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

Joek,

Sounds like a reasonable approach. My gut tells me that your Mac integrated is OK for the Walshes but that you will find you can do much better. The Walshes need current in addition to watts and most integrated tend to compromise in that area out of design necessity.

FWIW, before I upgraded speaks, I owned original Walsh 2's, OHM Ls refitted with basic Radio Shack woofers, Magnepans, and B&Ws all concurrently running off the same system but in different rooms just like now.

I decided to go the OHM upgrade route before going anywhere else. I was initially considering OHM upgraded OHM Hs (1 step up the old line from C2) in that these were always my favs and the price was very reasonable.

Then I was able to pick up my Dynaudios, which I always liked, for a reasonable price. These are excellent at what they do but not quite in the same league as some of the best larger full range models I heard around and my goal was ultimate satisfaction.

Then I decided to try my current Walsh 2's with the S3 drivers that I picked up for even less than refurbed Hs would cost used here on A'gon and tried that.

The S3s sound much different than even the original Walsh 2s or of course any box design, so I was not sure at first, but as things settled in, I never looked back. I liked what I heard enough to then splurge and I bought the F5 S3s from OHM for my largest room in addition to the Walsh2 S3s and Ls I already owned. Then my attention turned to tweaking the rest of my system to bring the best out of the Walshes.

Joe,

45 wpc is almost certainly a problem with these speakers. In my (14'X23' - with high ceiling, open rear wall) room, the 122 wpc ARC VT130SE is operating at the margin. I'd be very happy with another 6db of elbowroom if I had it, so a 500wpc amp would be more my cup of tea. (Of course - YMMV) This might not address your issues re: timbre, but it will definitely allow more a dynamic presentation.

Good Luck,

Marty

I'd been happily running the 100S3s for 7 months with my Cayin TA-30 tube integrated, at 35wpc. In earlier posts to this thread (much earlier!) I stated that I found the power fine and dandy for these speakers. And I did -- they sounded quite engaging, with good bass and wonderful voicing on voices, pianos, etc.

Well, last week I lucked into Yamaha separates on craigslist (M-85 amp/C-85 preamp) and I must say that while I have no idea what it means to say that the Ohms need more "current," I will say that the 240wpc M-85 is clearly driving these speakers more musically, with greater authority -- it isn't just volume, which in my 12x15 room I'll never be able to fully explore(!), it's the incredibly effortless performance the speakers now have -- peak music, fast bursts - they're just right there rythmically. Plus bass is more powerful, more musical, more distinctly focused in the soundstage.

So, while I still say that lower power will work with the Ohms, I'm now thinking they really do need more .... current?

Guys,

I know this has been covered here and elsewhere prior, but just a reminder that more watts will let you go louder but current is key to delivering smooth tonal balance top to bottom at low to typical listening levels in particular with the OHMs due to variation in input impedance at various frequencies (often referred to as a "difficult" or "complex" load).

A high efficiency, high current amp can be identified by mostly double rated wattage output from 8 to 4 ohms and then ideally from 4 to 2 ohms as well.

Mapman, I mentioned this before but I'll be using a Blue Circle BmPH 160 @ 8ohms, 240 @ 4ohms. So no doubling down here. I'll be using it with the Walsh 5 S3.