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

Note that the large Ohm 5's in my system are much harder to drive properly as I described above than the much smaller 100s. Micros should be easier still.

I likely will someday go to a higher power amp that also doubles into 4 and 2 ohms for the larger Ohm 5's, most likely a 250w/ch or 500 w/ch Class D amp like a Bel Canto, Rowland or something similar.

The A3CR has been an over achiever with the 5's so far though. I was not sure the A3CR would be powerful enough for the 5's when I got it but it sounds great and goes pretty loud and clear, so I've held off for now on something more powerful.

The A3CR leaves nothing to want with 100s.

I also recently introduced a tube DAC into my system and this has been a revelation with the Ohms. If I upgrade my pre-amp, would strongly consider a tube pre-amp there.

Thanks for the feedback guys!

Slight thread digression, but Mapman, adding a tube DAC is an interesting idea. I was recently looking at the Paradisea +. Right now, I have a modified LiteAudio DAC AM and it's been working nicely, but I'm sure can be improved upon.

What do you notice most about the tube DAC and the Ohms? I always thought Ohms wouldn't need tubes, because I thought of tube gear as taming many of today's overly bright speakers... which the Ohms are not!

Zkzpb8:

The Ohms are very neutral so they let the sound of the DAC come through. Each DAC will sound different.

I'm using the Paradisea with both my Denon player/recorder source and a Roku Soundbridge for accessing a music server and internet radio. Compared to the DACs built in each device, the Paradisea in general offers the benefits commonly attributed to tubes versus solid state mainly improved 3-D imaging and microdynamics combined with a more analog like smoothness with less digital edginess. It makes my digital sources sound more like my analog phono source.

The exact sound is a function largely of the tube used (and RCA phono IC used to connect the DAC to the pre.

Rolling different tubes defintely has major effect on the resulting sound. The stock GE tube is what I am using. THe used unit I purchased also came with a second vintage Tung Sol tube (see recent posting I made to my system for more info on the differences). There are other tubes that can be tried as well.

I'm using an Average Audioquest Toslink IC from Roku to DAC and a similar coax IC from CD to DAC. I do not notice any significant difference in sound between the 2.

Overall, the Ohms are more open, smoother, and dynamic overall with the Paradisea and digital sources. I would not go back to SS for this. They sound better now with digital sources than ever before.

Though I like the effect the tube DAC has on digital sources, I also do not feel a need for tubes with my phono rig either at this point. If I changed my pre-amp, I might just stick with the single tube in the DAC and continue with a good SS pre-amp that just lets the sources shine through naturally.

Tubes power amps in general are not a good match for Ohms I believe because of power demands and difficult loads to drive. But a single tube further upstream near the source can really make some magical things happen.

Another DAC I can recommend is the VDA-2 from Channel Islands. I use one with the VAC-1 Power supply and find it excellent. It is solid state but has a very smooth but detailed sound. I've auditioned a few other DACs (Benchmark DAC1, Stello, etc.) but always went back to this one. Also, the customer service is outstanding too.