Ohm Speakers, thoughts?

I lived with a set of F's for a year in the 70s. Like most others, I became "imprinted" with the stunning 3-D imaging, smooth frequency response, and wide sweet area.

There were other speakers with more brightness and detail, but at moderate volumes (70-80db) for long periods of time, to my ears, nothing compared to the F's.

I recently learned that Ohm sell their latest drivers for many of their older models. Being well aware that the new drivers are not the same design as the original F Walsh, I talked with John Strohbeen about my experience with the F's.

John never said that the new models were the same as the F's. He did say that in some ways, they were better, and that I should listen to them for myself. Not an unexpected response from the designer and owner of the company, but what was the risk to try... shipping them back if I didn't like them.

I found a set of FRS-11s on eBay for a good price and ordered the 200 Series 3 upgrade.

I perceive the "color" of the sound to be somewhat different than the original F's. I think this is the subjective part that each listener has to evaluate individually. To my ears, the results are still very pleasant.

On the first few tracks I listened to, it seemed to me like the bass was restrained. Then I listened to a well recorded track with loud and deep bass content and I felt the old Ohm punch again. I had forgotten what playback without over-emphasized mid-bass sounded like.

Since the room they are in has an irregular shape and is half-open to living space behind, the bass response varies according to listening position. As you might expect, the more enclosed parts of the listening space have louder bass. I may add a subwoofer to the open part of the listening space for better bass balance across the entire width of the listening room.

These speakers do not provide intense focus and detail. Decades ago, we used to call that a "bright" or "West Coast" sound. I always found it somewhat unrealistic and tiring after an hour. To me, the color of a live performance has always been driven by the acoustics of the room. I perceive these speakers as very realistic in comparison to live performances. As an example, I compare the sound of voices from the speakers to the sound of voices from people speaking in the room.

What I think I enjoy most is walking across the room and hearing the 3d image shift as it would for a live performance. After almost 30 years, it's a return to speakers that give the experience of "being there".

It's been almost a month, and I'm very happy with the results.

Mwr0707,

I would agree with your comments regarding room acoustics and the benefits of the 'realistic" sound produced by the Ohm Walsh Series 3 drivers.

It sounds like your drivers may not be fully broken in yet from your description, in which case expect that the best is yet to come in that the larger Ohm Walsh drivers take a good while to break in.

Audiogoners, seriously, if you are an audiophile constantly looking to better the sound coming out of your speakers, and you have a grand or two to toss around just in order to try something with a radically different approach to sound reproduction, for a reasonable cost, I'd recommend trying a pair of full range Ohm Walsh Series 3 speakers. You can buy an old pair of cabinets and purchase an upgrade from Ohm, buy refurbished units from Ohm, or buy new cabinets and drivers from Ohm, depending on budget and taste.

Ohm has the common man looking for a way to achieve lifelike audio performances in a cost effective manner covered. You really have nothing to lose.

My reference speakers prior to purchasing two pair of Ohm Walsh Series 3 speakers this past year were my Dynaudio Contour 1.3 mkII monitors. Compared to the Ohm Walsh Series 3 speakers (Walsh 2s and f-5s that I own), the Dynaudios are crisper, seem to sound more detailed with more resolution, noticeable in particular with well recorded acoustic string instruments, and have pinpoint sound-staging. They work very well in my small 12'X12' listening room. Yet, despite this and the fact that the Dynaudios have by far the best speaker cables of any of 6 pairs of speakers in my house, the Walsh Series 3 sound more lifelike so I end up preferring these in almost all cases when I do a/b comparisons.

However, the Dynaudios are still great monitors and still wow me more often than not on their own, just not quite as often as the Ohm's.

I also lived happily for 20 years with a pair of full size Maggies until recently when I replaced these with the Ohm f-5s. The f-5s through a similar though different and, in smaller rooms, a more focused and holographic-like soundstage, are not as hard to place correctly, have better overall response, particularly in the bottom end, and the dynamics are better (they move a lot of air!).

By the way, I sold Ohm speakers in a hifi shop years ago which is how I got acquainted with them but I am not affiliated with Ohm in any way.

One of these days, I would like to try a good pair of horn-loaded speakers also, like the vintage Klipschs for comparison. I recall the sound of these speakers and would be interested in trying them out and comparing again.

Mapman,

Can you describe the changes you perceived after break-in? How long did it take? I'm thinking that I should avoid tinkering such as upgrading the CD player until the sound has stabilized.

I've been thinking about a Cambridge Audio 840C.

Thanks!

I wouldn't change anything until fully broken in. My W5's took a good 3 months, including several sessions running them full out with a 300W/ch amp! My Walsh 2s (100 drivers) were acquired used, and were fully broken in. I use them for reference. The most noticeable difference was in the bass. The Walsh 2s, though in a smaller room, were actually more satisfying in the bass department at first. The rest of the sound tended to smooth out over time I would say as well. Their overall timbre remind me of my Maggie 1.3c's now, which is a very good thing, but have a hell of a lot more satisfying bass. The Ohms were not this smooth at first, as I recall.

Why do you think you might need to upgrade the CD? What kind of amp do you use? The Ohms like amps with a high damping factor to control the drivers better. Look up "damping factor" on Wikipedia for more info on damping factor and how it relates to speakers.

John at Ohm recommended NAD electronics. I use a Carver m400t with very good results. I've tried my Tandberg receiver's amp with these and liked the Carver much better. I also think the Walsh drivers are better suited to solid state electronics in general due to their dynamic nature than to tubes, though I've never heard the Ohms driven with a really top notch tube amp.