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

Frazeur1, these have Walsh 5-S3 cabinets which means they don't have the rounded corners; the drivers are pre production 5000's.

Hi Emerson (Foster_9),

Glad to hear that you've turned the corner, obviously after a great deal of effort (and expense). How is the bass now, which iirc was the most significant issue earlier on? Assuming it is now reasonably good, which component change was primarily responsible for improving it?

Best regards,
-- Al

Hi Al, yes the expense has been for me more than I would have wanted or ever thought of before. But you can't quit. For bass the room seems to be bad with the speakers flanking the short wall. Top to bottom bass included however has improved at least to the point that I can live with it. The sound is much more fleshed out (fuller top to bottom) in general with the new preamp and clarity too is a big improvement. And I always have subs if I decide to turn them on for stronger lows.

Well, I just got my Micro SE's, and I'm listening to them now. The good- highs, mids, soundstage, form-factor, and they look pretty cool. The bad- bass. It's not horrible, but I feel like I need a sub, and that's exactly what I'm trying to avoid (I used a sub with monitors for years, but I'm trying to downsize, hence, the small-footprint floor-stander). I recently sold my sub, and put my monitors on the floor (they were Tyler Taylo Reference) and they produced more bass than the SE's. BTW, supposedly, the SE's go an octave lower than the Talls. And, I don't have to bother with break-in (I REALLY hate breaking-in speakers)... John @ OHM sold me a pair with used drivers (but, new cabinets & hardware).
I have them a few inches from the wall- that seemed a bit better than when they were pulled out. My room is NOT acoustically friendly (hardwood floors, furniture all about, small NYC place, etc), and that's not going to change (unless I move).
I played one of my best sounding albums for bass (Hendrix - Band of Gypsys), and if all records were recorded like this, I'd be ok. But, so far, every other album sounds anemic. It's too bad, because I really want to like these. They do so many things right, but I can't ignore the bass (or, lack thereof). It's a factor that's too important to overlook.
As for my equipment, I have a Rogue Tempest 2 (integrated tube amp- I love this thing), Jolida phono amp (it was cheap, but I think it's one of the reasons I like vinyl so much more than cd's), Music Hall MMF-7 (no complaints), and the digital stuff doesn't matter since I don't use it. I don't want to change any of my electronics- I'm happy with all of it (esp. the Rogue). Plus, I've heard how this system can sound with other speakers, so I feel it's fine.
Damn, I am kind of bummed. Yeah, the SE's were cheaper than my Tylers and take up less floor space, but the overall listening experience has diminished a bit. I'm not even comparing these with the Tylers and the sub- I'm just talking about the monitors-on-the-floor setup. I really wanted to like these... damn.
I should probably point out that I've only owned box-style speakers... never had anything like the OHM's.

Ron,

Are you getting a big soundstage and reasonably detailed imaging at least at this point? If not, your ears may not be tuned in to the omni presenation yet. That can take time depending. It took me a while even when I acquired the series 3 driver based models and I had owned OHMs for years prior.

If your not used to omni's, you might want to give your ears a chance to adjust to the different presentation. ALso the OHMs may take some time to open up a bit. Keeping them closer to the rear wall will help the bass.

How far apart are the OHMs and how far back are you listening from? Also, is your listening position not up against any walls?

Be sure to check basics like proper speaker wiring polarity, etc.

The unique presenation in regards to soundstage and imaging is the most unique aspect of the OHMs and omnis in general that you will not replicate with conventional designs. Once you tune into that, you might have a different perspective on the bass as well. Or possibly not. I am not an advocate of even the best tube amps in general with the OHMs. They reach their potential best with lots of current and power and also are not very efficient and have the difficult load deal going. I've found even my smaller 100S3 benefit from the 500 w/ch Class D amp I am using these days. Micros are less efficient than 100s even I believe, so I suspect the same is true with them.