Ohm Walsh Talls (opinions sought)

Try this:

Audiogon Discussion Forum

@audionoobie ,  this is a tough discussion to have because I am going to piss off a bunch of people. When I was a HiFi salesman back in Miami I sold Ohms speakers. They are at first impressive speakers in the same way that Bose 901s are impressive. They are smooth and inoffensive. Their problems are that their high frequencies (above 10kHz) are poorly defined and they are omnidirectional which use to be thought of as an advantage but in reality creates severe problems in most rooms resulting in lack luster imaging. It is a cool idea but it just does not work well. It works well enough like the 901 works well enough. There are many people who think they are great sounding loudspeakers and I would tell you that they are either not critical listeners or they really do not know what to listen for. There are more of these people around then there are guys like me. Bose made a fortune off them and Ohm is still very much alive although you might notice that nobody else uses this design and it is long off patent. 

Thanks @russ69 
I'm 30 pages into that thread and it's still information that's over 10 years old. Was looking for some fresh perspectives. I'll jump to the end though.

This guy really likes them. Might be a fresher perspective..

@mijostyn thank you for your input. I’m looking for a wide range of perspectives and yours is as valid as any.

@2psyop thanks! I'll give that a watch tonight

The ohms sold Direct only since mid nineties are versions 2 3 and now 4. Originals sold prior via stores were not as refined. Modern day ohm Walsh stack up well in all regards sound wise. Originals not as much. They are controlled wide dispersion not true omnis. Most info posted in last ten years is still relevant.

Ohms are not Bose and vice versa. That compare is not relevant.

I have very highly regarded kef meta speakers and two pair of modern ohm Walsh. The ohms are different obviously but compare favorably in terms of overall sound quality. What one prefers is always a matter of taste. Ohms do the very large sweet area thing uniquely well. Imaging is also unique but top notch. My opinion. See my system posted here “Sound Chaser” for reference. Happy to answer questions as best I can. Cheers.

Originals sold prior via stores were not as refined. 

The new OHMs are not the old OHM Fs that mijostyn might be referring to. 

I have a set of Ohm 1000s and they do a fantastic job of letting me enjoy my eclectic taste in music without fail.  I've heard a lot of speakers over the decades and have no urge to make any changes.

Just to be clear there are 5 generations of Ohm “Walsh” speakers

Original ohm F and A

1st gen Ohm “Walsh” line ie walsh 2, 4, 5

These first two versions were sold in stores onto the early 90s I believe

2nd gen Ohm Walsh X00 models and ohm 5 series 2

3rd gen series 3 (I have these)

4th gen x000 series which is current

ohm moved to direct sales only in mid 90s for these last three 

Still have not found anything better or more affordable than ohms setup and driven well for pure musical enjoyment.  

I have the 5000’s in a difficult room.  Their design, along with their adjustability via the controls on the top of the speaker, has made all the difference.  They do better on the low end with a sub, and prefer power behind them.  In sum, they have achieved what a handful of far more expensive conventional speakers could not.  Imaging in this room is simply fantastic and the very reason I gave them a try….they can easily do whatever is needed via adjustment, placement and angle.  Inky way to see if they work for you is to give them a try….they have a generous trial period.

Only…. Spell checkers and fat fingers don’t mix

I have a pair of Ohm Walsh 1000s that replaced a pair of Bowers and Wilkins 703s. I'm pushing both with a Mcintosh MAC 7200. I cannot be happier with the Ohm 1000s. Of course, everyone has their personal preference as to how reproduced sound is pleasurable. I personally feel the Ohm's have a very open, lively presentation. I can close my eyes and have the closest experience of listening to the music live as any speaker I have run across. I believe that the 360° dispersion of the sound bounces off the walls in my listening room and therefore creates a natural reverb which comes from listening to a band live. The absolute best feature of this type of speaker is that there is no sweet spot. The tweeters are angled upward and toward the middle of the room. You can literally sit anywhere in the room and still get the left and right separation. My son sells high-end audio equipment and also feels that the Ohm's standup to any speaker on market. However, he states that there are far from a studio reference speaker. That may be why I moved away from the Bowers and Wilkins since they are little closer to a studio reference. Again, I want to enjoy music in a way that replicates hearing it live. I can push the Ohm's relatively strong with the Mcintosh and feel the musicians as if they are in the same room. Vocals are absolutely amazing. They are still handmade in Brooklyn New York and you can pick out your particular choice of wood veneers. This is why you need to wait almost 6 months for delivery. This is also why they do not advertise nor use dealers, can't keep up with demand. Enjoy!

If the new Ohm speakers are anything like the original Ohm F speakers, I’d say buy buy buy! Placement was easy and the sound was fantastic! They are a speaker I wish I’d never sold!

All the best.

JD

I cannot comment about the smaller Ohm Walsh talls, and I can’t compare them to a lot of other speakers because I was sold on Ohm Walsh for my difficult room when I bought a used pair of Ohm Walsh 4s.  But I totally second the praises sung above for the 5000’s.  I got the 4-5000 upgrade.  The adjustability is wonderful.  Mine are pretty much in the corners of a narrow but very deep room with windows all along one 40 plus foot long wall.  I’ve got the bass set for medium sized room, and turned off the subs.  Even at moderate volume, the sound is massive.  This is not to say the vocals of the Cranberries lose any of their ethereal quality, but over 70db at my listening positions and the music is physically experienced.  The 5000’s are notches above the 4’s of the 80’s.  Percussion, if that’s your thing, is amazing.  I think I’ll put on War’s “The World is a Ghetto” and crank The Cisco Kid.  I can feel it already.

Steve

Agree the adjustability of my larger Ohm F5s make all the difference to get best results I most any room. Mine are series 3 from ~ 2008 and the newer drivers are mounted in older refurbed Ohm F cabinets.

See my system pics here :

Note the pics showing the level adjustment controls on the F5 and the diagram from Ohm which shows the unique and proprietary controlled wide dispersion pattern of the Ohm Walsh CLS driver.  Nothing else out there like that.  Happy  to answer any questions.  

I've just completed the 1st 50 hours of listening / break-in on my Walsh 2000s .   Ordered last August but  well worth the wait .  They now sound great where they are in their temp position in the living room .  I expected and they did sound 'thin'  and lacking some bottom end until about 40 hours in and then started improving.   Now i can't imagine parting with these.  For me the sound is detailed lifelike big image from just about anywhere in the room .  All of this description is probably been said before but you got to experience it to believe it.   My living room is technically too large for the Walsh 2000s based on Ohm's  recommendations.  However,  6.5 on the volume gets me to 75-85 decibels on most material using my meter and sound consistent to me down to 40-50 db . 

Thanks for all responses on this thread. I think my next step is to take another trip to Brooklyn. It's been a few years since I last heard them and I've learned so much since. 

If you do try a pair, give them a week or two to settle in.  My bass was crazy at first.

Like audnacious, I ordered my Walsh Tall 3000s back at the beginning of August after reading the forums for years (hat tip to mapman, rebbi, bondmanp, etc.) and my wait time ended up being 7.5 months - totally worth it.

They’re not showy (unless you turn them up - WOW!) just smooth, easy, natural, palpable, all the good stuff you’ve read. What I can’t get over is how many (most? all?) other speakers I’ve heard kind of flatten the original sound event and its reflection/reverb/echo together into one conjoined thing. With these I can so clearly identify the original sound event seated inside the reflections (which are very much NOT flat, but instead true spatial cues). The imaging isn’t pinpoint, as said many times before, but it is placed very naturally in a holographic soundstage. A hologram floating over there between and around the speakers, which really do work and sound like lanterns instead of flashlights. Smithsonian Folkways and any other really good mono recordings (kind of blue, etc.) conjure the dead, it’s a freaky strong center and doesn’t sound mono due to the speakers’ natural interactions with your own real room. I love it, can’t recommend them highly enough if they generally sound like one’s flavor of sound.