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

Update - As I posted previously, I ordered a pair of custom made, spiked cradle bases from Sound Anchors for my Walsh 2000s. Although John Strohbeen told me that this was not necessary for the Walsh speakers, my uneven floor prevented me from getting the speakers level and level with each other, and they rocked a bit too much (not rocked as in Rock & Roll, but as in back and forth). The stands were $300 plus shipping. Pictures can be seen on the Sound Anchors web site. They are solid, well made and heavy, with 3-point, adjustable spikes that screw into the base.

After I levelled the speakers on the bases, I noticed that the sound was cleaned up a bit, with a little more fine detail. The soundstage also seems a little larger than before, especially in the lateral plane.

As a side note, I think I need a different listening chair. The high-back leather reclining chairs and ottomans I bought when I set up my basement HT in 1994 are less than ideal for music listening. I discovered this when I leaned forward in the chair. The sound was significantly better in terms of details, soundstage and even smoothness in the highs. So, along with seeking improvements in acoustic treatments, cables, ICs and powercords, I will now be on the hunt for an *affordable* comfortable low-backed listing chair or two.

First, I admit I haven't read every single page in this thread, but I have read most of them, and I think what I am hearing is that the OHMs might be just the speaker I am looking for - I have a large room (24 x 36 x 12) with carpeted floors and a central seating area that I am looking to put a dedicated music system in. While I have heard speakers I like, I have been frustrated by the very tight sweet spot - this is my living room and I want to be able to share music with my wife and friends without playing musical chairs. The speakers that have jumped to my attention for this task have been the Shahinian and Ohm speakers and I was wondering if anyone had listened to both? I would very much like to know how they compare to one another. Are there any other contenders that I should be considering for the task?

D110 - Most of your assumptions are correct. I don't need the "wide sweet spot" feature of the Ohms (details on the Ohm web site), but it's still nice to have. The Shahinian is a fascinating speaker design with many loyal fans. I briefly looked into them. Unlike Ohm, there is no home-trial available. Shahinian's suggestion was for me to drive to Long Island from my New Jersey home to audition them. Having lived for years with a speaker that never sounded as good in my home as it did in the showroom, this was just a no-go for me. I insisted on a home trial for any potential speaker purchase. There is just no substitute for hearing a speaker in your room, with your gear, with your music. Of course, you can start buying and selling used speakers to try them out, with little financial risk, but the time and back-strain that goes with this meathod make it unappealing to me.

Ohm's 120-day home trial (you risk only the round-trip shipping) was ideal. And, as I have mentioned in this thread before, I really like Ohm's approach of making one "sound" for the whole Walsh line, and then scaling it for different room volumes, which are posted on the web site. I bought the 2000s, which are appropriate for my room, and I am very pleased. My complete review is posted in the speaker review section.

I recenyly upgraded to the new Walsh 1000's,and it cost me $96.00 to ship the micro walshes back to Ohm. Just thought I'd give you an idea of cost if you choose to ship speakers back to them. I'm still in the process of breaking in my 1000's, and will be posting a user review sometime in July, when my 120 day trial is up. As of right now, the 1000's have the signature Ohm sound, and ther major difference is that they go a lot lower (low 30's) and this is quite noticeable on some recordings. I hesitate to comment any further because the speakers have just started to open up a bit more (I got them on April 6th) and I know they have a ways to go before they're fully broken in, but so far, so good Joe

Guys,

Just thought I would point out that as of this moment the thread has 54,000 views! (Okay, 50,000 of them are from me, but that's picky...)

;-)