D110 wrote:
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?
Yes, I have.
The Shahinians I auditioned were older Obelisks (for a short time) and Hawks, which are my current speakers.
The Ohms were a pair of Walsh 200's (mid 90's model).
The Ohms and the Hawks were driven by either one or two Plinius SA100/MkIII amps (Ohms cannot be biamped).
I listen to and carer about mostly orchestral classical music so my comments reflect that.
The Shahinians, both Obelisks and Hawks, produce an enormous sound stage and image, with sometimes remarkably rich and lively violin sound, woodwinds (esp. clarinets and flutes) of great beauty and fidelity to the real thing (or some real thing). In addition, they both have explosive, very dynamic bass with a definite presence in the upper bass/lower midrange that provides a fair sense of the power in that region an orchestra produces. Low brass and strings,
bassoons, tympani, harp--all of these have a solidity and body rarely captured in reproduction. Shahinian's design goals include the achieving of this kind of physicality.
The Walsh does not share the Shahinian's bass power, rich tonal balance, or (most sadly for me) timbral accuracy. Winds, brass, and strings all sound tonally less rich than reality. But the Walsh 200's have a more detailed and tighter bass, a "cleaner" sound, produce a soundstage and image easily as impressive as the Hawks with better specificity of location (a characteristic not heard live).
I listened to one jazz record, Cassandra Wilson's New Moon Daughter) which features extreme presence, beautifully defined bass, a gorgeous fullness and complexity in the voice, and, as a bonus, some darn good tunes. The Ohms outdid the Hawks in bass definition and presence but the voice was richer with the Hawks. Almost like cd vs. lp or SS vs. tube, the Shahinians are warmer and more lush, the Ohms are crisper and leaner.
The Shahinians can deliver a physical punch that the Ohms cannot approach.
I do not know if the new Walsh drivers change any of these things, not having heard them. If they were a little more uncolored and a tad richer sounding, I'd happily live with them-- but I'd keep the Shahinians, too. My bottom line is "beauty of sound" and the Hawks are hard to beat there.
My impression is that all the Shahinian designs share the characteristics I have pointed to, to greater or lesser degree. The Walsh drivers, it is said, are all the same except for size so, presumably, the same is true for their line.
By the way, the Hawks will play rather louder and handle lots more power than the Ohms.
Questions?
