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

Tim / Frazeur1 - Thanks. That's a huge relief to hear. As it happens, I listened to a classical disc last night, a CD version of an old RCA Red Seal: Rachmaninoff: Piano Concerto No.2; Beethoven: Piano Concerto No.5 "Emperor", with Fritz Reiner conducting the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, and Van Cliburn on piano. The Beethoven sounded so-so, with some of the thickness I had described above. The Rachmaninoff, however, sounded much better, with much less of the lower-midrange push that was bothering me. I know I was really enjoying this piece, since I cursed everytime I had to pause it due to telephone calls (some of which I just let go to my answering machine).

This is the second time that another Ohm Walsh owner has had the identical break-in experience as what I am experiencing. Really amazing, IMO. I will continue to run the 2000s in and keep you all posted.

Bondmanp, I forgot another thing that I tried in regards to the mid-bass hump, in the OW2 cabinet, there is a layer/blanket of acoustic dampening material or whatever it is, and I was able to actually move mine around, basically up or down at various levels within my cabinet. It made small differences, nothing earth shattering.

I am not sure how the newer cabinets are filled, I had thought they were pretty much stuffed to the gills with the stuff. If you continue to be put off by this mid-bass issue, I strongly encourage you to not only give it some more time, but also talk with John about it when convenient. He might have some suggestions that you can try with regards to positioning and maybe even some of the fibre fill in the cabinet or the port.

I think too, it is or can be difficult to diagnose these kind of problems as there are so many things that it could be-or not be for that matter. I find most of my displeasure usually comes from the recordings themselves, not the gear. But we all have certain references that we go by, and it is your ears that you have to satisfy! Don't give up on them yet!

I really think that John is very willing to go the extra mile to make sure his customers are happy with their purchase. Hopefully your 2000's will work out well for you. Enjoy! Tim

Bond,

One other thought: I've measured the in-room response of my Ohms and they are actually very neutral relative to many of the other high end speakers that I've owned. They are neither elevated nor underdamped through the upper bass, which may cause them to sound "leaner" than some other speakers. Similarly, they are not "goosed" through the presence region, which can cause them to sound a bit more recessed or less dynamic than many other high end designs. If your previous speakers had both of these characteristics, you might perceive the change of tonal balance in the Ohms as "mid-range forward".

Just a thought.

Marty

Probably break-in.

Newer 1000 series wit different drivers could break in differently than the prior incarnations.

Something I have found worth keeping in mind is ICs used make a huge difference in tonal balance, impact, attack and most other sonic attributes as well.

From my experience, I'm recommending the DNM Reson ICs for use with the OHMs. They are all business only and sound absolutely fantastic, dare I say near perfect in every way.

Frazeur1, Martykl, Mapman: All good thoughts. I am not the kind of guy who opens up gear or speakers (except maybe to change a tube), so whatever is inside the cabinets of the 2000s will stay there. Also, it is not really a mid-bass hump; it's much higher up than that, perhaps in the lower mids, 300-400Hz. And remember this is a newer phenomenon, only a few weeks old. That's why I think it is a break-in issue. Listened last night to a CD of Berlioz, Symphonie Fantastique. There was very little of the aberation I was hearing in this range. Jury is still out. I agree that a speaker that resolves this well will benefit from improvements in ancillary items like cabling, as well as electronics. Lean times are going to keep me from trying these things for at least a few months. And when I do have the cash, first priority are those spiked bases from Sound Anchors.