweeter was pointed straight up at the ceiling, that music would be splashed all over the place and not have much of an image or staging to speak of. I was so very wrong on this account, and in some ways prefer the omni presentation to the "normal" Ohm speaker. Probably the thing it does give up to the normal Ohm driver config. Is the ability to have that same sweets pot no matter where you are sitting. You tend to have to be sitting more centered to get the affect, but my, what an affect it is. On some recordings, the omni can be a tad bit overblown or slightly un-natural in it's presentation, but it is a rare thing and again, more recording dependent. I typically have the "hot seat" anyway, so doesn't really matter much to me.

Either way, the Ohm's are just a lot of fun to listen to, maybe not so much the defining and spot-lit definition overall, but thoroughly and utterly enjoyable. I probably just enjoy my tunes more when listening through the Ohm's. My Magnepan with subs are maybe a bit more used as an analytical tool, but still very musical and enjoyable. Really a big toss-up at times, I enjoy them both for different reasons I suppose. Tim

I think I'm on my thrid year with the MWT's, and am still amazed. I don't even look at speakers anymore.

Except pro audio stuff for my bass rig, but that's a different forum ;P

Anyway, glad to see you guys and some new folk are still at it.

Ok- I lied. I am considering a pair of 1000's

I keep tweaking the position of my new F's slightly and playing a bit with other cheap tweaks. Now using two 18" square 2" thick concrete pads under each. The bottom pads have plastic/teflon coated furniture sliders under each corner and i have pieces of dense foam pipe insulation cut into rectangle and placed between the pads for isolation. Mine came with the original stands - which elevate the speakers about an extra 14". I was still concerned about the little round metal buttons under each corner of the stands so I put some small double up pieces if Dynamat under each corner - between the stands and the top pad. There was a bit of tightening in the bass but it got markedly when I stapled R-19 fiberglass insulation into the three basement ceiling joist spaces that are under the front end of the living room - where the speakers are located. I think the only remaining tweak will be some homemade tube traps or other room treatments.

Listened to Maiden Voyage on a out on loan from the library. Holy crap... that was recorded in 1964? The Verve engineers sure knew their stuff. it sounds as real and live as anything I've ever heard on speakers. I also dug out my copy of Joe Byrd and the Field Hippies album "American Metaphysical Circus." The opening track, Sub-Sylvanian Litanies, is by far the trippiest piece of music I have ever heard. It swirls and goes out beyond the edge of the speakers in a way that nothing else has - even more so than "And the Gods Made Love" from Electric Ladyland. I am just loving these speakers more every day and listening to more music of more genres than I have in years. Kudos to Bill LeGall for a phenomenal rebuild on these. I have the impression that he no longer rebuilds F's - and I feel blessed that I was lucky enough to get a pair that he did.

Phaelon56, yes consider yourself very blessed on your LeGall rebuilds. I have two friends that have had his work done on a pair of F's and a pair of 3XO's, and they both have said the same thing, swear by his work and ability to make things right. I had him redo some foams on my 3XO's a couple years ago, and again, great work and very reasonable. Would recommend him anytime. The last I had heard too was that he didn't want to do rebuilds on F's anymore. Shame, but I am sure it is for a good reason. Glad you are enjoying your F's! Tim

Phaelon,

I'm not familiar with the 14" stands.

Does that elevate the driver 14" higher than just the F cabinets alone?

My 5s are in OHM refurbed and tweaked (now ported similar to other CLS models) F cabinets. I find this a good height for listening from a seated position in that tonality with CLS drivers seems to change unfavorably if listening from a position below the driver. I wonder if that is the case with F Walsh drivers, which I believe are also inherently taller than 5 CLS drivers as well?

I suspect it is indeed different with the F's. I tried them without the stands and found that unique spatiality to be a bit diminished. Seated on the couch or walking around... I find this height to be perfect for my ears and these drivers. Hope these links to Photobucket work. You'll need to cut and paste but the stands are in the first photo (before I added the concrete pads)

http://i1203.photobucket.com/albums/bb394/phaelon56/Audio%20Gear/IM
G_0249-001.jpg

http://i1203.photobucket.com/albums/bb394/phaelon56/Audio%20Gear/IMG_0236.jpg

First link above got fouled up but the second one - to the photo of driver - is okay. Let's try again for pic of speakers with stands.

http://i1203.photobucket.com/albums/bb394/phaelon56/Audio%20Gear/IMG_0249-001.jpg

Phaelon.

BEautiful! I can see where that would work quite well in that size room, especially with the wood floors, which I have always found to be somewhat problematic acoustically including with OHM Walshes, especially the bottom ported CLS models.

I put 12" slate tiles under my "super" Walsh 2s with teh 100S3 drivers when I moved those to my family room on the second floor even with dense carpet and padding on the wood flooring material. Not an issue with any of my speakers when they reside in the basement with its similar carpeting but over the concrete foundation. Dealing with acoustics associated with the floor is definitely important, especially with bottom ported models.

Frazeur1...impressive indeed that the MWTs can generate an image as big as that! :)

"My Magnepan with subs are maybe a bit more used as an analytical tool"

I tend to think the same way about the Dynaudio monitors that I also use. When one is exposed to more typical stereo "hifi" type sound normally all ones life, it can be hard to totally disassociate with that. But it seems I always levitate to the OHMs for the most pure musical enjoyment.

Moonglum: I suspect I would be pleased with my 2000s even without the subs. I had the Vandersteen subs prior to the Ohms, and I remain infatuated with their ability to play deep, tuneful and powerful bass with no boominess, bloat or overhang. For that reason, when I set out to upgrade from Vandersteen 1C mains, I insisted on speakers that would work with the 2Wq subs (basically, any speaker that has good output down to 40Hz). Since the bigger Ohms go even deeper, you will be fine without a sub.

As for the issues arising from running the Walsh driver nearly full-range, I see this as a huge advantage over other speakers. Speakers that are crossed over in the critical midrange or a bit higher usually dissappoint me. There is something special about a speaker that has no crossover in the belly of the frequency curve. I have never liked full-range dynamic drivers, but the Ohm Walshes are quite different. I would think that their radiation pattern would eliminate any issues of beaming at higher frequencies. And, John Strohbeen just knows how to voice speakers, period.

I have wondered, however, what my 2000s would sound like with either a more expensive tweeter or different crossover. But I am reluctant to mess with what I consider a really terrific design.

Moonglum, yes it is indeed, some recordings like the one I was listening to from the Who sounded way to overblown, but let's face it, it is a fairly old recording too. Most of the time I find both the Ohm MWT's and my 3/3000's to be just right with image height overall.

Map, I too feel the same way, when I just want to sit back and totally relax, the Ohm's are the way I go. Sometimes though, it is very recording dependant and the mood. It is hard to take off the "analytical" hat sometimes.

Bond, I agree, John does know how to voice a speaker, no doubt. Speaking of messing with the drivers, I have a pair of original 3XO drivers and I have been tempted to do some playing myself, but in the end, I just let it be. Even the older original drivers are very good, in some ways maybe even better-dare I say that(ready for flame suit)?

By the way, for another interesting omni, check out the Decware ERR speaker. One currently available for sale here on the 'Gon. It is similar in appearance to the older Ohm cabinets, but the tweeter is a ribbon and uses Decware's own twist on the main radial driver. A passive radiator is in place in the bottom of the cabinet. I have really wanted to listen to this speaker, need to take a little trip to Peoria someday and check it out, very intriguing! Extremely nice cabinets/quality too. The guys at Decware are top-notch too. Just another alternative. Tim

Not to take away from the Ohm thread here, but I also wanted to note another speaker I have wondered about now for a couple of years-mainly the tweeter in particular, is the Ikonoklast 3, 5, 7 models. This tweeter reminds me so much of the tweeter used on one of the older Infinity speakers-can't recall the model right off. The Infinity tweeter I believe was a Walsh tweeter-or a variation of it anyway. Anyway, take a google and check it out. I had sent Warren a few e-mails not long ago about these. Very nice and informative. Tim

I'm now committed to buying a pair of MWTs. although the veneer looks very nice, John is willing to make a one off pair in a color, if i supply the paint. Anyone ever done an ohm in a solid color?

Any solvent based paint suggestions would be appreciated, looking to do a dark blue....

As John said very well, "can always paint em black if you get tired of the color"

Blue OHMs...sounds perfect for some Muddy Waters, John Lee Hooker, Lynyrd Skynrd, Zeppelin, etc....

Bondman, it's a fair point, all the instrument fundamentals are well within the "Walsh" driver's range so the prospect of hearing that kind of seamlessness is mouthwatering.

Tim...many thanks for the Decware info. There is some very unusual design work going on there. An extraordinary looking speaker. I've often wondered if someone had tried to deploy ribbons atop an omni....now we know! :)

Moon, I always kind of dig around for any omni speaker, omni's just seem to do it for me more than any other speaker, yet I can enjoy about any type, planar, dynamic or whatever. I guess ever since hearing my first Ohm Walsh of the CLS kind in the early 80's, they have just managed to stick.

The Decware ERR definately looks interesting though, and if I don't get over to Peoria, Illinois to hear them soon, I may go over in the fall to their annual "Decfest" to give them a good listen. I was planning on going last fall, but some unexpected things came up and I couldn't go.

I am really curious how the ribbon tweeters sound with this combination, and am also curious about the overall bass response of this speaker. The cabinetry and grills look very nice, with that Ohm pyramid look, which I do love. We shall see. Tim

There's a news flash now on the OHM site:

"IN THE NEWS
May 14, 2012

Thank You Germany.

The Walsh 1000s received a fine review in Germany and we are expecting to have a good translation very soon.

We are running about 10-15 working days for standard orders. Custom jobs are always welcome."

I've been very interested to hear how OHM does in Germany, what with the mbls, GPs, and other high tech companies there.

Economic forces could be just right these days to enable an American Product to compete against the GErman big boys on their own turf. I guess we may find out soon.

OK, you can find it on this site under "tests" if you look.

Translation by Google:

German OHM 1000 Review

Mapman I had to chuckle over that translation. It's almost as if it makes sense but not quite. I think that he liked them though. Maybe I'll get my son to translate (he's a German major in college) and see how he does.

So after reading through most of this thread (and having auditioned several other speakers in the last week) I went ahead and ordered the MWT SE's! I'm incredibly excited to get them next week.

I should say that the others I've heard were PSB T6s, Vandy 1C, KEF Q900, Rega RS3 and RS5 and finally Wharfedale 10.7s.

Of those, my favorites are the Wharfedales. If for some reason I'm not loving the MWTs I'll probably buy those. They just had such a great midrange, a not-too-tight but not-too-bloated bass, and highs that didn't fatigue or feel too bright (as the Regas seemed to have).

As I've noted in another thread around here, they'll be driven by a Peachtree Nova integrated(which John noted many of his customers use), with main sources being the optical out of my Macbook Pro, xbox360/ps3, and a turntable.

This is really the start of my system, so in the future I imagine I'll add a better amp, a better turntable and better cables/wires. I'm sure I'll be back in this thread for all of that.

And, of course I'll be sure to report here as soon as I receive them!

Just read the German review of the Walsh 1000. The translation sounds akin to a drunken pub crawler. Of what I could understand, the review was very favorable, but needs a better translation Joe

RHfl:

What is the SE?

"What is the SE? "

I'm guessing the latest microwalsh that may use different drivers than before (just plain Microwalsh?) similar to 1000 series. Not certain though. Maybe someone else knows for sure?

It's conculsion made perfect sense: The ohms you should absolutely listen, but be careful: Once in the ear, is the way far back and not easy".

Now that I've read through this whole thread and ordered my MWTs, I turn to all you OHMers for some advice and guidance. I'm extremely new to all of this, and admittedly know very little about the technical aspects of amps, speakers, preamps, sources, etc. and all of the accompanying lingo. At this point, I have a very basic and inexpensive setup. My sources are a Macbook Pro optical out, Xbox 360/PS3, and a $100 Audio Technica turntable. While I own hundreds of CDs, at this point I primarily play flac files using the MBP. I have the Peachtree Nova integrated amp w/ DAC as the centerpiece.

The first components I'd imagine upgrading would be better cables and interconnects, and then to get a phono stage and a better turntable.

Seeing as how the Nova's pre and dac are fairly well-regarded, I would like to just add a better amp into the chain, retaining the Nova as the core.

Do any of you have any advice, especially as far as making a big impact in the short term without spending too much? Having just dropped the money on the speakers, I'll have to wait awhile before the bigger things (phono stage, turntable, amp, etc.).

I'm so freakin excited to hear these things!

ALways go one step at a time and take time to assess before taking the next.

You will be well set with amp, DAC and speakers once you make the decision on the speaks.

Do everything you can to get the Peachtree and OHMs dialed in as perfectly as possible using your available digital sources. Then assess for a while and see what if anything else is needed.

Then once you have a good reference based on the digital sources, which you are much better positioned with than with the vinyl at present I am fairly certain, you can focus on the vinyl as needed.

Until last week, I hadn't heard speakers that cost more than around $1000. I imagine these Ohms are gonna be another level of music than I've been exposed to before. It's difficult to read this thread and not be prepared to absolutely love them.I'd be curious to know how many people actually end up returning them!

As far as what I plan on playing through them right after setting them up, it'll probably be something like:

Radiohead- In Rainbows/Kid A
Beck- Sea Change
Field Music- Measure
Beach Boys- Pet Sounds
The Beatles- Abbey Road (remaster)
The Cardigans- Long Gone Before Daylight
Neko Case- Fox Confessor Brings the Flood
Joanna Newsom- Ys
Gillian Welch- Harvest and the Harrow
Charlotte Gainsbourg- IRM
Massive Attack- Heligoland

Anyone here ever listen to any of these records on their Walshes?

"Anyone here ever listen to any of these records on their Walshes?"

Mine tend to bring out the best of whatever there is in the recording.

I have Abbey Road and both Radioheads. Both are treats in different ways. Those two Radiohead CDs are two very good challenge CDs for any rig. With the right amp and a good source feed, the OHMs can blow the roof off.

I have the BEck also but do not recall details as well but I believe it to be mostly a pretty good recording also.

I think I have the Massive Attack. Will need to check. Not sure about the sound quality on that one offhand.

I have other Beach Boys CDs with songs from PS but not PS proper. You should be in for a treat. On my current rig, those sound far and beyond way better than what I had recalled prior.

Lots of good audio candy in there!

RBF,

The Radiohead CDs are a very good test to determine if an amp is underpowered for your needs. They will sound like c--- on a poor and/or underpowered system, especially at higher volume, but a good system can take them to great heights indeed!

One other question...I've mainly been into headphones the last few years, and have owned Grados, Denons, Sennheisers, Westones, Audio Technicas and have settled on Beyerdynamic 880s and AT CK10s for the last year. What do the MWTs most resemble as far as headphone brand/style?

"What do the MWTs most resemble as far as headphone brand/style?"

Probably the more neutral sounding ones with flatter frequency response, which I have seen several models of the brands you mention have been measured to achieve.

But its is really hard to compare speakers to headphones because they are so different. Room acoustics play a big part usually with speakers but not with headphones.

OHMs are bottom ported and most I have heard with no bottom plinth can interact strongly with floors, especially those in upper levels built with plywood as is typical in most homes. I use a slate tile under each of my 100s to tame that in my second system where it occurs. The 1000 series OHMs all have the solid wood plinth below which I think is a good thing to help inherently tame that.

I have always found many smooth and hard roon surfaces, hard wood flooring in particular to be quite lively and echo prone and harder to tame in general in regards to the room acoustics with most any speaker. In these cases, I think less, ie a smaller speaker like the Micros, can be more.

Getting to the part of this thread where Rebbi decides to sell his Ohms is like your favorite character on a tv show suddenly being killed off. I totally didn't see it coming! What's worse is that it made me second guess the speakers, without even having heard them yet. Prior to that happening, it seemed like these were, hands down no question, the best speaker under $2-3000. I know feel that I need to try out some PSB Synchrony 2s, if Rebbi ultimately decided those could slay the mighty Ohms.

Now I see Frazeur has his MWTs up for sale on another site. Maybe I missed it, but why are you selling them?!

Rbf1138,

Don't take my selling of the Ohms too much to heart. I ultimately decided, I think, that the "omni" presentation of the Ohms wasn't my cup of tea. It may in part be because my room was so "lively" and untreated at the time that it was doing injustice to what the Ohm's can do. I decided that I preferred the "pinpoint" presentation of a more conventional, forward firing speaker. But the MWT's are a steal at their price and you owe it to yourself to try them.

They're on their way to me next week, so I'll definitely be trying them, at the very least.

Out of curiosity, any of you Ohm owners in the Atlanta area?