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

Rebbi - you are definitely caught up in the trade-off-world... The Ohm's neutrality is what won me over, you'll have to decide on which speaker sounds more musical to you - and one that you can live with for the long term.

Mapman, thanks for the support.

Tvad, thanks a lot for reproducing that article here... lots of valuable info.

Also, here's an interesting thread that specifically compares the MWT's to the Totem Arro and Hawk. Interesting reading:

http://forum.ecoustics.com/bbs/messages/1/146114.html

Well, now, the plot thickens once again...

A couple of days ago, I had all but decided to return the Micro Walsh Talls and keep the Totems. I just found myself drawn to a greater sense of "detail" and "transparency" and "airiness" in the Totems, as well as a sense that the imaging was more precise. I figured that the one thing I might miss with the Totems was the authority of the bass region that the Micro-Walshes deliver... the bass on the totems Totems sounds somewhat tentative or anemic by comparison.

I called John at Ohm to ask him about arranging a return. We spoke for a long time, and he questioned me about what I preferred about the Totems. He said that he had only heard the Arro once, and briefly, so he wasn't that familiar with them. Finally, he asked me to let him think about what to do and he would get back in touch.

John and I spoke earlier today, and he told me that he had prepared a set of modified drivers with the treble response slightly "goosed" in a way that might work better in my room and bring out some of the sense of detail that seems to be missing. "Audition the new drivers for awhile, and see what you think."

Whatever happens, these guys at Ohm are a class act... I can't imagine anybody else going to this much trouble for a $1000 pair of speakers. It's clear that John really believes in his product, and also, that he wants to do everything in his power to make his customers happy. I will keep listening and report back... stay tuned...

By the way, as an experiment, I moved the Micro-Walshes approximately 8 inches further out from the rear wall, and if I'm not mistaken, the imaging specificity seems to have sharpened up quite a bit.

By the way, Mapman, I think you probably hit the nail on the head when you said that the comparison between the Micro-Walshes and the Totems is not unlike comparing the Micro-Walshes to your Dynaudio speakers. I had actually auditioned some monitor-size Dynaudios myself (I think it was maybe the Audience 42?) and if my auditory memory serves me properly, the sound was not unlike the Totems: airy, detailed and a large, "etched" soundstage presentation.

Ohm has a reputation of taking care of their customers and getting a lot of repeat and referral business.

John Strohbeen is a unique guy. He doesn't fool around or beat around the bush from my few exchanges with him. A true MIT-trained engineer!

About 10 years ago when I was auditioning speakers for the first time in a while, the two that caught my ear were Dynaudio and Totem (can't remember the models). I ended up buying B&Ws instead mostly for the bigger, full sound than the other models in the same price range.

Now the Dynaudio Contours replaced the B&Ws. Then I tried the Ohm 100s. Then I decided to buy the big f-5s to replace my Maggies as well.

I parted with the B&Ws but find would find it hard to part with the Dyns. Luckily, I have enough rooms with in-wall speaker wiring to support multiple pairs of speaks.