Ohm Walsh Micro Talls: who's actually heard 'em?

"They are just less exciting and involving, even while they are listenable."

That is the nature of the beast with lesser recordings to some extent.

In my case, lesser pop/rock recordings typically have manifested themselves with a dull and perhaps slightly muddy low end on most everything I have ever heard them on.

A good example is the original CD master of the Allman Brothers Brothers and Sisters album. This always has had somewhat of a murky low end to it, not just on CD but on original vinyl as well. That appeared to be missing in action for the most part this past weekend however with the new amps. As a result, the rest of what is there, though still way off from the best recordings, is able to come through quite nicely.

I noticed this while listening over the weekend not only with both pair of OHMS, but my Dynaudio monitors as well. These tended to have a touch of fat bass off the A3CR amp when sitting closer to the walls than ideal in my wife's 12X12 sunroom.

At first, things sounded rather lean with the Bel amps compared to the Musical Fidelity A3CR, but after things settled in I realized that the bass was tighter, more dynamic and more harmonically rich even on lesser recordings than prior.

The Bels have really opened up the dynamics to a significant extent on better recordings.

Map,

Thanks for sharing and I'm delighted tha the Bel Canto Amps are
floating your boat! I have lesser stuff -- "just" the dual-mono S300, but it (and the Manley pre) really made a lovely difference in the sound of my 100s. Bel Canto is good stuff!

Enjoy!!

Thanks Rebbe.

I had to grit my teeth a bit when swallowing the cost of these amps (not small change even used), but I have to say that at least they are delivering in spades so far as was hoped!

Bond,

I lucked out somewhat. I open up the pre-amp. It uses 6 12AX7 dual triodes, 3 in the line section and 3 in the phono section. The problem was in the line section since I heard it on all inputs. So I switched tube pairs 1 by one between line and phono section. After the 3rd swap (of three total), the low level high pitched noise that sounded like a dentist drill was gone. And the phono section now with the tube that was causing the problem sounds fine! Go figure. Apparently the tube had an issue in the line stage but is quiet in the phono. I can live with that. I will be sure to pick up a few spare tubes and keep them around however for whenever the next issue comes up. Darn valves, pain in the butts but sure sound nice!

Finsup - Listened to two of my favorite 5.1 DVDs last night: "Best of Sessions At 54th Street Vol. 1" and Peter Gabriel's "Play". All I can say is wow! I still have to dial in the channel balance much more carefully than I have so far, but here's what I heard: Although my center channel is still a Vandersteen VCC-1, back-to-front uniformity of timbre was spot on. The sound pans around following the cameras on the Sessions DVD, and the effect was spooky. Plenty of spine-chills. Also, this setup easily floated sound between the front and surround speakers, above my head(!), and immediately behind my head. Detail resolution by the truckload, even exposing some kinks in the mixes on the Peter Gabriel DVD. Surround soundtracks on films should be a hoot with my rig once I get it balanced right. Note that the MWT surrounds are elevated on two cinderblocks for hieght. Now I really have a Jones for the Ohm center channel - darned economy! Finsup, IMHO, the Ohm Walsh series makes an incredible surround-sound setup.

Mapman - I agree with your take on the Ohms and poor rock recordings. I just got the best of the Replacements CD ("Did You Know Who I Thought I Was?"). The sound was underwhelming. Interesingly, as the tracks progressed to later recordings, the sound improved slightly. The last track, which is listed as "re-recorded", sounded noticeably better than the rest.