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

accurus, nice write up! I'm also a former owner of Maggies and Ohms. My first serious speaker purchase was a set of Ohm Fs back in 1976 and I still have never heard a speaker that was quite as magical as they were. They certainly had their limitations, but the drawbacks pretty much fell in areas that didn't bother me. 

I auditioned the Ohm 2000s several years back and almost bought them, though the Maggie 1.7s won out. They were just a better match for my room at that time. In any event, while the Ohms were very good and I could have easily lived with them, they just didn't have that magical sense of space the original Fs presented. 

I'll second your comments that the finish quality of the Ohm cabinets is quite mediocre. They are at a price point that I would expect better, though that certainly doesn't affect the sound. 

I also agree with your comments about bass -- the speakers are very impressive in this area. I found no need for a subwoofer for the purposes of playing music. 

However, the main reason I no longer own either Maggies or Ohms is that after we moved some years back, my current listening room isn't well suited for speakers that put out a lot of energy to the rear. The back wall is asymmetrical -- solid on the left but with an opening on the right that cannot be closed. This plays havoc with the sound from such speakers. Front firing speakers pretty much solve this problem since the left & right side walls are symmetrical. 

Once again, it proves that the choice of speakers not only need to match the listener's preferences, but also the room's. 

bondmanp: Thanks for reading over the long review. On the issue of break-in per one of John's article at Ohm it seems like break-in occurs fairly rapidly but what he seems to imply is that a lot of it is breaking your ears and brain into a different sound. I hope the drivers can open up more as I always am for free sound improvements. :)

I strongly disagree with the idea that the Magnepans enhance the size of recordings or that even if they did that this would be a deficit. I accept Magnepan's argument that one of their biggest strengths is that they don't have a tiny dome tweeter trying to convey acoustics for an entire room. One could easily argue as Magnepan does that the only way to get room filling sounds done correctly is to have a dipole with a line array type setup. 

Obviously different recording have different sounds and I think both the Ohms and the Magnepans do this well. I can't compare to your experience as I have over an 8 foot ceiling and I haven't had the 18 inches above the floor vocals. I think in your case that maybe due to the close proximity of the driver to the ceiling since the Ohms seem to have a lot of vertical air pressure. But I do agree that the Ohms are able to play a wider variety of music in a way that is more enjoyable.

Lastly on the DAC yes it was expensive, but luckily I got mine on a closeout from Underwood Hifi for $1500 so not nearly as damaging as the full MSRP. :)

mlsstl: I fully agree with you about the room being critical! I have been working with GIK Acoustics to get the last of the room acoustic pieces I need to finish up the room. I did some furniture moving per their request and a major difference was heard there. Frankly I think if anyone has a listening room they shouldn't even consider by expensive equipment until they look at atleast corner traps. People get hung up on by super expensive cables that cost about as much all the room treatment would cost and the room treatment will have the biggest difference on the sound by a long shot. I think by the time everything is said and done I will have about $2800 wrapped up in room treatment, but differences are dramatic both in measurements and subjective listening.

accurus, you truly live up to your moniker!   Good stuff!

I should have 4 new acoustic panels in next week. I just ordered a pair of GIK Acoustics Monster Bass Traps for the rear wall with the range limiter option and also ordered a pair of Polyfusors for the side wall. Looking forward to hearing and measuring the differences in my system. This is the first time I will have treated anything behind the corners of the room.

accurus - I am very anxious to hear what you think diffussion does for the Ohms.  I am just guessing, but it makes sense to me that diffusion would benefit the Ohms much more than absorbtion.  Absorbtion seems counterintuitive to an omni or quasi-omni speaker.  Can I ask how much the polyfusors set you back?  Unlike foam wedges, decent diffusion panels seem pretty pricey.