On the OHM speaker website, JS indicates a resolution to update his news blog there more regularly this year. A great place to go to learn about the nuts and bolts of home sound reproduction in general as well as his specific approach with OHM.
Here’s a tidbit recently posted I found interesting:
"Speakers are designed to sound their most ‘natural’ and ‘accurate’ at a specific listening level. At Ohm, we have chosen the sound level heard on the ground floor, rows K-P in Carnegie Hall – be it a solo violinist or full orchestra and chorus. "
I find most things JS says there tend to ring true with me, which I guess helps explain why I like these speakers as much as I do. |
I picked up a pair of kef ls50 over the holidays as a treat replacing other older monitors. Run them in my 12x12 office with a sub. I like them alot especially with the sub. My big Ohm 5s still rule though in the adjacent much larger room. Also moved the Dynaudio Contours into my wife's sunroom where they continue to impress. My smaller Ohm 100s have found their home in our family room 2 channel a/v system where they are a perfect fit. Everyone always in the sweet spot! |
Craigsub, I would agree integrating that Axiom properly with the low pass filter should produce extremely impressive results! From my interaction with the company it looks like I need to break-in as much if not more than the speakers, since I am used to nothing but box type speakers. That is very true! When I first got my newer OHM Walshes I was totally befuddled by what I heard and even once again later when I fed them from my current amp a pair of Bel CAnto ref1000m. That despite having owned other older OHM Walsh 2s for over twenty years. But once your ears tune into the different dimensional "omni" sound, if like me, there will be no turning back ever. NAD amps are a very good cost effective match. Most any good quality amp will do well within its limits. The larger OHMs in particular do respond to power and current though, so I always recommend as much of both as you can throw at them. Even at Capital Audiofest, where most vendors throw the kitchen sink into their rooms, John S. went with a very modest Outlaw amp to drive the 5015s. It sounded fine especially in the acoustically challenged "room" they were in, but I know from experience, as bondman alludes to, the OHMs will respond and sound different with most any change made upstream. I’ve heard it with even more esoteric tweaks like wires and power cords on pre-amp and DAC not to mention no two DACS, amps or pre-amps sound exactly the same when things are set up well. |
Little known fact: Mamboni’s posts were a big part in my deciding to give newer OHM Walsh speakers a chance back in ~ 2008. I love mine (series 3, one generation older than current) still for all the same reasons and find it hard to stay as immersed with most any box speaker for any prolonged period of time when it comes to serious listening. |
Dep14 if you get to hear the newer more refined models I think you will be in for a treat. |
I have several "Unplugged" CDs. They are very good live recordings, right up the OHM alley. |
Craigsub where are the pics? Thanks. |
snap maybe he will answer but if not there is certainly plenty of information out there both on the OHM site and other independent sources including various pro reviews over the years. I suspect Audiogon regulars represent a very small % of all OHM users. OHM has been in business since 1971 I believe and been selling essentially the same Walsh series design since 1981 or so with various refinements since.
My personal opinion is they are unique and different from any others in the ways described and you have to hear them yourself to determine if for you or not. If you do not need the high quality coherent sound and large sweet spot for a relatively affordable price, there are many other good options. Where do you live? I’d be happy to offer an audition if possible.
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Sounds like things are working as they should. Enjoy! |
Bondman,
Another demo I heard that was up there was many years ago with Magnepans set up 1/3rd of teh way or so into teh room at Jim Smith’s old Audition shop in Birmingham Alabama. I and the friend I was with both bought a pair on the spot!
Thing is Magnepans put out as much sound to the rear as front like mbl and other fully omni-directional designs. OHMs are not fully omnidirectional nor do they put out as much sound to the rear or sides as the front. I’ve experimented with mine pulled out farther out from the rear wall and not achieved the same kind of results. Of course the details of the room acoustics matter greatly. You have to get just the right setup to maximize imaging depth with any speaker. I’m willing to bet your attic was pretty lively acoustically? I’ve read where John Strohbeen talks about having relatively "lively" space behind one’s listening position versus in front and how that can affect the listening experience.
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omnis excel at depth as well but often limited by the room. EQuipment upstream matters a lot in all cases not just omnis in determining final results, but the only way to know which is best is to listen and compare. I use two different DACs in my setup with OHM 5s. Chord Mojo delivers a deeper soundstage. mhdt Constantine a wider one. The OHMs are just the messenger.
The best demo I ever heard for image depth was mbl 111’s at United Home Audio showroom in Annapolis junction (no longer there). The speakers were a good 2/3 or more into the room and the area behind them was tapered and narrowed gradually and was highly treated. The orchestra literally occupied that area and you could point to the player location. But who has a room like that? Same speakers at audio shows? Still good but more back to the pack and sometimes not even all that impressive . |
Have larger Ohm 5s with 12" driver and smaller 100s with 8" driver.
Positioning considerations are similar to most modern speakers that image well. You always want drivers a couple feet away from wall to avoid early reflections for best results. Optimal location from there will vary room by room, case by case.
I’ve used my 100’s with as little as 1 foot from walls to good effect, though perhaps not optimal in regards to detail and imaging.
I’ve had amps as little as 20 w/ch deliver very good results but the OHMs love power and current and will generally reward that if ultimate dynamics and very high SPLs matter to the user.
They are also very transparent. Most any change in the system might be heard. That may include power cords, interconnect wires, source device, pre-amp and amp.
If bass obscuring the midrange is an issue, that is often due to floor interactions. Set the OHMs on an isolation pad or stand of some sort, much like one would do with a subwoofer.
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They should sing pretty well with those PS audio 350w/ch amps. Enjoy!
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I don’t know what drivers are used, but having owned OHM Walsh speakers now since 1982, I can say they they seem virtually indestructible and never show any sign of strain or being over driven. More so than any other comparable speaker I have owned. And believe me I have run them pretty loud and hard on occasion. I do it these days with high current 500 w/ch BEl Canto Class D amps. They love it!
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All the largest OhM walshes with level switches on the cans (5, 5000, and most likely these) use 12" main driver. The diameter of the can is essentially the size of the driver. |
My F5s similarly came in 6 boxes in 2008. 2 for cabinets, 2 for drivers, two for grilles. This saved much time and aggravation getting these into and set up in the room downstairs. These are big and heavy and would be harder to ship safely much less move around fully assembled. Assembly was a snap, Attach fail proof connector and tighten 4 wing nuts to secure driver on top of cabs. These also sit on lockable castors which makes moving them around in the room and tweaking location for setup a snap. I would never want to deal with anything as big and bulky as these otherwise.
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