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

Bjen,

Check my system listing. I own 3 pair actually, 2 newer and a pair of older OHM Ls that I have held onto for many years and refurbed myself. I also concurrently run Dynaudio and Triangle speakers.

Yes, I walk the walk and talk the talk when it comes to OHM. I've wavered over the years, but ended up coming back. Home audio would hold a lot less appeal for me without the OHMs. They are most unique. Not for everyone, but OHM owners tend to be a dedicated bunch. I just happen to be one of the more passionate and vocal ones out there I suppose.

Bje, if you meant do I own the company (OHM) as opposed to the product, well, unfortunately the answer is no.

Maybe John Strohbeen will hire me as a promoter someday. I could live with that!

"Yes, I walk the walk and talk the talk when it comes to OHM. I've wavered over the years, but ended up coming back. Home audio would hold a lot less appeal for me without the OHMs. They are most unique. Not for everyone, but OHM owners tend to be a dedicated bunch. I just happen to be one of the more passionate and vocal ones out there I suppose."

Totally with you on this one. I still don't even seriously consider any other speakers.

For me the OHMs are the most irreplaceable part of my system.

I could surely find another amp, pre-amp, DAC IC, digital source, phono, cart that produces really good sound besides the ones I own and also like, but nothing out there I have heard to date could replace the OHMs.

Map, totally agree with you on the speaker end, it is what overly flavours the pot of stew, the electronics to me are just the basic ingredients. Of course they do have to come together somewhat!

I have felt for a long time that while there are differences in the sonics of the electronic chain, most sound more alike than not, differences to my ears very small compared to what different speakers are capable of.

Anymore I grow tired of trying to listen to or hear those differences, I tend to just listen to the music instead, and I have enjoyed things much more that way. Tim

2006 posts on this thread and growing. Wow! :-)

Just a ping for anyone interested that there is a very nice looking pair of Walsh 5 S3s similar to mine but with newer and very nice special wood/finish cabinets up for auction here currently that might be had for a steal.

Disclaimer: do not know the seller or this particular pair so do your usual recommended homework before buying/bidding.

CAbinets are big and heavy so make sure shipping can occur without issue if needed.

I know this thread was supposed to be for the Micro Walsh, but since it's turned into an "Ohm" thread, just thought I'd mention...
Just bought a pair of used Wash 3's (haven't hooked them up yet), and the WAF was pretty low. Heh, I think she said, "those are the ugliest f$#@ing speakers I've ever seen in my life". I was like, "they don't have the grills on... check them out now". She thought they were slightly better with the grills. Haha, hope they sound good.

I once redid the fabric on the grilles on my original Walsh 2s myself for better WAF years ago.

I bought some loose woven (sound transparent)beige colored wool fabric at a local fabric store to better match the room decor at the time.

You could also just barely see through the fabric enough in good light to see the outline of the "can" inside, which made for a nice touch!

OHMs are a unique breed. Not all will love them. No technology exposed really to look at and marvel over! :-)

Well, guys, that's big advantage of a basement man cave! Even though my all black Walsh 2000s look pretty good atop their Sound Anchors bases, the wife couldn't care less what I put down there. Also, the x000 series caps are made a little differently, with a more substantial frame. As a result, they are more symmetrical and even in appearance than the older, thin-framed caps, IMO. Enjoy your new acquisitions, Ron!

Been following this thread for quite some time. I pop back in from time to time. Something Mapman stated a few posts ago, struck a cord with me; "For me the OHMs are the most irreplaceable part of my system." I thought about that for a minute, and thought about all the gear that I have been through. But since purchasing a pair of Walsh 4's, back in 84'(to replace a pair of Bose 901's), that is the only component that I haven't replaced! Back in 2000, or so, JS and co. refurbed my 4 drivers, and as of a year or so ago I upgraded to the 4.5000's!

Every other component in my system has been upgraded/ replaced twice or thrice over, but I still enjoy the Ohm's!

This is my first AudiogoN post. I've been at the AVS forum for most of the past decade, but there aren't very many Ohm owners over there.

Like many, my first encounter with a Walsh-driven speaker was a demo of rosewood Ohm F's at a higher end dealer in the 70's. They were out of my league financially and space-wise.

Fast forward nearly 4 decades, and I was at my wit's end trying to get my existing system to sound decently for the past 3 years since I moved into my home. I have 4 Definitive Technology tower boat anchors and 2 Outlaw subs trying and failing to load my 4500 cubic foot living room with anything remotely resembling midbass. I finally decided that over time, these would get replaced. It's embarassing having a system that looks like it could shake the foundation and topple my home that sounds like some 60's handheld transistor radio.

It's only been a month, but I've already forgotten the thought process that led me to googling "Ohm Acoustics". Unlike many others on this thread, I have no history at all with Ohm beyond that demo. I had no idea the company was still in business. I avidly read about half the posts on this thread. I decided to order a pair of MWT when I saw that they had B-stock available at 2005 prices. They had only one pair that already had the oak veneer applied, which would not have been my first choice. I also noticed that they were a couple of days away from the 2 week holiday shutdown, so I sent an email the next morning to try to find out if they were going to be able to process my order before the recess.

I didn't get a response all morning, so I called and left a message with the receptionist for someone to call me back. John called me to tell me he wasn't so sure they could send them out in time. He also responded to my email. That was fine with me, as I didn't want to spend part of my own time off sitting at home waiting for the delivery. I wrote him back telling him about my demo experience and difficulties with my setup, though I intentionally left out the size of my room. That did the trick, he called me back about 2 hours later to tell me the speakers had shipped.

Having liberated the speakers from the multiple layers of shipping cardboard, my wife remarked how well the oak matched our furniture. It's a lighter color than any monitor I have viewed the website with indicated.

Micro Walsh Talls in 4500 cu.ft.? I threw on the Beatles Love DVD, and for the first time we heard Paul McCartney's bass outside of the Beatles Love theater at the Mirage. We looked at each other and giggled like schoolkids. I haven't told her that I plan on making the MWTs the surround speakers. I have my eye on the 4000 for mains.

Great story.

Its cool how we remember what we heard years ago and how its still relevant 40 years later.

I've heard Goldenear speakers recently which is a Definitive spinoff line. Loved the AON monitors, larger Tritons, which resemble Definitive more, left more flat our cold than most anything I have heard in recent years. The setup may have had issues, not sure.

Well, I simply replaced the mains with the MWT and didn't so anything else, like rerun Audyssey. The bass the MWT puts out is crazy,especially when standing in the hallway leading to the rest of the house about 30 feet from the left speaker. Afterward, I did run Audyssey to see how it wanted to set it up, and it reported the MWT as being large, confirming what I had been hearing.

Anyway, since then, I have picked up a pair of Wyred.4 sound monoblocks to drive them with that are a few years old. They seem to be a very good pairing.

I changed my listening setup a bit (see my virtual system) by getting a superb rack at Timbernation. It's made of tiger maple and walnut, a good compliment to the Bubinga of the Ohm 5000's. Now I get visual as well as aural delight!

Since my Chinese preamp has no phono stage (BTW, Pacific Valve the importer is out of business) I upgraded to Liberty Audio's B2B-1. This phono stage is unbelievable and I have it written up in another post. Now I'm waiting for a Lyra Delos, as I accidentally bent the cantilever on my Audio Technica. Bent it back and aligned it, but something seems different about the sound.

No doubt that the 5000's are overkill, but they can assume a commanding presence. Most of the time I respect my neighbors, but every so often I crank them up.

Mrjkycvs as a proud owner of Ohm Walsh 3's I've no doubt about your love for the MWT's. BUT, as a former owner of Definitive Technology speakers I can't help but think you're embellishing your criticism of those speakers just a bit. I mean Def Tech towers + subs sound like a transistor radio from the 60's and unable to fill a 4500 cubic foot room? Something in your setup had to be amiss because one thing I know Def Tech's to be able to do is fill a room. Anyway I'm not trying to rain on your parade as you are obviously ecstatic with your Ohm purchase but I had to call a foul on your assessment of Def's...

A pair of Walsh 5 series 3 is up for auction today on Audiogon, if anyone is in the market.

I'm digging my Walsh 3's. Granted, they are a lot bigger than Micro's, but the amount of bass in the 3's is pretty amazing. (The only reason I didn't keep my Micro's years ago was due to the lack of bass.) These are an older model, and I doubt they sound just like new ones- actually, they are a bit less 3D and "open" as the Micro Talls. But, I'm pretty happy with them. (I haven't even touched the tone switches underneath.)

Just to jump in, the experience Mrjktcvs had with Deftech totally echoes my own. I understand that the dipoles were sensitive to room placement and conditions, but they were absolutely the worst speakers for my situation that I ever owned.

The MWT's have filled every room (we've moved three times since I got them) I've had, including the 3500 sq foot open floorplan of base housing on Quantico. You make a good point, Polarin, and I try not to embellish, but man those speakers just did not work for me, at all.

My main problem was that I was trying to use a home theater speaker that begs for an augmenting subwoofer to reproduce music. It just doesn't look much like a home theater speaker at 48" tall. My subs were placed for aesthetic purposes rather than than best sound. In their locations, I had a very deep hole between 60 and 90 Hz at my listening chair, so they were unable to contribute very much. The MWT doesn't really need help in the midbass frequencies, so in my room they sound much better than the speakers they replaced.

Since my first post, my wife allowed me to move a sub to one of the corners of the room. I still have the Deftechs, but have no desire to put them back in to hear the effect of the change. I'm having too much fun listening to my new babies, both with and without a sub. They are now hooked up to a pair of Wyred 4 Sound monoblocks, a new purchase.

Been catching up on the entire thread, now up to page 27 and the posts are now only 2 years old.

I sacrificed my vinyl collection in Europe 20 years ago because I deemed them to not be worth their weight in shipping costs to return back to the U.S., so I'm 100% digital. One of the factors I weighed was while I was living there, I purchased a DAT so I could create copies of CDs that I was able to borrow from my client's library, which was largely French garbage as it turned out. This slightly predates the availability of CD recorders for home entertainment systems.


I have discovered some modern sonic classics for demoing/evaluating components. I normally wouldn't bother with live recordings for critical listening, but there are a couple of standouts in my collection:

Diana Krall's Live in Rio on blu-ray. The opening track is one of the more sparse arrangements on the disc due to a backing orchestra, and I love the way the MWT handles the upright bass, making me grin as much as the player does.

Second is called the Legends of Jazz Showcase, a compilation of songs from the TV show hosted by Ramsay Lewis.

Next is from AIX Records that is mainly a vehicle for 3D video demonstration called Goldberg Variations Acoustica, but the company's raison d'etre is superior sound.

And finally, I splurged for the DSOTM blu ray package from 2011 which includes various DVDs and CDs as well. The blu ray has 3 sound options, including LPCM 2.0 sampled at 96Khz/24 bit.

My own 5.1 system is in a state of flux, and I'm currently working on infrastructure. I recently purchased 5 Transparent Audio ICs, with speaker wire to be upgraded next. I also bought the Walsh Center Channel speaker, the one pictured on the Ohm website link to the center channel page. I haven't brought that home from the office yet, because my TV needs to be raised 2 more inches to accommodate it.

Received an email today for John Strohbeen, president of Ohm Acoustics Corp. which I copy here:

We are having a 3-Day SALE with:
20% off new speakers
20% off upgrades
20% off parts and service

An extra 20% off items in our Outlet Store where discounts of up to 30% are already in place on limited items.

20% off Everything!

Ends at 11:59PM on Monday, February 17th.

Use the coupon GEORGE20 when you check out to get your discount.

I'll be at the factory (800-783-1553) on Monday for 11 AM to 6 PM.

John has a few sales per year. The terms usually vary. This looks like a way to save money on just about anything he offers. Other sales have sometimes been limited to certain products, etc.

Mapman - I never liked Def tech speakers (although I have an old PF15 sub for LFE use only). But I really like the Golden Ear products. I know, same designer. But that folded ribbon tweeter is so sweet compared to the harsh metal domes in the def techs.

Anyway. Had an audiophile buddy over recently to hear my Ohms. He is a speaker designer himself, and quite knowledgable and skilled. He liked the Ohms a lot, although he remarked that they were a little rolled off up top (I like it that way), and not quite as airy as his own designs (which I have heard, and I agree). He also used his iphone to measure my in-room response. It was surprisingly smooth except for an odd dip around 500Hz (narrow-band). It did tilt down a bit from left to right, as I expected. Remember, I toe them in a bit, which will roll off the highs a little. All done on purpose.

No doubt toe in/out will effect air in any speaker, but more so with OHMs in standard setup where tweeter is normally facing/toed-in 45 degrees.

Sounds like your buddy has good ears!

My Dynaudio monitors also tend to have more "air" than the OHMs in most setups.

Yes, I liked the GE Aon folded ribbon during short audition, but not sure if it might be a bit too polite for me over the longer term or not. A mixed bag there but I liked the large Aon very much especially at its price point overall.

I had some of the Martin Logan Motion series speakers that I used for A/V in the living room for awhile. These had the same basic folded ribbon tweets as the Golden Ear speakers, and they are quite good. I never did find them to be soft or irritating in any way at all, very detailed and smooth. A fantastic little tweeter. I do like most of the GE line as well, and as Map put it, the Aon is a good little stand mounter. Tim

I was reading "News and Views" on Ohm's website and found this excerpt particularly interesting:

"Today there are hundreds of special speaker wires available; some costing thousands of dollars. Which is best and which is the best value? Two interesting questions.

Based on the fact that there can be an almost “magical” synergy between speaker and wire, I really cannot tell you what is best unless I have had a chance to listen to (and test) your speakers. I can tell you that with most Ohms, 12-gauge wire (if less than 30 feet long) is what we recommend. We do our development with this wire and believe you will not hear an improvement with any other. You may hear a difference; but it is not the way we designed the speakers to sound. Of course, if there is a difference, the difference maybe compensating for a room/speaker interaction problem. It is sort of like two problems canceling each other out."

Seems John and company don't exactly advocate the need for expensive cables .. at least that is how it reads to me. Thoughts?

http://ohmspeaker.com/news/does-speaker-wire-affect-the-sound/

"Seems John and company don't exactly advocate the need for expensive cables .. at least that is how it reads to me. Thoughts?"

Yes, and I tend to agree.

I've had one pair of OHMs on high quality Audioquest CV6 wires, and my F5s connect in an advacent room using decent quality commercial grade wiring I had put through the walls when the house was built.

I would say these do not sound the same but I could not make a judgement that one sounds better than the other necessarily. I have things set up in both rooms for quite excellent results. Different, yes. Better? Debatable.

I have experimented more with various analog ICs and hear big differences there, but still hard to say one inherently better than the other. Two different flavors perhaps, with of which might work best in any one's case.

I use Transparent super wave plus. I've tried kimber 8tc and Tara labs . The transparent has the best synergy. Full bodied and holographic. More of an upgrade than my adcom to bryston preamp. More of an upgrade than a Benz s to an ortophon Cadenza bronze. Some say they stay away from cables with any black boxes but these are the best I've had.

"I have experimented more with various analog ICs and hear big differences there, but still hard to say one inherently better than the other. Two different flavors perhaps, with of which might work best in any one's case."

Same here Mapman. As usual it's about preference for the most part.

As is happens (perhaps why the article caught my interest) I'm using the silly-affordable Blue Jeans 12-White speaker cables with my Talls right now with great results.

I've recently added $200-$300 Pangea ac14SE power cords to my mhdt DACS in both systems, first one and later the other recently.

These are designed for use with line level components to help with noise/distortion. IT's been a nice addition in both cases, and seems to work as designed based on what I hear.

These were on sale recently, so I paid <$100 for each. Definitely worth that! Nice product that seems to work as designed and very high quality build to boot.

No downside to power tweaks if done right for the right reasons, I think. Its more a matter of how much difference case by case, but I think noise with digital gear in particular is a problem worth tackling.

I do not pay much attention to speaker wire. The only sure thing like John says is to not use to high a gauge (thinner wires). The rest is all synergy. Lots of more certain and cost effective ways to accomplish that!

I do pay more attention to ICs, but again its mostly about synergy there as well and it does not have to cost much to accomplish.

John/OHM is and thinks like an engineer and is all about good sound, value and service only it seems. COuld care less about a lot of the noise one encounters in high end audio. Smart guy! HE makes his products accessible to the masses, rather than try to glorify them and cater to the high end audio market, which may always have a foothold but overall is probably going nowhere long term.

John's approach is but one reason I stay loyal to the OHM brand.

"No downside to power tweaks if done right for the right reasons, I think. Its more a matter of how much difference case by case, but I think noise with digital gear in particular is a problem worth tackling."

My experience with power tweaks certainly made a difference in my system. I use an iFi Audio iUSBPower in front of my Chord QuteHD, which is powered with a Teddy Pardo 12-2 power supply. Brought even more refinement to the QuteHD.

I'm enjoying John's writing and am very happy he's sharing some of that knowledge and experience with us. Yes, smart man with a true passion for good sound.

John has even chimed in on this thread in the past if you go back a bit. Been awhile though.

He is a musician as well as an EE though, I believe. They say musicians respond to music differently than others due to extensive exposure to music, and high end audio adds little for them.

I too have enjoyed Johns latest little blurbs, good reading.

As far as Johns take on wanky-wires, I think in general John takes a very solid, but simplistic take on the whole audio thing, use what is capable for doing said job, no more, no less, simple and fuss free. After all, he has in the past used very simple and reasonably priced amplifiers from NAD etc.

I do like Johns approach and thoughts on most things. But, it also doesn't hurt to try things out for yourself and see what-if anything does change for the better. A lot of things may not be better, just different. Isn't this audio business fun? Tim

Almost any change or tweak I try can be heard I find. I think John just likes to keep to simple formulas that can work for most, but some are more finicky or have very refined goals. It can work either way, but I think John like any business person in the end says and does what is best for business, which is try to keep things as simple and affordable as ppossible.

Heard yes, probably so, but are they all better? Probably not. For me, I find wires and cable to be the most difficult thing in general(unless something is really waaaay different or just awful for whatever reason)to try and evaluate. Again, maybe differences, but not always so cut and dried as to define a better or best a lot of the time-again, for me and my cloth ears.

It may be that after all these years, I am maybe just simply more satisfied with the setup and sound it delivers that I am less apt to swap things in and around for the sheer fun of it anymore. Enjoy listening to the music more than I do going through the motions of swap, listen, and all that business. Tim

IMO more people should listen to men like John Strohbeen, and Alan Shaw (Harbeth). If there's one thing I've learned over the years, it's all about getting the testing method down, then real comparisons can be made.

We hear about level matching all of the time, but it's true - our ears work in a very non-linear fashion. The ear responds very differently at different sound pressure levels. When making two or more comparisons, the levels have to be matched VERY closely...
But even more importantly, because most comparisons aren't even made at the same exact time, is the issue of audio memory. It's been proven that humans cannot remember what something sounds like (or looks like, for that matter) - after just a few seconds - it's just the way it is. VERY quick comparisons have to be made.
So when someone, anyone says they're hearing (perceiving) that something sounds differently - it's really hard for me trust judgement, unless the comparison had been made properly.

Zkzpb8 wrote,

"It's been proven that humans cannot remember what something sounds like (or looks like, for that matter) - after just a few seconds - it's just the way it is. VERY quick comparisons have to be made."

Proven by whom? The Amazing Randi? I can easily remember what something sounded like a day, a week, a year later. I also have a very good memory for faces. :-)

Hey guys .. I've been contemplating a subwoofer purchase for a while now and have been doing my homework like a good little audiophool. (So many options it's staggering.) I haven't used a sub since dismantling my home theater and find that I miss some of the foundation bass (or sub-base) provides. So after a few email exchanges with John S, I placed a call this morning and ordered a pair of MicroSubwoofer 10's veneered in walnut to match my Talls.

MicroSubwoofer

Needless to say I can't wait to hear these little cuboids in my system. John tells me they need 2 weeks for the veneer work so hopefully I'll have them in 3 weeks give or take.

I don't hear much about OHM subs and have never heard any.

I'll be interested to hear about it as things unfold.

Prices look competitive and John S. consulting can only be a bonus.

Mapman .. I haven't either. In fact, I searched for a review and came up empty. Considering the 120 home trial and my complete satisfaction with the Talls I figure it's not much of a risk. I'll be happy to share my thoughts once I've had them a bit.

These little MicroSubs were (hopefully) just what I was looking for. I did not want to spend alot of money so the price point for the pair was perfect. I'll be putting them right up close to the talls (as per John's suggestion) so the size is just right as well. I'm hoping they are a good match sonically.

BTW, Ohm is running a Memorial Day Sale all week .. 15% off and free shipping. My timing was quite good!

Sale at Ohm!!!! As sent to me by Ohm Speakers:

Through May 30, 2014, you can get Free Freight and 15% Off Everything on the Ohm website, when you use coupon code MD2014 at check out. (Free Freight is limited to the 48 contiguous states).
Yes, new speakers.
Yes, home theater systems.
Yes, upgrades and service on vintage speakers.
Yes, Outlet Store items.
Yes, EVERYTHING!
Our Summer Shut-Down is June 28 to July 14; so, we hope to get your order shipped before we leave.
Call me if you have any questions.
John Strohbeen, President, 800-783-1553

So, my daughter's boyfriend, who loves music (country mostly, but whaddayagonnado?), was visiting, and he was curious about the big rig. I don't have a lot of country, but I threw on k.d. Lang's "Wash Me Clean" from the CD Inengue, and put him in the sweet spot chair. His jaw hit the floor as my Ohm 2000s filled the room with a huge soundstage, full of details and that smooth sound that makes me smile each time I listen. He may never look upon his iPhone or his laptop the same way again. I am certain he never heard anything like it. That's how we enlarge the hobby. If I could do this with 10 people, I bet at least one would be motivated to start looking for a system of their own.

Great tune Bond, and I am not much of a country fan either, but that album is quite good. I know it always sounded extremely good on my Ohm's as well, and yes, it is a wonderful way to break in those newbies, or ones that haven't ever really listened to any kind of proper setup.

I have a fair number of country recordings both old and new. With rare exception, they all tend to sound very to really good and a revelation to most anything similar I have heard prior anywhere.

Much to my surprise the nice UPS man (whose name I should know by now) brought my 2 MicroSubwoofers today! Thinking they would arrive a couple of weeks from now, clearly I misunderstood John. Guess what I'll be doing after work.

"Much to my surprise the nice UPS man (whose name I should know by now) brought my 2 MicroSubwoofers today! Thinking they would arrive a couple of weeks from now, clearly I misunderstood John. Guess what I'll be doing after work."

Any updates on the subs?

Hi guys .. ok, a quick update on the MicroSubs. I’ve had these smallish cubes in my system for a few days now and I’m quite happy thus far. They are a nice match for the Talls (sonically and aesthetically). Here’s the system now:

• Mac mini
• iFi iUSBPower
• Chord QuteHD
• Outlaw Audio ICBM-1
• Odyssey Cyclops SE+
• MicroWalsh Talls & MicroSubs

I’m using the Outlaw Audio ICBM-1 for bass management duties. The ICBM-1 is a left-over from my home theater days and is a rather nice cross-over which operates in the analog domain. I have the cross-over set at 60, which to my ears is just right. The speakers and subs are along the same plane and the subs sit fairly close to each speaker. I’ve tweaked the settings (volume/phase/cross-over) by ear only and I’m pretty happy with the result. FWIW I’m not a bass hound at all .. just want a balanced presentation. That said, the bass frequency extension is just what I was looking for. A rather nice surprise is the newly found clarity and detail in the mids and highs! The Talls have never sounded so good.

Overall, I’d say these are a nice option for those of us not wanting to spend a lot of money on a pair of subs. BTW, the MicroSubs are not built in Brooklyn. According to Ohm: “These MicroSubs are the only speakers we have made for us in China (we still modify it to work better with our Walshs)”. Different for Ohm but nicely done.

I listen almost exclusively to "classical" music - chamber, piano, choral on up to large-scale works and organ (which to me is also large-scale). My 5000's sound fine on the first three. Really fine. On the large-scale, they leave much to be desired. Of course there are obvious limits to reproducing the sounds of 100+ instruments in one room in my house - or even the whole house for that matter. But I still wonder if there is anything I can do to get closer to a "bigger" sound.

Ohm 5000s, B&K EX442 (185wpc/8)

-Al

COot,

DEscribe your room size and any special considerations acoustically.

I have run my 5s off 120, 180 and 350 and 500 w/ch 2 channel amps in my 20X30 L shaped room with standard height drywall ceiling and carpet over concrete floor.

ALl these were "suitable" for low to moderate volume no doubt, the more power and current, the merrier, for the "biggest", fullest sound. All amps were limited in terms of biggest sound possible compared to my current 500w/ch BEl CAnto ref1000m Icepower monoblocks.

I would recommend 500 w/ch Class D or something similar for best results with the largest OHMs. Current delivery capability is as important to overall tonal balance as # watts is for distortion free higher SPLs often needed to reproduce large scale works at a realistic level in a larger room.

My smaller 100s make due nicely with "only" 180 w/ch in most any room in my modest size house I use them in, but current delivery is also critical. Your B&K might be the bottleneck to best large scale "big" performance possible. More watts and perhaps even more current as well to go along with that will surely take things to a higher level, assuming everything is in good working order.