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
Yeah, I saw that.

A good price if you can pick them up and are truly restored to good working order. That's the tricky part.

Many who loved the original Fs are skeptical at best regarding the CLS design that supplanted them.

The unique thing about them is that they were single driver full range (to 16-17 Khz anyway) and omni-directional.

Thats rarified ground. Pretty much only rebuilt Fs or As and and perhaps one model German Physiks, at most, available these days, as I recall (their horn loaded model).

Their achilles heel was that the driver was easily over-driven and damaged. OHM CLS design eliminated that problem by foregoing the top end with the Walsh driver, but for some that is where the magic was, so they will look elsewhere these days.
Rebbi.

Now that some time has passed, do you have any last thoughts on MWT's? You had mentioned that they don't give up much to the 100's. I'm just wondering what you think now.

Hope all is well with your family!

-P
Parasound,

Good to hear from you. Thanks for asking about my parents. Both are, thank God, on the mend!

I shipped the Micro Walshes back to Ohm a couple of weeks ago, but I'll answer your question from memory.

The overall sonic character of the Micros and the 100's is remarkably similar. Both have an airy top end, beautiful mids and solid bass. And the soundstaging capabilities of both are tremendous. I doubt that many other speaker designs "energize the room" quite like the Ohms do. They also have a general coherence of sound - a "seamlessness" - that is very pleasing.

So how are they different?

Mostly I think it's a matter of dynamics and scale. According to John at Ohm, the 100s will play louder with less power than the Micros. Additionally, in a side by side comparison, the 100s have an authority or "solidity" that the Micros don't quite muster.

Yet, as I said earlier, their similarities outweigh their differences, so much so that if you're on a budget (and who isn't these days?) I'd audition the Micros first and see how they work in your room. In smallish rooms, they can really get the job done!
Rebbi,

Good to read about your folks. Mine seem to be in the hospital weekly, so I know how it is.

I'm pretty sure I'll 'start' with the MWT's. My wife actually likes how they look, especially the size. I do plan on adding a sub- probably the HSU STF-2 or the VTF-1. I'd add a sub no matter which set of speakers I got. In any case I should be able to order them in the next 30 days or so.

Down the road, I plan on using the MWT's for surround and get 100's for the mains, assuming I have a larger room to work with when we relocate next year.

Thanks again for all the work you did on this thread- along with the rest of the people who chipped in.

-P