Do a search of this website and you will find a lot of information. |
I've done searches, and I've found several relevant threads, including:
http://forum.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/fr.pl?cspkr&1071960668&openfrom&1&4#1
http://forum.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/fr.pl?cspkr&1015294796&read&keyw&zzwalsh
http://forum.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/fr.pl?cspkr&1116082199&openfrom&6&4#6
However, I'm trying to find direct comparisons between Microwalsh and the older models. Perhaps I've overlooked something in my search, but I haven't found a direct comparison. |
if you have a smaller amp, and a smaller room..the micro. a larger room and amp, the 2. ohm will help you with questions. |
One small comparison comes from the 6moons review of the MicroWalsh:
"20 years ago, the most musical speaker my budget could locate was the Ohm Walsh 4. By today's standards, it sounds dated and colored..."
http://www.6moons.com/audioreviews/walsh/micro.html
Later the reviewer upgraded his Walsh 4s:
http://www.6moons.com/audioreviews/ohm/ohm.html
However, the upgrades he made cost $3000, quite out of my budget. |
GO with the new series 3 drivers regardless of cabinet design or room size.
Either micro walsh or see if Ohm can offer a pair of Walsh 2's or equivalent upgraded to the new series 3 drivers. If not, and micros won't cut it, find out the lowest cost option for 100 Series 3 drivers.
I've owned Ohms for 30 years (including original Walsh 2's for 20+ years) and currently own three pair, one with Walsh 5 S3 drivers and one with 100 S3 drivers. The series 3 drivers are competitive with other modern speaker drivers/design in regards to overall performance. Micros are the smallest drivers in the S3 line.
Original Walsh speakers from the eighties through early 90's use the original (unofficially series 1)drivers which are markedly inferior to S3. |
Dogue, note also another option is to pick up a pair of original Ohms with good cabinets used + order the drivers from Ohm and upgrade yourself. Note though that in many cases, you cannot just pop off the old driver and pop in the new. Cabinet and other modifications may be required. A call to Ohm should answer any questions regarding how to upgrade various models.
OR you can pick up a pair of old Ohms cheap somewhere and then trade them in for discount towards a new pair. IF you do this, make sure the cabinets are in good shape for trade-in; the shape of the drivers doesn't really matter. Ohm may take tradein on up to two pair for up to 40% of list price. ALso keep an eye on shipping costs to OHm if you do this, depending on your location, to make sure you end up ahead. You should be able to end up well ahead cost wise with this approach if you are careful.
I done 3 Ohm speaker upgrades over the last year or so and am happy to answer any questions if needed, but you should be able to get the answers you need from the vendor. They are generally very easy to work with. |
Mapman, thanks for the advice.
I ended up ordering the Microwalsh Talls. I've had them now for just over a week. Initial impressions are quite favorable -- they are quite natural sounding and easy to place. I'm trying not to listen too critically until they're broken in. Initially, the bass is pretty weak; I'm hoping this will be alleviated as they're broken in. |
My Walsh 5's came new and took months to break in.
My 100s were acquired 2nd hand and already well broken in.
I've never heard micros, but bass is certainly not an issue with the 100 S3s or Walsh 5 s3s.
Keep us posted if things do not open up. If so, that could be due to 1) room size, 2) room placement or 3) amplification.
I've used a Carver m4.0t, the amp section of a Tandberg 2080 receiver, and the Musical Fidelity A3CR with both 100 and W5 S3s. Never had bass issues with the 100 S3s, though amps did make a bif difference in overall presentation. I was never happy with the bass using the CArver with the bigger Walsh 5's despite it putting out over 300w/channel. THis was because it was not a high current design. The Ohms require high current, not just watts, and higher damping factors (>50) in order for an amp to take control of the drivers fully and realize full bass potential.
The micros are smaller than the 100s even, so they should not require massive watts, but I would bet they can still benefit from a high current amp, one that essentially doubles in power output from 8 to 4 and then from 4 to 2 ohms (ie say 70 watts @8 Ohm, 140 at 16, and 280 at 2 ohms.
What amp are you using currently? |
I'm using an Onkyo A-9555. It's listed as 85 Wpc at 8 Ohms, with dynamic power of 120 Wpc/8 Ohms and 200Wpc/4 Ohms. The damping factor is relatively low, listed at 25. |
I think the Onkyo should do pretty well with the smaller CLS drivers in the micros.
My observation has been the smaller CLS drivers (100 S3s in my case) are not as hard to drive and control properly as the larger ones (Walsh 5 S3s in my case).
Unless you are running in a significantly larger room or have the speakers located way out away from the wall or have some other unfavorable room acoustics happening, bass should not be an issue. Just give 'em some time to break in fully.
My "Super Walsh 2s" with the 100 S3 drivers are in a 12X12 sunroom with cathedral ceiling, about 18-24 inches out from the rear wall. The bass in this room was a bit too much for me at first so I loosely plugged the ports underneath to ease things up a bit. Now the bass is balanced much better, similar to my other rooms.
If my wife would allow it, I would probably opt to move these out another 6-12 inches for even better sound stage, at which point the plugs in the ports would probably come out again as well. |
My room is 13'x13' with a 9' ceiling. I have the Micros about 2' out from the rear wall. So, based on what you say, it's probably just a matter of the speakers breaking in fully. I'll be certain to report back. Thanks again. |
Dogue,
Any news, have things settled in for you yet? |
Things are starting to settle in. I had a bumping and long party last weekend which helped to do some solid breaking in. I still feel like the bass is a little light, but I think it's improving and still breaking in. |
Glad to hear it.
Try moving the speaks 6" or so closer to the wall as a test if you haven't already and see if that helps.
Also, if you haven't already, make sure you have both speaks connected to amp in phase, ie + to + and - to - on both. Bass is compromised when speaks are mistakenly hooked up out of phase.
Meanwhile, I've loosely plugged the ports on my Walsh 2 Series 3 in my 12X 12 sun-room with cathedral ceiling and moved one out from the corner in order to lower the bass level which I thought was just a tad too much prior. |
