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
IMHO, the single best way to optimize the incredible soundstaging and imaging of the Ohm Walshs without sacrificing their remarkable dynamics and tonal accuracy is to acoustically treat the room to absorb all first reflections, particularly side walls and ceiling reflections. While it is true that the sound radiation pattern of the Ohm Walsh has been tailored to minimize room reflections while directing high dispersion sound into the interior of the room, the imaging and soundstaging become razor sharp and vivid when first reflections are completely eliminated by judicious use of room treatments. Basically, the Ohm Walshs sound best placed along the short wall of a rectangular room that is acoustically live but where the middle third of the room's long dimension is treated with absorptive covering on the side walls and ceiling to eliminate first reflections. This is how my room is configured and the sound is spectactular.
Finsup,

I use the Velodyne SMS-1 to room correct a pair of Rythmik subwoofers. My Ohm 100s are crossed to the subs at 75hz by an analog NHT x-2. The "subwoofer out" signal from the x-2 goes to the digital Velo unit and on into the subs (no digital processing in the main signal path, FWIW). Two bassbusters handle the excess energy between about 80hz and 125 hz in my room. Side reflections are dispersed by a wall of irregularly shelved LPs on one side and a bay window on the other. The wall behind the speakers is 2/3 covered with absorbtive and dispersion materials.

This set-up produces really good results, both subjectively and measured.

Marty
Just a note to say that I'm still amazed by how much the 100's like better amplification. The Manley Shrimp preamp / Bel Canto S300 combo sounds very sweet. I was listening to Donald Fagen's "Goodbye Look" the other day and wow... marimbas everywhere, and you can follow every harmony line in the vocals.
My room is quite lively, though -- hardwood floors, painted drywall and windows, and I wonder how some judiciously placed absorption might benefit things... at least a rug on the floor!
I've managed to get both pair of OHMs tuned into their respective rooms pretty well and to my satisfaction without having to add any special room treatments.

One thing I have to add is that the last thing I felt my system was coming up just a tad short on until recently was ability to deliver all the details of a larger scale orchestral or symphonic work totally coherently in comparison to some of the best systems I have heard in this regard from digital source. The final tweak that resolved this and has me swooning of late was switching to all DNM Reson ICs from source to pre-amp and pre-amp to amp. My conclusion is that the minimalist single solid conductor design of these ICs is darn near optimal for letting complex musical passages pass through coherently and totally in phase. I've been stunned by the results frankly. At all volumes now, even the most complex passages come through in a most coherent and involving manner.

Its made justifying switching to a bigger amp even more difficult for me to justify than before. Everything just sound so right now, regardless of content/complexity. I set my music server to jukebox mode and just never want to stop listening. Whatever the next cut that happens to come up is I can just tune in and listen contently wondering what I will hear next that likely I had never heard before.