Para,
I've had my 100s w/Velodyne SPLR 8 subs for a little over a month now. Of the 3 speakers I tried with these subs (actually 4, including a brief "what the heck-give it a shot" attempt with my Verity Parsifal Monitors), the Ohms have settled in as the clear favorite over Maggie MMGs and Carver Cinema ribbon monitors.
As a stand alone, the Ohms offer a very neutral tonal balance with unusual bass extention. In this respect (60ish hz on up), they can IMHO compete with anything out there at any price - just dead neutral! The deep bass, low 30s hz in my room actually feels a bit elevated and a subwoofer wouldn't seem necessary. They also provide a wide stage with images well behind the plane of the speakers. Additionally, images seem to have real "body" which is a rare and wonderful characteristic to find in any speaker system.
To my ear, the Ohm is less dynamic in reproducing big swings than my Verity or Merlin speakers, but this is the only significant shortcoming for me. The Verity is also more transparent to the source (and the Merlin more transparent than the Verity), but this isn't real high on my current list of priorities. Also, the recessed soundstage, while absolutely convincing, doesn't present front to rear depth like the Verity or Merlin - another nit to some, more important to others.
The addition of the subs makes the speaker more dynamic. It still doesn't quite match the other 2 I mentioned, but the gap is closed significantly. The Ohm is an incredibly easy mate for subs. I had a near perfect transition in 15 minutes. (By contrast, 8 hours with the Maggies got me a very good result, but not as seamless a match as I quickly got with the Ohms). The irony here is that the Ohm/Velo crossed at 80hz feels better integrated than the stand alone Ohm - which is essentially a full range single driver system with a supertweeter.
I'd also add that, in black, the speaker can fairly be describes as "unattractive". OTOH, it's small.
There are 2 things going on here. Great performance from well integrated subs and great performance from the Ohm 100s. As a stand alone, the Ohm is a viable alternative to my usual recommended extended bandwidth speakers at $2kish - Vandy 2s, Em-Tech LFTs, and possibly Maggie 1.x QRs. In combo with the subs of your choice, it's a lot more than that.
Bottom line:
Velo SMS-1 analyzer, x-over PEq $ 600
2 Velo SPLR 8 $1200
Ohm 100 $1700
Total $3500
Note: It has since come to my attention that the SVS 16" cylinrical subs will handily outperform the Velo SPLRs (much lower distortion at high SPLs) and are $150 less per pair. These are much larger cabinets, however. Ohm also makes a matching sub with an even larger footprint and that might merit consideration, as well.
The reason I include this note is that the performance I'm getting from 25hz to the 15ish khz that is the upper limit of my hearing is pretty damn amazing. I have found that I tend to listen a little louder with this set-up which helps restore a sense of dramatic dynamics. Other than that, it's really hard to find much meaningful criticism of this system. At the price point, it's truly amazing. Depending on personal priorities and listening habits (i.e. preferred spls), it wouldn't surprise me if some folks liked this set-up as much as any system at any price.
I'm not saying it's perfect - only that in the respects that are most important to me, it's terrific. I've never heard seamless, neutral performance with this type of bass extention in my room before, despite owning 2 other systems that cost several times the price. Obviously, I can't definitively rule out all other speaker system designs, but I wonder whether any speaker without a powered sub can provide this kind of performance in the deep bass.
Further, it's entirely possible that a wiser choice of subs might yield even further improvement (although that might only be apparent at spls I won't ever approach).
If ultimate transparency, macro-dynamics at modest spls, and front to back imaging are your priorities, you might well do better with a different speaker system. If you can nudge the volume up a bit, don't obsess about the "is this cd or sacd I'm listening to?" question, and don't miss the forward imaging provided by some other systems - the Ohm/Sub combo may well be unbeatable.
Marty
