MBL 121 to full range speaker

Yeah, I've heard mbls and can honestly say the OHMs are certainly competitive at a minimum and do a lot of the same things for a fraction of the cost.

I too own the 121 monitors, and am likely going to get one or two subwoofers to go with them. If you are keen on getting full range speakers, you might consider German Physiks. They seem really interesting. The driver used is similar to the one used by Walsh, but seems more advanced (although the speakers are far more expensive than Walsh).

We were just recently informed that OHM now has a distributor in Germany and seems ready to take on MBL and German Physiks in their home turf.

OHM uses the omnidirectional Walsh driver for most of the audio range except the very top end.

German Physiks uses their variation of the omni Walsh driver (DDD) primarily for the top end and leave the low end to more conventional drivers in most models. MBL is similar I believe using their own proprietary omni driver technology. The very expensive 101s use the unique MBL bass driver.

Blue Circle's new Penny loudspeaker is using the OHM Walsh driver for all but the low end.

The original OHM A and F is still the only speaker that used a single Walsh driver for the entire range, but that design was problematic from a reliability perspective in that the driver was easily damaged if overdriven. That is a shortcoming that nobody has ever been able to overcome, it seems.

OHM elected to elimitate the delicate part of the Walsh driver that delivered the top end.

German Physiks elected to keep the Walsh design for the top end but move the low end to other conventional drivers so as not to expose the DDD to the same stress as was problematic in the original full range OHM Walsh drivers.

Another unique thing about the OHMs is their scalability to different room sizes. The same basic design is used throughout the line and larger models for larger rooms use a larger driver. The sound does not change much though from model to model fitted properly to room size. That's quite a trick!

Prices start at about $1000/pair and go up to $6000 or so for the largest models.

Full range MBLs or GErman Physics are in the $30000 range and up new I believe.

These guys are new and have their own design based on the Ohm A and F:

[url]http://www.hhr-exoticspeakers.com/HHRabout.htm[/url]

I haven't heard OHM, but I can say MBLs are amongst the best speakers I've heard. I love that omnidirectional sound! Just the wide, holographic expanse of the soundstage is phenomenal. I'm definitely interested in hearing an OHM demo myself, now, if they can provide similar performance for a "fraction of the cost".

Dylan,

OHm provides a generous in-home audition program, which is the best way to evaluate speakers.

When I heard the mbl 111s, I was actually expecting to hear a bigger difference than I did.

That's not to say that the sound was the same, because there were clear differences just terms of the listening room, setup, and associated electronics with the MBLs I heard versus my OHMs in my house. Also, nobody will mistake OHMs for MBLs in regards to appearance.

In terms of imaging, detail, and soundstage, they sound more alike than different. In terms of timbre, there are clear differences that I could attribute a good portion of to room configuration and acoustics and associated eletronics.

Also, off the cuff, I would give the edge to the OHMs in terms of tight, clear bass and dynamics and impact over the 111s. Against the 101s? That might be a different story. I've have never heard 101s.

I would say the MBLs were set up at the dealer in a near optimal configuration with only the best electronics huge SS MBL monoblocks) and source units (reel to reel, vinyl, and CD) driving them.

If you look at my system, you will see it is considerably more modest and ordinary in setup, still, what I hear at home on my OHM 5s in that room is more similar than not to what I heard with the MBLs, and I do not feel handicapped at all. To the contrary, I feel very delighted that my modest system can even compete with what I heard in the dealer's listening room.