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

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!

Rebbi: Good luck with the Shrimp. I've heard Manley gear at shows and always came away impressed. IMHO, the tube-pre/SS-power combo can be marvelous. If you really miss the remote, you can do what I did - I positioned my rack and preamp so that the controls are within arm's reach from my seat.

Mapman: Are you looking for a new power amp? If so, what are your parameters & budget?

Well, I continue to burn-in my 2000s. While they do some things extremely well (timbre, soundstage, detail, lack of compression, et. al.), I am still on the fence about some aspects of the Walsh 2000's presentation. I have moved the 2000s to a more radical toe-in, with the flat face of the front of the speakers intersecting at the listening chair. I am trying to tone-down the super-tweeter a bit, and this is what Ohm suggests. Too early to tell if this will do the trick. Ultimately, John has offered to swap out the drivers to lower the tweeter output a bit if I am still unhappy after the break-in, so one way or another, I suppose this issue will be resolved.

I am going to try this weekend to trim back the subwoofer output a bit. Although on bass-shy material the added bass output is welcome, on material with more substantial bass it can be a bit too much.

If any of you lurking out there have new thousand-series Ohm Walsh speakers, please chime in with your thoughts on the super-tweeter output. Thanks.

Bond,

Toe-in/out relative to prime listening position is the best way to tune the top end of the Walshes.

Use a loosely rolled up sock or foam plug to partially obstruct the flow of air through the ports on the bottom to tame the low end if needed.

PErsonally, I'd give it cosiderable time and work on getting everything tuned in just right to personal taste before customizing driver outputs, but it is very nice the John offers this service when desired.

What ICs are you using? I've found low cost DNM Reson ICs provide very nice overall control top to bottom with the Walshes compared to other ICs I use.

Yes, I have been looking at a bigger amp mainly for my 5s in the larger room, but I have not been able to justify the expenditure needed so far....what I have sounds too good already, even with the bigger 5s in the larger room, and I am hesitant to change a good thing and break it.