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

Thought I'd resurrect this thread to share a bit. Like many others I've had a lot of free time on my hands, especially this winter, and decided to revisit some past purchases. So, of course, the MicroWalsh Talls had to make an appearance. I tried various components with them (it was a swap-fest) to find just the right synergy. This is where I landed:

Sonore microRendu
MHDT Lab Pagoda
Marantz HD-AMP1

There were a couple of surprises along the way. First, I didn't think the HD-AMP1 (35/70 wpc) would be powerful enough to really make the Talls sing. It is. This integrated is by no means SOTA but based on the older Hypex UcD technology. It sounds wonderful and makes me even more curious about the latest class D amps. As @mapman and others have said for years, Ohm's love class D, and I couldn't agree more.

The other surprise came from putting the Pagoda in the mix. It elevated the sound quality well beyond my past experience with these speakers. Rich tone, clarity on top, beautiful mid-range, and a nicely balanced low end. I would expect a tube preamp to make such a difference, but a tube-buffered DAC? Yeah, but there it is. 

Finally, setting up the Talls took no time at all .. dead center image, vast sound stage, wide sweet spot, etc. I had truly forgotten how unique and enjoyable the Ohm's are. Glad I held on to them.

Nice to hear.

I use 60w/ch into 8ohm Bel Canto c5i all digital, Class D integrated amp with my smaller 100s.

I use mhdt Constantine SS DAC on my main system with the larger 5s. AMp is Bel Canto ref1000m 500w/ch 8ohm and an Audio Research sp16 tube pre-amp. I had both Constantine and mhdt Paradisea tube dac to compare at one time.

Both BC Class D amps double power into 4 ohm. THe less powerful Icepower module used in the c5i is one generation newer than that used in the ref1000m I believe. Both Ohms ( 5 with 12" driver and 100 with 8" driver) are series 3 CLS driver, 1 generation prior to current.

The sound of each is quite a bit different. The c5i imparts a most neutral and airy sound, more like that you hear from Quad or ML electrostats but with better dynamics. 60 watts get them to the mid-upper 80s db SPL at the listening position in a large open area no problem.

My larger main system tends to have a tad of warmth through the midrange. I would attribute that mostly to the ARC tube pre-amp, but can’t say for sure. The onboard tone controls on the 5s provide a lot of flexibility to adjust the sound to any particular room and pair of ears. This setup goes louder easily up to mid 90-100db SPL, as loud as I would ever care to go, in a moderately large size L shaped room.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/96SbeuZEWj5ueG8T8

Going back to the need or not for subwoofers with Ohm speakers, I recently added a 12" OHM subwoofer to my old pair of 4XOs.
The result surprised me somewhat. The bass response is hugely better than before. The speakers seem to perform better now that the sub is taking over the bass load.
I can recommend this addition.
Unfortunately, OHM doesn't offer this subwoofer model anymore and makes a more expensive replacement in its place.

Good to know mega wattage isn't necessarily a must-have with Ohm's. My class D amps all double into 4 ohms as well and each do pretty well driving the MicroWalsh Talls. The lowest wattage amp, a Fleawatt TPA3116D2 (25/50 wpc), won't go loud but does an admirable job within its limits.

Class D and tubes. In hindsight, I wish I tried it sooner.

@t8kc .. curious how you're managing bass? External x-over?

The OHM Micro Subwoofer 12 is a self-powered unit that takes the amp output and crosses it over internally. There are choices of cross-over points and a volume control. Since I first installed it, I have turned the volume down slightly as my wife was complaining about the whole house shaking. Actually, it does sound better turned down a bit.
If I had a sub-out on my Schiit tube pre-amp, I could have used that, but it sounds fine as is. I am using a Parasound HCA1500 to power the system.