Please help with Ohm MWT sound/system issues
I’ve been researching the Ohm MicroWalsh Tall SE and the reviews and posts are all glowing. I’d been looking for used pair to fit my budget for quite some time (my assumption is that they don’t often come up for sale because their owners are so pleased). Recently I was lucky enough to find a local used pair in beautiful Cherry finish. The owner said he purchased them 3-4 years ago but never (he said literally never) used them due to a sudden change in his living situation at the same time he received these speakers from Ohm (so they’ve never been broken in). I have been reading everything I can find about these speakers and was expecting a revelation. However I feel like something is missing and I’m hoping you can help determine whether what I’m hearing is normal for the MWT, or an issue with system matching, or speaker placement/listening environment, the speakers needing braking in, or a problem with the speakers themselves.
The issues I’m having are very recessed vocals (sounds like way back of the hall and from what I’ve read may be typical of the Ohm Walsh sound? and is therefore less engaging), a lack of “meat on the bones“ sound as some have described it, and limited bass both mid and low as well as bass dynamics (very soft percussion - both in sound volume, attack of drums and cymbals and lack of body on instruments such as acoustic guitar). I listen to a variety of music but mostly I like singer-songwriter, folk rock, alternative and acoustic versions when possible (Van Morrison, David Gray, the Lumineers, Norah Jones, Diana Krall, Leif Vollebekk, etc).
My system consists of a Conrad Johnson PV-10BL preamp and B&K ST-2140 amplifier (185 wpc @ 4 ohms). The speakers I’ve currently been using are Magnepan MMG-W wall mounted speakers (6 ohms, 88 db, 100hz-16khz and NOT to be confused with the floor standing MMG) and a pair of Pinnacle SubSonic subwoofers on the back wall flanking the sofa. The listening “area” is about 11 x 13 but is basically open on both ends for an additional 10 ft on one side and 18 on the other. The front speaker wall is defined by a central fireplace chase and on the sides of the fireplace a recessed cabinet (on bottom)/open bookshelf (on top). The listening position, about 9 ft from the speakers, is on a sofa which is positioned against the back wall which is about 11 ft back. Speaker spacing can be from about 7 to 9 feet apart.
In the past, when I had more space, I used a pair of Spica TC-50’s (my wife hates their looks)with a Fisher 400 tube receiver from 1963, probably the most musical system I’ve ever owned (I regret selling the receiver with original tubes, and interestingly was set up in the corner of a room), but was lacking in bass for sure and was prior to my owning subwoofers. However the midrange (imaging, presence and low level detail) was magic. One of the most impressive systems I’ve personally heard in my limited experience (and was years ago) was a pair of Vandersteen 2e speakers, Audible Illusions preamp, and mono block amps (I don’t remember the make) at an audio store in Verona, NJ. Bob Dylan sounded like he was in the room singing Man in the Long Black Coat. Same for the combo playing Jazz at the Pawnshop. I was hoping and expecting the Ohms to have some of the same room filling magic and hope you might have some suggestions for me in order to get some of it back in my listening experience. Thanks in advance for reading and responding.
Can you confirm the tweeter orientation? Typical configuration is angled in 45 degrees with logos facing forward. But other custom configurations including facing upward are possible. If so angling out for more direct teeeter exposure at your listening location may help add presence and bring things forward somewhat. |
Looks like your listening area is to large you probably need at least the 2000's. One thing you might try for a little more bass is put them close to the front wall and if you're not timid remove the speaker binding post cup and see if there's a switch set to the middle position if so move to the plus side. |
Hard to believe the original owner never used them but, suppose its possible. I ordered new cans from Ohm the 4.3000 series to replace my 4XOs a year ago. Dead, dull, dark murky upon first listen, and it never changed. I kept waiting an waiting for them to show me something, anything to let me at least know they were breaking in. Nada. Then I noticed the right tweeter went out and I requested my funds back which Ohm did. Just feel Ohm needs a longer factory break-in period perhaps, they seem to take forever to open up if at all. A real shame. I did get my 4XO surrounds replaced and still have them. PS: Keep putting the hours on them, see it they begin to open up ... good luck. |
Thank you for your responses. Unfortunately I’ve been too busy for any serious listening and in addition the listening room happens to be our family room which is currently in a temporary atypical furniture arrangement for the holidays, and often occupied by my 2 college aged kids home on break. I’d like to address your recommendations but first share the results of a brief experiment I tried. I woke up thinking that maybe I had accidentally inverted the speaker wires. I had not but decided to try switching the connections on both speakers and the sound, while not perfect, improved significantly. Nothing I’ve read suggested that would happen if both speakers were wired “backwards” as opposed to the weird sound you’d expect if they were wired out of phase from each other. However one thing that did not improve was any “thwack” or impact from drums, etc. I certainly have more experimenting to do, now wiring in addition to speaker placement, when the furniture arrangement is restored. Unfortunately I cannot move the sofa forward but I’ve tried to sit with several pillows behind me effectively moving me forward at least enough to improve the sound some. As for using a larger Ohm model I’m constrained by budget and speaker size right now. And after a lot of reading I got the strong impression that the MWT would be fine for my listening purposes since I’m sitting under the recommended listening distance of 10 feet and don’t require the sound to fill the entire volume of the total room dimensions I listed. However, if in order to get the speakers to sound proper I need to “load” the rooms total volume then I might be stuck. But again I’ve read multiple places where the MWT worked in much larger than recommended spaces, including in a PS Audio interview and listening session at the Ohm factory in Brooklyn (https://www.psaudio.com/article/ohm-acoustics-part-two-an-inside-look/): “As a point of listening comparison (to the 2000), the mini Walsh speakers were also brought out from the area outside of the carpentry room. Ohm’s quality control is very impressive – as Evan Cordes explained, the sounds of the mini Walsh and medium-sized Walsh are indistinguishable close up and that the projection distance-capability of the two speakers is what differentiates them, which is how Ohm is able to maintain the overall sonic behavior of its speakers in a wide array of room sizes and space configurations. This is why Ohm dissuades customers from upgrading to larger systems unless the customer’s space configuration has also changed, since bigger will not necessarily be better when it comes to the Walsh design. All of the Ohm Walsh models are passive speakers. I was told they are agnostic when it comes to power amps and preamps. The Ohms we were auditioning were being fed with a rather humble Outlaw Audio 2160 receiver and a 25-year old-California Audio Labs DX-1 CD player. The speaker wiring was over the counter copper zip cord. Cordes and Strohbeen both stated that the amount of variability in the sound of the Walsh speakers with different power amps and preamp configurations “is about the same as if they were physically moved a few inches.” Strohbeen noted that Pink Floyd’s The Dark Side of the Moon is the most often requested listening reference from Ohm customers. “More than half the time, just listening to a few songs from Dark Side is all they need to hear.” Alan Parsons’ meticulous mix of this timeless classic rock landmark simply sounded amazing on the small Walsh speakers, with the only difference from its larger cousin being the projection distance, where the volume started to level off after walking 20 feet back. The intelligibility of dialogue underscoring parts of “Us and Them” was superb, and did not demand cranking the volume to discern the words, something that’s often a requirement even with headphones. The “sweet-sweep” gave the wide stereo panning effects an almost cinematic surround sound-like breadth in spite of the source coming from the two lone Walsh minis.” Thanks again For taking the time to read and comment. |
I’d suggest using the powered subs with the MWTs for more bass impact. Ohm Walsh tend to do well with bass and overall output capability for their size compared to others but larger ones always do more if needed. Also I would point out that with ohm Walsh the bass drivers are not firing directly at you. That will sound and feel different. I find the Ohm bass is more room filling and less in your face compared to something similar size firing forward. Unless the room is resonating or bass is transmitted via the floor, you will tend to hear the bass but not feel it to the same degree all other things being equal. Again regarding how laid back the sound is or not., confirm which direction the tweets are firing and play with that if needed. Firing the tweets more directly in your direction will tend to bring things more forward but also narrow the soundstage somewhat. Room acoustics play a big factor but in most rooms the standard Ohm set up will tend towards a more laid back rather than forward sound. |
