Dynaudio or Ohm?


I’m close to purchasing a pair of Dynaudio Focus 260s except I keep finding threads about Ohm speakers which have me intrigued.
I’m looking for anybody who’s familiar with the Dynaudio Focus sound and has owned a pair of Ohms.
My living room is 16’ x 14’ x 8’ and has a side wall with an opening to the dining room. It is very well damped and acoustics are very good; I listen nearfield about 8’ from the speakers. (I would need the T-2000). The components in my system are:

ARC CD3 MKII
Rogue Perseus Magnum with Mullard Longplates
Sunfire 300 amp
Purist Aqueus Luminist speaker cables
Cardas Parsec ICs

The attributes I find so appealing with the Focus 260 are clarity with smooth highs and a liquid midrange, wide soundstage, transparent with a touch of warmth, and deep detailed bass.

The concern I have regarding the Ohm are the overwhelming reviews of the disappointing or only “adaquate” build quality.
I listen to 90% Classical, so I do like hearing what people have to say about the sonics of these speakers; eg, soundstaging and imaging. I just wonder if they are in the class of the Dynaudio; by that I mean are these speakers that people hold on to for years as they update their electronics, or do they move up to higher end spkrs after a couple of years.

I’d like your input before ordering a trial set of Ohms; I’m finding it hard to believe they measure up to the $5000 Dynaudios.
Any advise is appreciated.

128x128lowrider57
One last question...
I'd like some clarification on some aspects of the Ohm's. They project a wide, deep image where the soundstage is at the front of the room. The instrument position; eg, a guitar, is constant while the listener moves in space.
No additional sound comes from behind the listener, correct?

In the case of an orchestra on stage, the presentation would be as realistic as my electronics will allow. I have a low noise floor, so would the imaging present a good separation of instruments? I understand Ohms are not the last word in detail, but I'm looking for a realistic and natural reproduction of the concert hall.

Thanks so much for your help, guys. Especially Mapman.
Glad to share what I can.

"They project a wide, deep image where the soundstage is at the front of the room."

True.

"The instrument position; eg, a guitar, is constant while the listener moves in space."

If location is clearly located in the recording and location remains constant then yes. Most recordings should but not all.

"No additional sound comes from behind the listener, correct?"

In most rooms with most recordings, no. But room acoustics play a factor. If the room is very lively behind teh listening position it is more possible. I seldom hear anything from behind me in any of my rooms. I can only think of of brief moments on one or two music recordings when that has occured. The one that comes to mind is when Mel Torme hits and holds a note perfectly for a good 5-10 seconds in "the Classic Concert" on Concord CD. The perfect resonance of his voice sounds like you are surrounded. Quite startling and impressive actually, but not a common thing at all.

"In the case of an orchestra on stage, the presentation would be as realistic as my electronics will allow. I have a low noise floor, so would the imaging present a good separation of instruments?"

Again a function of recording and setup and room size and acoustics and listening position (listening perspective from where you are seated, much like at a live concert), but again that is what I would expect when things are going well. That is the case in my main setup where I am able to optimize everything. In my family room setup which is less optimized out of necessity, not as much but that is the case there with any speaker I use. So like most things, it depends.

"I understand Ohms are not the last word in detail, but I'm looking for a realistic and natural reproduction of the concert hall."

The detail is hard to fault when set up right, when you are getting that big well defined soundstage, but they are not bright or etched at all. They excel with good live recordings. The only thing I have heard better is larger mbls in a much larger tailored showroom. The same mbls at most shows are nothing special. So as is typically the case its all in the setup and getting things optimized accordingly.
The main thing OHMs have that mbls I have heard do not is the coherency through the midrange (where most vocals and music occurs) of the wide range Walsh driver used. mbls doen right are impressive but use multiple drivers and a more complex crossover that makes them sound like most speakers in that regard, including Dynaudio. Not a bad thing necessarily when done well, but once you get used to a truly coherent midrange, you take notice more easily when its not as much there.
Also I will add that I have heard much deeper soundstage with mbl than OHM, but only in a tailored dealer showroom with non parallel walls running 10-12' or more behind teh speakers, not something most people can reproduce in their homes.

The OHM Walsh driver output is physically damped inside the "can" in teh wall facing directions to enable them to fit better into most peoples homes and closer to walls. That tends to limit absolute soundstage depth possible somewhat butits a very good tradeoff for most.

So I would say they are very good but not necessarily the nth degree of soundstage depth. If I had never heard those darn mbls in teh dealer showroom, I would probably have nothing better to compare them to and never even give that a second thought.
Low, I don't know where you live but if you are ever in Baltimore/DC metro you are more than welcome to stop by and give a listen.

Hope it all works out.

Cheers!