Ownership and Review of a pair of Ohm Super Sound Cylinder

Had been watching this thread from afar.... did the deal go dead?

The Ohm SSC-4900's have arrived. They got here on Thursday - There is a thread on Home Theater forum which allows posting pictures, so anyone is welcome to visit that thread. It is under forums, the Loudspeakers and Subwoofers sub-forum. I am not sure posting links to other forums is permitted here. 

Here is a copy/paste of the initial set up and first 3 day's of ownership:

""We ordered the speakers in late February, 2018. It took just over 2 months for delivery, with good reason. The speakers are a new model, and are a cylinder in shape. Ohm was having shipping difficulties, and finally, after several weeks of experimenting, they came up with a solution: Ship the cabinets in 2 separate boxes, the drivers in 2 separate boxes and the grills in their own box, for a total of 5 boxes. 


The cabinet boxes are on the left, the driver boxes in the middle, and the grill tops on the right. There was some final assembly required, which took less than an hour, including unboxing the TRIPLE boxes for the cabinets and drivers. (Note - there is a picture here in the HTF thread)

The drivers were mounted on particle board to further protect them during transit. Assembly was simple - plug the drivers into the main cabinets using the "fool proof" connectors (they won't let you accidentally wire the speakers out of phase), then lining the drivers up with the 7 mounting holes and using the supplied screwdriver and screws to secure the drivers to the cabinet.

Next - the binding posts are under the speakers, and are high quality, easily accepting banana plugs. The Ohms were then placed where the Axiom LFR-1100's were located. For now, the subwoofers are still there, although we will "clean up the area" this week when I have more time. For now, we are using the Ohms in a far less than ideal situation. Here they are as they are now placed: (Note - there is a picture here in the HTF thread). 

Initial listening impressions: The Ohm SSC 4900's are unlike any speaker I have ever auditioned. One of the first things that was noticed about the Ohm's is they present sound from an almost "black" background. The impression is similar to a band starting the music from a blacked out stage. You hear music, but it just seems to be a wall in front of you.

Discs being played already are Roger Waters "In The Flesh", Cowboy Junkies "Trinity Session", Steely Dan "2 Against Nature", Bob Seger "Live Bullet" and Diana Krall, "Live in Paris".

Some initial impressions: One can be sitting outside the left speaker, and STILL get a pretty good stereo image, including hearing the right speaker quite clearly. The soundstage is wide and deep, yet vocalist and instruments are placed with excellent location and imaging. Margot's voice on Trinity Session changes as she is singing to us from varying parts of the stage. Lyrics are also really clear and easier to discern than from other speakers we have had.

Even with all the detail, they are also very musical. With most discs, one has favorite tracks and others that one might skip. The Ohms are immersive to the point that I am never tempted to skip a track.

After 3 days of ownership, they are already impressing.

Once you have had enough listening experience, perhaps with and without one or more of your subs in the system, can you please comment on what value the added sub contributes for a) music and b) movies.  Curious if a good sounding sub placement was difficult achieve since it is separate from the speakers.   

Also, can you post a picture showing how the upper grills interface with the top of the cylinder.  It looks like there could be an exposed fastener on the grill ring above the Ohm symbol on the left speaker in the image you posted on the HTF. 

Finally, how have you set the room size switch on the speaker - does the setting make an appreciable difference?

Thanks in advance.  Your guidance will help with my selection process.

MB - Eric Clapton's "Unplugged" is playing now, and it is really good stuff. One can easily hear/feel the tapping on the guitar - that weight that an acoustic guitar delivers is coming through with authenticity.

The actual grills are not in place yet. What you are seeing now is the protective grill for the Walsh Driver. The cosmetic grills are still in their boxes. When we get the room reorganized, the grills will be added and more close up pics taken.

This review process will probably go into fall, with all the aspects to discuss. Yes, a subwoofer will eventually be added. It will likely be the Axiom EP800. The EP800 is flat anechoically to 13 Hz and the DSP crossover can be set to a lowpass at 40 Hz without interfering with the full range response of the Ohm's. 

Checked out that thread.  Would love some close ups of the finish, they use real veneer now I believe? The old cylinders used vinyl wrap.

looks like you have the tweeters firing straight ahead in the pictures, do you have them crossed as John suggests now?  

Any chance you took pictures of the drivers before installing?

I know John typically suggests running them about 12-15 inches off the back wall, then adjusting for bass response, thoughts?  I have to imagine those put out prodigious bass.

looking forward to more posts.