Hello all,
It's been a while since I last posted here. When I last did so, I was thinking of possible ways to improve the sound out of my original OW 2s. In the meantime, I got a great deal on a pristine set of OW 2XOs on EBay. Of course, UPS promptly trashed one of them in transit (hey, I got off light--they only trashed one). The mounting board was shattered and the tweeter was knocked loose & rattling around inside the can (what DO they do when shipping boxes?).
I called John S at Ohm who said to ship the cans back for repair and matched revoicing. (Some good advice from Mr. S: have UPS do the packing to deprive them of heir favorite defense, it's your fault for packi g poorly.) I sent them off and in about a week, they were back, along with a replacement mounting board. Even better, John S comped the "high repair" and new board, saying 'it's on the house.' Perhaps he was in the holiday spirit in the run up to the holidays, but a shout out and thank you to John.
The board repair and reinstallation were simple, except that the new board was slightly too big and I had to sand it down to fit. The metal bracket used to screw the old cans not the old particle board mounting panel also didin't fit, but they are unnecessary because the new plywood boards are much higher quality and sturdy enough to hold the screws and the can in place.
John S had told me that he still voices each pair of cans personally to maintain the house sound and that they are voiced as close as possible to the newest generation of Ohms. For that reason, he said, many people think their repaired speakers sound better than before, though the differences are subtle..
Because I still have the original 2s for he moment, I could do an A/B comparison with the repaired 2XOs. At first list, like someone who posted earlier, I wasn't pleased with the difference. The 2s sounded more precise and more detailed, especially in the high mids and up. In comparison, the refurbed 2XOs sounded, well, blah--flat and rather lifeless. On many recordings, the sound of the two sets was virtually identical. But on others, they were quite noticeably different, and the differences weren't subtle. The repaired 2XOs suffered by comparison--highs a bit too rolled off, lacking detailed harmonic and salient reproduction, weaker dynamics, and murky, indistinct imaging and soundstage.
I wondered if the repair had gone wrong or if UPS had managed to damage the cans somehow, but figured after all that hassle I'd just see if I'd get used to them.
Nearly two months later, I decided to give the comparison another try. The differences now are even more pronounced. Only now the 2XOs are vastly improved and now show the limits of the original 2s. Something in the can(s) seems to have needed some running in. Don't know what it might be--supposedly Ohm only glued back the tweeter and replaced a broken inductor coil. The clarity and overall sound of the 2XOs is now beautiful, and much more balanced. The sound is much richer, warmer, and better integrated top to bottom. The midrange is notably more robust, though the highs still sound a bit rolled off. Now, in comparison, the old 2s (still wonderful speakers btw) sound not only bright, but their sound is thinner and dryer. The detail I was picking up before was due to the accentuated highs. The 2XOs now image much better with more detailed resolution, and give a better sense of acoustic space in the room or hall. They still seem to be getting better, with the soundstage broadening out beyond the speakers. They didn't do this before when playing the same tracks, and the 2s never did this and still don't. I doubt that this is the result of my ears adjusting.
If this is an evolutionary improvement in sound, score one for Darwin. Now I'd really like to hear the most recent models (or maybe I wouldn't since I won't be spending that kind of money any time soon). But once again, I'm happy and grateful to have these extraordinary speakers.
