Dynaudio or Ohm?

I've had my Ohms since 2009 and I'm extremely happy with them. I started with the Micro Talls, and I was so impressed that I upgraded to the 1000's. I run them with a basic 100wpc Yamaha receiver in an 11X11X9 bedroom.

Before this set up, I had a carver amplifier with a carver preamp with sonic holography. This configuration provided me with an interesting but unpredictable soundstage. None the less, when I needed a new system, I was looking for something comparable to my carver system. After much research and a recommendation from a picky audiophile friend, I took the plunge and ordered the Ohms. The rest is history.

The Ohms will require some break in, and experimentation with placement is a must. It took me about 2 weeks of moving the Ohms around until the speakers literally coupled with the room to produce a soundstage that still delights and amazes me. The final set up was 12" off the front wall and each speaker 33" from the side walls. At first the bass sounded flabby, so I moved them closer together, and to adjust the bass strength I moved them different distances from the front wall. The idea is to bring the Ohms "into focus" much like the lens of a camera.

I love the Ohms and what they do. They provide me with a soundstage that has a sense of depth and space that I find unique and appealing. The sound just permeates the room. Even at fairly low volumes, the Ohms still fill the room, with the soundstage intact, just more distant, like listening from the 20th row opposed to the 3rd row, depending on the volume.

The Ohms excel with all types of music, and as with any speaker, are recording dependent. I have a fair amount of classical music, including a number of classical samplers, and all the different recordings really show you what the Ohms can do. I do not think you would be disappointed.

The bottom line is that I really love my Ohms. If I ever get the money, I will buy their top of the line model Walsh 5000 ($6600 Pr.) with a better amplifier and be done with it. They do so many things right, and they continue to impress and amaze me even after having them for 6 years.

As for fit and finish, I personally didn't like any of the offered veneers, so I had them painted gloss black. The build quality is solid. If you go to to the Ohm website, ohmspeaker.com, it will give you an idea of what to expect.

So the choice is yours, but I think you'd be foolish not to give them a home audition. I'll tell you, it's the best chance I ever took! Good Luck! Joe

Thanks for offering your experiences, Joefish. The Ohms probably make your room sound bigger than it's physical size.

I like your description, similar to Mapman's. That's interesting that the distance of the image changes with low volume.
I'm very glad to hear the build quality is solid; and I've spent quite some time on the website.

You mentioned a subject that I've been wondering about, control of the bass. Can these speakers get a tight, detailed bass with only a flat plinth sitting on the floor?
How is reverberation and coloration thru the floor controlled? My room has a hardwood floating floor...is there an option to use spikes?

Many thanks for your input.

I think your characterization of the Dynaudio 260 is accurate: it is a great all around speaker that should be easy to position in your room. I have heard Shahinians, but not Ohms. I liked the Shahinians for Orchestral Music, and to fill a bigger room, but thought the imaging was less precise for smaller ensembles. For Orchestral music, a subwoofer would be useful with the 260s. I am a Dyn fan, but you should listen to as many speakers as possible to avoid buyers remorse with a $5k investment.

Both of my OHMs (100S3 and F5) are older refurbed cabinets with no plinth underneath.

Floor interactions are not unqiue to bottom ported OHMS butsomething to take into account.

I use Auralex Subdude isolation platforms under my 100s to manage floor interactions with a floor similar to yours.

FWIW floor interactions proved to be a similar problem for me with other conventional monitor speakers on even heavy quality spiked stands in other rooms on that floor as well, so an issue to get a handle on but not necessarily unique to OHMs. I use isoacoustics pro monitor stands under my small Triangles in that other room and those turned out to be the only stands that worked well enough in there.

Nothing needed under my large F5s in teh basement on carpeted concerete foundation, which served as my reference for getting things on teh upper level under control.

In the end I learned that managing floor interactions is a big key to getting the best sound.

Of course there are many factors that affect room acoustics, floors being only one of them, so each case will be unique and may call for a different approach or in some cases even nothing special at all.

New OHm Walsh cabinets have a plinth built in underneath whereas neither of my OHM Walshes do so that should make for some difference. Others might be able to comment further on those.

Most of the main issues have been covered here and I don't really know Dynaudio. So, forgive me if this is a bit redundant, but at least it's one more data point for you...

I use Ohm 100s and I'm pretty sure that the spatial presentation will be the make or break issue for most listeners. That's not possible to qualitatively recommend to anyone - you just gotta hear it for yourself and make a call.

The 100 is close to dead neutral IMO and has limited deep bass capability. Further, like a lot of modestly sensitive/efficient loudspeakers, dynamics can be understated at modest listening volumes. The net effect is a "polite" presentation at low SPL. I use a pair of subwoofers with my Ohms which seems to help address all of these issues. As a true full-range system (integrated and crossed in the digital domain via Audyssey), this is IMO a ridiculously good sounding system for the $.

BTW, I also own SF Cremonas, Verity Parsifal/Encores, and Merlin VSMs (as well as Maggie MMGs for use with the same subs as the Ohms). The Ohm/sub system is my loudspeaker of choice for 80% of my listening and 100% of my orchestral listening. FWIW.