How do Walsh Ohm Speakers compare to Thiels?

I am in my wife's sunroom today listening to the Ohm 100s there for first time in awhile. Ohms are in front corners here about 1 foot from rear and side wall. Oh my the sound is exquisite many would kill for it. This room is very lively and I have had more trouble getting the sound right in there than any other room ever. The Ohms just fit right in. I do place them on Auralex Subdude pads in there otherwise the bass is overwhelming due to floor interactions.

Almost any good quality speaker even larger ones can seem to "disappear" if far enough out into the room and with the right acoustics and drivers not aiming right at the listener so the sound is reflected and travels further before it reaches your ears.

Bass levels will also tend to be lower with no corner or wall reinforcement.  That's always a trade off.

The speakers that sound best are often the ones that best match to your room and listening position best.  Not going full range and using subs adds a lot of flexibility in placement.   With OHMs and omnis, listening positions become more flexible due to the huge sweet spot.   OHMs can go closer to walls within just a few feet and work well, full omnis not so much.   Always avoid early reflections.

80” out into the room.......

i wish.....

Ouch 

:’(

I wish. It is, of course boxed in with a 14" by 14" dry wall column.

If the post is, say, 3-4” diameter and round it might have very little sonic effect. Just need to listen with your eyes closed!

beetlemania, the throw rugs is  a good idea!

dlcuckrum, I understand exactly what you are suggesting. While my room appears to have the size, the problem is the support post in the middle of the room. If I would bring the speakers out 6 feet into the room, the listening position would be behind the post. Obviously, I was not thinking about speakers when we had our house built. 

:-)

I have CS5i’s in my 14.5’ X 24’ X 9’ dedicated room and they completely disappear. Your room should be great with the 5i’s. Use the Cardas room node calculator for distance of the speakers from the front wall (front baffle ~80" out from the wall) and then space them 10 feet apart center-to-center with your listening chair 10 feet from the front baffle of the speakers (equilateral triangle). Toe the speakers in such the projected centerlines from each speaker intersect 5 feet behind your head when seated in your listening position.

Nice! But you forgot the mic drop!
:^)

Hi dsper,

I have CS5i’s in my 14.5’ X 24’ X 9’ dedicated room and they completely disappear. Your room should be great with the 5i’s. Use the Cardas room node calculator for distance of the speakers from the front wall (front baffle ~80" out from the wall) and then space them 10 feet apart center-to-center with your listening chair 10 feet from the front baffle of the speakers (equilateral triangle). Toe the speakers in such the projected centerlines from each speaker intersect 5 feet behind your head when seated in your listening position.

Large floor-to-ceiling sealed bass traps were needed in the front corners of my room to tame the midbass hump. No other room treatments were needed.

Over the 23 years I have owned the 5i’s i have flirted with other speakers several times but, after extended listening sessions, always decided none equaled the 5i’s in soundstaging, dynamics, and transparency. I think you will find the same. The Ohms aren’t even close.

Dave

One thing that I have not tried to address is side wall reflections.

I would start with a couple of simple throw rugs mounted to each side wall. No need to get crazy - yet.

acoustic panels will reduce the treble energy, but not the bass...resulting in a darker presentation with less life. could be worth experimenting as it will change the sound. 

Some not necessarily expensive acoustic panels at primary wall reflection points to your main listening position may help. If so these would help similarly with the OHMs as well. With the OHMs, if you listen from more than one position, you might place panels at each primary reflection point for each location you listen from. I do this on side walls in my main listening room with one pair of Ohms and they do make a difference. In my other rooms I do not even bother and things are still fine if not quite so perfect. I may also try similar panels on ceiling primary reflection points some day but have not felt a great need to-date.

$55 for any properly operating OHm Walshes is a steal of the century! Lucky you! I’ve passed on some similar very good speaker deals at Goodwill because I have so many already but would not on that one! Also remember, last time I checked, any old OHMs with cabinets that can be refurbished and re-used have trade-in value with OHM. The condition of the drivers does not matter for trade-in. Last I checked (and took advantage of) OHM offered up to 40% off new speakers with trade in of two pair of older refurbishable OHMs. Need not be Walsh models even.

Lastly I would add that I’ve had OHM Walshes in my house since 1982 or so and A/B tested older versions versus new and the newer versions are more refined and detailed than the older ones, but the older versions are still great bargains for the prices commonly found.

Hey, thanks for the advice and ideas!

I have played a lot with the toe in and have a good wide sound stage with pretty good imaging. Not real deep which I expect is due to the speakers not being further from the front wall.

One thing that I have not tried to address is side wall reflections. Maybe  I can achieve an improvement by working on that.

Dsper

I have a vintage pair of Ohm Walsh Sound Cylinders that I found at a local GoodWill for $55! And I wouldn't trade mine for any Thiels! They are that good!

Good point by seanheis. You usually have to be able to sit further away from larger speakers with distance between drivers like those Thiels for them to image best and "disappear".

Many speakers might fit that bill. OHM Walsh do very well in that regard even the larger models in that they all have similar driver configurations. Their big sweet spot will be different. The OHM coherent sound design is right down Thiel’s alley.

Having said that I have not heard Thiels in quite a while so I cannot compare OHM sound to those based on listeningl but I would say read up on them and if they sound like your cup of tea maybe give them a shot. Amps that drive Thiels well should also do splendid with OHM. OHM is not full omni and 3 feet to rear wall maybe less should be fine.

The bigger the speaker, generally the harder it is to make it disappear. Something like the Silverline Prelude Plus might work better in your room. 

try Jim Smiths excellent book first !!!!!!

Great advice! The Thiel CS5 is said to be one of Jim Thiel's best designs. Might as well put in the effort to get the room and placement right before trying a different speaker.

To make my speakers disappear, I put squares of carpet on the floor right in front of both speaks, getting rid of an unwanted floor reflection.

try Jim Smiths excellent book first !!!!!!
 hone your setup
first
buy a Leica disto ($59) it will change your life