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

Yes, I've found a tube pre-amp can be a very good ingredient to mix in with digital. I would expect a significant difference with the CJ pre-amp. I use an ARC sp16 in my main rig and currently a 25 year old NAD 7020 receiver pinch hitting temporarily off the bench in my second 2 channel a/v rig. Its quite listenable in taht particular smaller rig.

I have an update on my system. As you know I said that my vinyl was a bit "bright", actually more of a bit lacking on the low end. So I took out the fine high output MC Bluepoint #2 that came with the Pro-Ject and installed an AudioTechnica AT-33EV that was on sale at JR's. I hooked it into my NAD PP3 phono amp, but didn't notice that much difference in sound until the next day when I hooked the phono into my new step up transformer first, then into the MM input of the NAD. The step up transformer is a Raphaelite PM 1.1, sourced again through Pacific Valve (thanks Joe!). The result was game changing! So many more low notes that I never heard before, clean, and not dominating. I can hear the low notes on a piano or guitar in all their glory. Last night I listened to the half speed master edition of "Stradust" by Willie Nelson, ca 1980- it never sounded this good before. So the lesson is that sometimes (as you all know) it's not the speaker that's lacking- this I knew from listening to SACD recordings- but one arm of the system. Unfortunately, PV&Co may discontinue stocking the Raphaelite (they might reconsider if they get a lot of inquiries and NO I have no financial interest in the company), as it didn't sell well, but as far as I'm concerned this one little addition just transformed my entire LP collection into something very magical! Can't wait until I get my boxed set of Dick Dale albums (Sundazed records) in the mail.

Phaelon56: I originally ran my Ohm 2000s with a C-J PV-11 preamp and SS amp. The sound was great, but due to several issues, including an impedance missmatch between the C-J and the SS amp, I upgraded to a McIntosh C220 tube-hybrid preamp. The results are fantastic. Like Mapman, I have found that the tube-pre/SS-amp combo is the magic ticket. Also, consider saving for a new DAC if your current CDP can be used as a transport. While you will have to invest in a decent digital cable, it will give you added flexibility in the future. I recently added a music sever and Squeezebox Touch to my system, and having a stand-alone DAC made the addition seemless.

Yet another moment when I realized how fortunate I am to have the Walsh 2000s: I stopped by a local dealer the other evening to pick up something I'd had serviced there. This dealer (the excellent John Rutan at Audio Connection) offered to play the Vandersteen 7s for me. How could I refuse? He had them in a nice-sized and treated room, with Aesthetix amps and an ARC preamp, all SOTA stuff. The sound was indeed amazing. I'd heard these before, but not from the sweet spot. Incredible sound stage width and depth, just-right transients, deep, tuneful, tight bass, and timbre that was simply spot-on. These might be my "I just won the Powerball lottery" speakers. Nevertheless, all the things that I liked about these $45,000 speakers are simply more of exactly what I like about my Ohm Walsh 2000s. I noted the basic similarity of the way both speakers produce a palpable image of performers and instruments, of the accurate reproduction of instrument timbre, the ability of the speakers to dissappear into the soundstage, and the transients that were there, but never in-my-face. Were the 7s, driven by this SOTA front end, in a treated room, better than my Ohms? Yes, they were. But not by the margin that the price difference would suggest.

The item I had serviced should take my system to the next level. Stay tuned.

Thanks for the thoughtful comments and suggestions. I did just acquire a used NAD 512 CD player here on Agon. It's a fairly low end unit but distinctly better detail, tight and fuller bass and less bright than the Yamaha CD hanger I already had in place.

A couple of other recent tweaks and a new accessory have also made a noticeable difference. At a discount home improvement I got two 12" square concrete patio stones that are about 1.5" thick and look like stone. Put one under each speaker on the hardwood floors (there is a thick oriental rug with pad in room but it does not extend to the area where the speakers sit. Bass response is tighter and deeper. The second tweak may be sen as snake oil by some but I swear the sound - especially with vinyl - is a bit more open and has clarified and even slightly deepened bass response over what it was... all from a new turntable mat. I have Technics SL-1400 (kissing cousin of the Sl-1200.) The stock mat is a thick rubber and many seem to feel that rubber mats - or at least this one - don't allow the sound to open up as much. A lot of research on different mat materials... synthetic plastic, metal, felt, cork etc. yield the overall impression that most folks here no difference between mats which I believe.) The one exception was deerskin. Nearly every thread I found that discussed deerskin/leather mats suggests that they have a positive impact on the sound. Only place I could find them for sale was a few UK vendors and prices were high. I bought a compass style circle cutter with cutting wheel for drywall - at a hardware store,) an X-Actoknife, a roll of self adhesive cork at a craft store, and a 1/4" hole punch and a scrap of soft grained leather at a leather supply shop (deerskin was too pricey for an experiment but I will now buy some based on my sing the rubber mat for size I scored two circles of cork, one of leather and carefully cut them out. One cork circle was then cut to remove a 4" circle of material in the center. That piece was the center of the "sandwich, the smoother side of the leather faces up and the third piece of cork on the bottom. Careful pressure and pounding with a soft rubber mallet got the layers adhered and the center 4" area of leather is slightly depressed due to the cutout under it (for the label depression.) Last steps were to punch the center spindle hole and trim the edges even. I played Side A of Steely Dan's Aja on the rubber mat and then on the new leather mat. There IS a difference and the leather mat yields better sound. I was surprised that I could hear it but am convinced that it isn't my imagination. Followed up later tonight with side B of the Sony Legacy 180 gram reissue of Axis Bold as Love and damn!

Last change... I got an $80 Spin-Clan manual record washer and built my own jerry-rigged vacuum system form and old portable vacuum. I can clean about 15 records in one hour and the results are astounding. Thrift store finds and even vinyl from my own remaining old collection (much of which is gone) sounds so much better. Surface noise that I attributed to worn records was just dirt embedded in the grooves. Great investment.