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

Hi,

I'd love to hear the impressions of people who've actually spent some time with these speakers to share their sense of their plusses and minuses. Mapman here on Audiogon is a big fan, and has shared lots on them, but I'm wondering who else might be familiar with them.
rebbi
accurus
40 posts
 
Here are some shots I took of the new Walsh driver before I installed it in my Ohm 2000s:
Driver:
http://imgur.com/ZifshlN

Cabinet Minus Acoustic Filling:
http://imgur.com/ynVYcEm

In terms of sound quality it is all back to square one again. Since I have new drivers to break in. It will be a few days before I really give them a critical listen.
bondmanp
1,818 posts
 

blueranger:  I had put up quite a few foam panels on the back-wall, and at the first reflection points on the ceiling and side-walls.  I felt things sounded too dead, so I removed some, and noticed an improvement in dynamic impact and a wider soundstage.  Also, I tried covering my 60" plasma set with a thick comforter, and didn't feel there was any improvement.


In short, I guess there is not much point to an omni-style speaker if you're room is treated so that all the indirect-radiating sound is absorbed and not reflected.  And remember; these speakers are voiced with the reflected, indirect-radiating sound taken into account.


I want very badly to try some diffusers instead of absorbers to the sides and behind the speakers.  Sadly, diffusers are a bit pricier than absorbers.  But I may try some ebay specials if they aren't too heavy (I suck at things like mounting heavy objects on my drywall-over-stud walls).

bondmanp
1,818 posts
 

acurus - Thanks for the pics.  Most of us Ohm owners have never seen the drivers that give us so much pleasure.  I have to admit, the driver looks fairly conventional compared with the original Ohm Walsh drivers.  But who cares?  The end results speak for themselves.


I am curious about two things, though.  The rumors are that some of the x000 drivers, including the 2000, is an aluminum driver.  The only reason I'd want to know is because aluminum drivers have never been my cup of tea.  If the 2000 cone is indeed aluminum, it would be yet another feather in John Strohbeen's cap.  That he could get sound like that out of aluminum would be impressive.  Similarly, I'd love to see the tweeter, which, I believe, is a soft dome type.  Again, I am curious, as I prefer soft domes to metal domes, in general.

mapman's avatar
mapman
22,333 posts
 
I use 3 12X12 sound panels on sidewalls at primary reflection points based on where I listen from most often. May try some on ceiling at some point but have not felt the need.

My advice with OHms specifically is treat only as needed. Start minimally and experiment from there. Primary reflection points on walls and ceiling based on your most common listening position are always the place to start to get maximum effect per panel.

I also have double sliding glass door with vertical blinds behind my big F5s. I listen with blinds both open and shut and does not matter much to me. YMMV.

With omnis, you want to use the room to best effect. With more directional speakers the tendency is to fight the room acoustics which often leads to extensive treatments.

A lot depends on the room, how lively it is in general and the details which contribute to that or not.

My assessment is that out of the box, teh OHMs are designed to fit into most typical modern drywalled/carpeted/finished rooms with minimal or even no treatments needed but its up to the individual to tweak from there if needed.

Room acoustics are always a factor, no matter what speakers but may play less of a role, either positive or negative, in general with more directional speakers like those with waveguides,, horns, more directional tweeters like ribbons, etc.
mapman's avatar
mapman
22,333 posts
 
Not to rehash old news but a Walsh driver is a bending wave based driver (look up speaker types and bending wave speakers on Wiki)  .   Bending wave drivers was Lincoln Walsh's concept and innovation.   Ohm was teh company that produced the first commercial implementation of a very wide range Walsh driver.   It was bleeding edge sound wise but a fragile design that blew out not quite as often as a fuse perhaps if not very careful.  It turned out to not be commercially viable as a result.

John Strohbeen's later Walsh brand "CLS" driver solved tat problem but sacrificed the "Walsh" driver producing sound above 7khz or so to make the product more durable.   So it is based on Walsh's principles but a totally different design that is more commercially viable.

Waves bend essentially when passing through any medium with variable density.

Like Bond said, the unique technology is interesting but its the results that has spoken for itself now for over 30 years.

 


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