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
I read a lot of this thread, and it's tempting me to try some MicroWalsh SE's (my main speaker search has been for something with a very small footprint, due to some constrained NYC living situation). Basically, I'm downgrading, because I need some super-small floorstanders (no room for monitors- selling my Tyler Taylo's, which I love).
So, these things are the right size, and my room is fairly small. But, I rarely sit still when listening to music. All this sweet-spot talk (half-inch toe-in stuff is not for me) has me worried. My monitors filled the room (granted, they are bigger, and I had a sub), but I never felt like I had to tweak their positioning to get a good sound.

So, my amp is an integrated tube (Rogue Audio Tempest 2- which I really like, no plans to change that) and it has what they call "User selectable 4 or 8 ohm output taps". Which would I use for OHM speakers? They're 6 ohm, right?

And, I'm wondering how my amp would do driving these speakers. I don't know anything about "current", and here's the link to my amp, if anyone has any ideas:

http://www.rogueaudio.com/Products_Tempest.htm
ehh, the the link didn't post, so here's the specs)
Ultra-wide bandwith output transformers
- Massive high storage power supply
- Matched quad output tubes
- User selectable 4 or 8 ohm output taps
- User selectable triode or ultralinear output
- (4) KT88, (2) 6SN7, (2) 12AX7 tube complement
- Active outputs for subwoofer or biamping
- Heavy (2 ounce) copper circuit board
Specifications: [back to top]
- output power: 90WPC minimum
- THD: <0.1% typ., <1% at rated power
- frequency response:
- 20Hz - 20KHz at peak output,
- 10Hz - 100KHz at 10 watts
- input sensitivity: 1.0V RMS
- dimensions: 18" W x 15¾" D x 7" H
- weight: 60 lbs
- shipping weight: 65 lbs
- power requirements: 120V/240V - 50/60Hz
Ron,

6 ohm is a nominal value, actual impedance will vary up and down from that depending on frequency. Low frequencies have lower impedance in general I believe. I'd probably try the 4 ohm setting first for best bass performance.

With the OHM in home trial policy, you can certainly try things out to see how well they work with your amp with no real risk.
Ron,

What Mapman said. You can't go wrong with that trial period, and you may find that you really love them! And 90 watts is more than enough power to drive those puppies to very loud volumes in a small-medium sized room.
Ron325, Sorry if we scared you with the 1/2 inch toe out and things like that. From what I've read, the Ohms are pretty forgiving as far as placement, but if you take the time to fine tune them to your room, you will be rewarded beyond expectations. I'm still amazed by my micro talls, and am contemplating upgrading to the 100's/1000's when I get my tax refund. I hope you decide to give them a test run. I took a chance and I'll never look back Joe
I still don't get the impedance thing, but if I go with these, I'll call Rogue- they are always really helpful.
Yeah, I've read that they have a wide (or "big", or something) soundstage, so I always thought that meant I could spend less time worrying about the sweetspot. But, I don't have the patience for a million tweaks- I'll do some basic moving-things-around, but not much else. So, yes, reading about the placement tweaks had me a bit nervous.
I need to sell my Taylo's before I can buy anything, though.