I'd love to hear the impressions of people who've actually spent some time with these speakers to share their sense of their plusses and minuses. Mapman here on Audiogon is a big fan, and has shared lots on them, but I'm wondering who else might be familiar with them.
I understand the huge sweet spot and the huge soundstage, but what about imaging, i.e., placing instruments in space? It's hard to imagine this given that sound is bouncing all over the room.
I've heard these speakers referred to several times as "non-fatiguing," and I wonder what that means. Do you feel that they have a "mellow" or "warm" coloration, or is it that they are well controlled and don't get harsh when played loud, or something else?
When I first spoke to John at Ohm, he said they could go as little as 6" to 10" off the rear wall, but that would of course depend on the rest of the room. My room is only around 15' by 12'.
What John Potis, the reviewer at 6moons.com, said that really intrigued me is his statement that, "I find [the Micro Walsh Talls] unequivocally enjoyable, without any major nits to pick that would qualify my enjoyment."
So that's why I'm interested in trying them out. That and the soundstaging.
How far off the walls do they need to be? Or more succintly, do they tend to be "near wall" tolerant?
I'm thinking of getting a pair for my living room, which is a secondary listening area to my listening room. They would live near walls, unless I pulled them away. Mostly for casual listening, but sitting on the couch reading the paper or something.
Also, how would they do in a room say 10x16, but open to other rooms. I would be listening in the nearer field (within 10 feet of the speakers), but the overall open space when considering the connected rooms is a lot of air.
Note that I don't want to put big speakers in this living room - not enough real estate available. So, for small speakers with small footprints, would these omni's be a good bet???
gotta respond to 'not very revealing'. the ohm line has a 'decades old' history of going for a neutral/balanced presentation. they favor no frequency. the 120 day trial is a chance to live with playing lots of music. many speakers(hi end and other) are designed to dazzle you with certain frenquencies (the real parlour trick). the ohm's only trick(which is no trick at all...just using the room intead of fighting it) is the 'sweet spot', which is 'everywhere'. you could spend 3 or 4 times more, and get less. it would hold its own with the forrest or staff from totem, and yes i like totem a lot. if you like all kinds of music, and don't want to worry about buying only those cd's or lp's deemed audiophile, you're home free(except for the cost of the speakers) with the micro tall. give to arros a chance certainly, but once you go ohm, you will likely find out why they still ring a music lover's bell.
Good point about buying used. Actually, that was my original intent, but to maximize WAF I needed the Arros in black and couldn't find anybody selling that color on A'gon. I am tempted to do what you say and bring the Ohm's in for the audition.
Stivervii,
How as your experience returning them to Ohm? Any hassles? And can you explain what you mean by "parlor tricks" and "not very revealing?"
I bought them and returned them. They do great parlor tricks when set up properly but overall not very revealing. I suspect many would be happy with them but for me they were so-so.
That's all consistent with what I've heard. It was down to the Ohm's or the Totem Arro's when I bought my new speakers a couple of months ago. The Arro's are still breaking in, admittedly, and I wouldn't say I'm feeling "buyer's remorse," but I now kind of wish I'd tried the Ohm's first.
in a smaller room, the micros are incredible. in an average sized room, the 100's are going to play a bit deeper. overall, they are incredible...factor in the price, and there are really isn't much full range competition unless you want to fuss with placement. if they were made in germany, they would literally be 3k. i compared them the fj oms and classic allison CD7's, and they bested both.
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