Ohm Walsh Talls and amplification


Ok, I am perplexed and I would appreciate any feedback you can give me. I am interested in getting a pair of Ohm Tall speakers. Initially (based off from Steve Guttenberg's and Zeos' reviews) i assumed that the 2000s were the ones for me. I don't see where Zeos' or Steve's rooms are any bigger than mine but, I measure the square footage of my room last night and it's only 353 square feet! Zeos himself even said that the 1000s were the correct size for his room, but he just wanted to go bigger. So, my first question is: Can you use a bigger Ohm Tall than what your room requires (as Zeos does)? Also, these speakers seem to love power. Steve drove his with a Mytek amp and a big Pass Labs amp. I cannot afford  Pass Labs and, the Mytek...well, I *could* maybe swing that but, Zeos uses a pair of Crown amps that are not made for audio but for DJs and live entertainers, etc. Obviously, he's very happy with the results. I finally did call John Strohbeen and he confirmed that the Talls love power... he suggested Mytek, Peachtree, certain NAD models, and Emotiva as affordable amps that have good results. I then asked him about Zeos using the Crown amps and he said, "Yeah, that's another way to go that's very affordable." I asked him if the sound was good and he said, "Yeah, it sounds good. In fact, we used something like Crown that here in our factory for quite a while." So, my second question is: what success have you had in the way of amplification with your Ohm Talls? 
redstarwraith

Showing 3 responses by dep14

I think any decent amp can power them up just fine. They will however respond quite well to added power and upstream upgrades. I’m very surprised how revealing they are compared to others I’ve owned of differences in sources.

As for the size, I think they perform remarkably well size for size. That said, I think John might undersize them just a shade if you like a little bass/impact. Also, look at the room construction and floor substrate.  I have a dedicated room in my finished basement, but it's padding and carpet over concrete.  No question the concrete floor benefits from a bigger speaker/ability to put out bass.

My room is 13 x 17, closed, 9ft ceiling. The 2000’s would work. I have some 5000’s (and I have the treble and midrange in the + position, midbass and low bass in the neutral) and love them in here.

That said, I just had some Pro-200’s upgraded to Pro 3000’s (pretty nice!), and they do a pretty darn good job of thumping the room. One they broke in a bit, remarkable what they do for their size. While my 5000’s are the "square" cabinets, the Pro 3000’s use 3000 drivers on a round "cabinet". I think there are some advantages to the round cabinets.

The 3000’s bass I would be very happy with without a subwoofer also, just like the 5000’s. That said the 5000’s can absolutely thump the room. The 3000’s thump/punch, but not quite like the 5000’s. They might sound a shade tighter though.

Ultimately I’ll likely sell either my 5000’s or 3000’s as I have another pair of speakers being built. But, I’ll keep one set I suspect for another room.  The OHM's do some very cool, fun things.



Zero doubt in my mind that my 5000's (and now Pro-3000's) highlight differences in equipment changes more so than many other speakers I've owned.  It's pretty remarkable.

One of the more recent speakers I have owned is the DynAudio Contour 60.

The OHM's far and away highlight equipment differences more than the Dyn's (and the dyn's did to an extent).

I like the OHM's a fair amount better.

I have another pair of speakers being built right now, but I won't let go of my 5000's before I really get a chance to put them head to head.  I've never done that before.  I usually sell when I decide to buy.

I will absolutely be keeping at least 1 set of my 5000's or 3000's.  

Personally I do hear differences in them, the voicing is quite similar as John states.  But the 5000's are better, no question.
Given how much I like the Pass Labs with mine, if I were on a budget I would look for a used BAT VK200.

They can be found in the 1k range, sometimes even less.  They sound very similar to Pass Labs IMO and would do a great job.