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

thehungryeye,

Welcome to the wonderful world of Ohm and our monster thread! ;-)

Okay,

Here are my main choices as I see it:

I can get a Manley Shrimp tube preamp - excellent reviews - for $1100 here on A'gon. It has an output impedance of 50 ohms, good fit for the Bel Canto. And a guy on Audio Asylum is using just this amp/preamp combo and really likes it. Advantage: maybe great sound, and I get to mess with tubes. Disadvantages: a little over my budget, and no remote.

OR: I can snag a Bel Canto Pre3 preamp for $999, plus shipping. Advantages: barely within my budget, aesthetic and acoustic match and remote control, so no getting up and down to adjust volume. Disadvantage: don't get to mess with tubes. :-)

What do you think? Hurry, please! :-)

Reb,

That's a tough one!

I suspect either will sound very good and thr right choice is the one with the features that best float your boat!

I just sent payment for the Manley Shrimp! The reviews for the Pre3/S300 combo are excellent, but the reviews for the Manley Shrimp (by users and reviewers) are ecstatic, and I really did want to try a tube preamp. It'll be a more complex physical setup -- the two Bel Canto pieces would have stacked on top of each other and fit on top of my stereo cabinet. The full width Manley and half-width BC will take some fiddling to place. The only substantial deficit in the new setup will be lack of a volume control, which I can live with if the sound quality is what I think it might be. The Bel Canto arrives today. I'll report back when both pieces are in place and working! :-)

REbbi,

I suspect you are in for a treat once you get everything set up!