Shameless Poll: Pearl vs Ohm vs Zu

Thanks again for participating in this thread, I'm going to wrap it here here for the final tally

• Zu: 1
• Ohm: 10
• Pearl: 4

While Ohms are the more popular choice, those who have experienced the lesser known Pearl's speak very highly of them. Not much love for Zu here.

One unknown with Ohm is that their founder passed away last year and the team is regrouping into a new building. The owner's apprentice of 10+ years looks to be at the helm now.

I wouldn't consider myself an audiophile yet, more like a "researchphile", enjoying absorbing knowledge. I'm at the point of analysis paralysis and am devolving to a state where throwing darts and pulling tarot cards makes good sense. On a more shallow level, the fact Sibelius is made from 1.25" solid walnut has real sex appeal. I've imbued enough George Nakashima into my DNA to finger veneer as fake furniture.

Maybe Santa will come into my dreams tonight with the right answer.

Cheers

I currently have Ohms and have no urge to change. 

Likewise

I currently have a pair of Union 6 Supreme and Lii Audio Fast-15 drivers in a ported cabinet.  I use a Decware Torii Mk IV and occasionally a Gromes Phi-26 (SET or SEP with EL-84 output tubes). Can't speak to the Ohm or the Pearlacoustics but I'm sure both would also work great.

For what it's worth, the Lii and the Zu share some similarities but are overall very different sounding loudspeakers.  Both are predominantly front row, midrange forward presentations, image 3D and benefit from subwoofers to my ears.  The Zu are clarity and tone queens and have greater extension to the frequency extremes but don't feel unbalanced.  The Lii (depending on how you implement them) are just an all around pleaser with a little more euphonic tendencies than the Zu. Amazing what 15" single drivers can do.  Easier to pair the Lii with a wide variety of amps.  The Zu U6S are more picky.  I could live happily ever after with either but I'm glad I have both.

@karl_desch I had the Union 6 Supremes with a VTV Purifi amp for just a few weeks prior to liquidating the system due to personal circumstances.

While it was really too early to pass serious judgement, I couldn't shake the fact that they only sounded good to me when they played loud, louder than I cared to listen. Might have been the amp, it was running Volumio through a Schiit Bifrost.

I had pondered the Lii drivers in an open baffle set-up, price isn't too dear to be entirely regrettable. I was leaning toward a First Watt SIT amp. The SIT-4 has appeal but is pretty steep for price, although I feel like that would be a keeper for the long term, buy once cry once kind of deal.

@ahillenb FWIW, here is my .02. When I got into this hobby 10 years ago, the first two speakers I heard were the Vandersteen 1ci’s and the Ohm Walsh Tall 1000’s. I chose to go with the Vandy’s at that time, and I still have them. But I always had this romanticized memory of what the Ohm’s sounded like and have wanted a pair ever since.

Forward in time to last September. I was in talks with Evan at Ohm. The 1000’s were on backorder - they still are - but Evan said for my room the Ohm Walsh Tall Micro would give me the same flavor. And if and when the 1000’s became available he would give me full trade in value on an upgrade.

Long story short, I did not care for the Ohm sound. They didn’t play loud. They didn’t produce hardly any bass and on tracks that possessed a decent amount of low end, I felt like I was breaking the speakers. The top end was way recessed, like they had blankets over them.

On a positive note, they were absolutely gorgeous to look at and perfectly fit with the aesthetic of my home. Also, in some respect, the bass that they did produce had this kinda cool tactile response to it. Bass strings being plucked could be felt as well as heard.

In the end, I gave them back well within their 120 trial period and was given a full refund. Perhaps the 1000’s would’ve given me more of what I wanted, but I feel like I heard enough to satisfy my Ohm curiosity.

Any way...that’s my Ohm experience. YMMV.