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

Hi guys, nice to see this thread still moving along. I think with the image height as others have said, is very recording dependant as is soundstaging(althought the very nature of the Ohm makes these things even better in my mind). I notice varying image height very much when I am playing around with my MWT/omni's. Last night I was listening to many different types of music, from Yellowjackets, Pink Floyd, and then decided to listen to some Who. On "Who's Next", image height was to the top of my 8' ceiling, whereas the other recordings I had been listening to were more about the 6' foot or so height. The omni MWT's are very interesting, the stage is more set back from the front plane of the speakers, yet pretty much blows the wall behind them away. My Ohm 3000's tend to be more all around the speaker. The MWT kind of challenged my preconceived notions of what they would sound like in a 2-channel setup-I had purchased mine with more of a surround/rear duty in an A/V setup.

Moonglum, the next time you see or talk to Mathias, give him a "hello" from the USA for me. We corresponded a couple fo times via e-mail quite awhile back. He seems to be a very wonderful guy and has a passion for the Ohm's. I too would be intersted in hearing an actively driven pair of 5000's myself! Enjoy the music! Tim

Interesting how different recordings sound with the Ohms, isn't it? I just put on the remastered vinyl of Are You Experienced. On a conventional system, Jimi's sound effects bounce from speaker to speaker; on my 5000's, it seems to swirl- very cool to listen to. Then I put on a new version of Abbey Road (vinyl), which while very enjoyable seemed to have the top end of the treble muted. Just seems that the record is biased to the bass side.

I've noticed that in my setup if I sit close, about 8 feet from the speakers, the bass is less noticable than if I move to 15 or 20 feet back. My particular room has an open dining room behind my listening area, with lower ceilings than in the main room, and also two steps up from the other floor. The net effect is that if I shift into the dining area I get the "blacony in the concert hall" sound. Nice to have these options, depending on my mood. James

I think the recording is a big factor in staging/imaging/height more than we care to admit. I do find it interesting how each recording in general is different in certain areas.

Before I bought the Ohm MWT'S omni's, I had this idea that because of the way the tweeter was pointed straight up at the ceiling, that music would be splashed all over the place and not have much of an image or staging to speak of. I was so very wrong on this account, and in some ways prefer the omni presentation to the "normal" Ohm speaker. Probably the thing it does give up to the normal Ohm driver config. Is the ability to have that same sweets pot no matter where you are sitting. You tend to have to be sitting more centered to get the affect, but my, what an affect it is. On some recordings, the omni can be a tad bit overblown or slightly un-natural in it's presentation, but it is a rare thing and again, more recording dependent. I typically have the "hot seat" anyway, so doesn't really matter much to me.

Either way, the Ohm's are just a lot of fun to listen to, maybe not so much the defining and spot-lit definition overall, but thoroughly and utterly enjoyable. I probably just enjoy my tunes more when listening through the Ohm's. My Magnepan with subs are maybe a bit more used as an analytical tool, but still very musical and enjoyable. Really a big toss-up at times, I enjoy them both for different reasons I suppose. Tim

I think I'm on my thrid year with the MWT's, and am still amazed. I don't even look at speakers anymore.

Except pro audio stuff for my bass rig, but that's a different forum ;P

Anyway, glad to see you guys and some new folk are still at it.

Ok- I lied. I am considering a pair of 1000's

I keep tweaking the position of my new F's slightly and playing a bit with other cheap tweaks. Now using two 18" square 2" thick concrete pads under each. The bottom pads have plastic/teflon coated furniture sliders under each corner and i have pieces of dense foam pipe insulation cut into rectangle and placed between the pads for isolation. Mine came with the original stands - which elevate the speakers about an extra 14". I was still concerned about the little round metal buttons under each corner of the stands so I put some small double up pieces if Dynamat under each corner - between the stands and the top pad. There was a bit of tightening in the bass but it got markedly when I stapled R-19 fiberglass insulation into the three basement ceiling joist spaces that are under the front end of the living room - where the speakers are located. I think the only remaining tweak will be some homemade tube traps or other room treatments.

Listened to Maiden Voyage on a out on loan from the library. Holy crap... that was recorded in 1964? The Verve engineers sure knew their stuff. it sounds as real and live as anything I've ever heard on speakers. I also dug out my copy of Joe Byrd and the Field Hippies album "American Metaphysical Circus." The opening track, Sub-Sylvanian Litanies, is by far the trippiest piece of music I have ever heard. It swirls and goes out beyond the edge of the speakers in a way that nothing else has - even more so than "And the Gods Made Love" from Electric Ladyland. I am just loving these speakers more every day and listening to more music of more genres than I have in years. Kudos to Bill LeGall for a phenomenal rebuild on these. I have the impression that he no longer rebuilds F's - and I feel blessed that I was lucky enough to get a pair that he did.