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

Interesting write-up, WTF.
I too have gone to Amarra Sym w/iRC. I have the Ohm 5000s and was hoping for more than I got. The result was a flat range alright, but overall flat sound as well, i.e. the life was sucked out of the music. I started with very uneven bass which iRC fixed nicely, but the rest did not need much fixing, so I set the high cutoff point to 200 Hz and the life came back.

I am happy with the results. Now If only I could configure the speakers to fill the hole in the middle better. Not much space to work with moving them around.

Thanks Coot. Glad to hear you got some benefit from iRC. Interesting that your SQ suffered above 200hz. I suppose that may help illustrate how well engineered the 5000s are. Bass around 100hz was giving me the most trouble and is much improved with the iRC filter.

When you say you have a hole in the middle, do I understand you correctly that you can't place your speakers in a way for proper center imaging?

Yes. The 5000s are 6.5 ft apart on centers. Between the speakers is a 44-inch doublewide Mapleshade equipment shelf. The wall behind is 11.25 ft. wide, the speaker centers are 28 in. from the rear wall. The side walls are 30 inches from the speaker centers. The speaker cabinets are 13 in. square and are angled outwards approx. 4 degrees to aid in directing the high frequencies to the listener.

The listening sofa is 9.5 ft from each speaker. The left seat of the 2-seat sofa is the "prime" one although I can't tell any difference between the 2. I used the "sofa" configuration for the XTZ mics. Ceiling height is 9 ft. There is much more "room" description as it has 3 openings and flows readily out to some roughly 13,000 cubic ft of living space.

To the left of the listener is a small upright piano. To the right is a 48-ft opening. Behind the listeners is a 60-inch opening. Behind the left shoulder of the sofa is a 30-in. opening. No openings have closable doors.

So, even though I have called this a "room", it is very much open to the living quarters. It is a repurposed formal dining area.

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Music is mostly classical - full orchestral, pipe organ, chamber, choral, opera, etc.

Bottom line is, yes there is a discontinuance of the soundstage all the away across. And it's not terribly deep either. The omnidirectionality of the Ohm design gets me by pretty well for large-scale works. For more intimate recordings there is more sound left and right, but somewhat empty in the center. If I stand close in, there is a definite centering of instruments that are supposed to be there, particularly in solo singers. For example, Willie Nelson voice and his picking' is more centered and as I back away, he moves to the right.

I have experimented with different angling so as to get the tweeter aimed to the listener, but nothing seems to really solve it. I am more or less reigned to waiting until we can move to a house with a real music room.

Are Ohms less capable of true imaging than non-omni types?

Thanks for sharing in detail Coot. Hopefully someone will have an idea or two for you. First, let me say that Ohm loudspeakers are certainly capable of presenting a solid and believable center image with wonderful depth and width to boot. Like any speaker, placement is key and Ohm’s are generally considered forgiving in this regard. The room has perhaps the greatest impact on sound quality and can be especially troublesome for those of us without perfect dedicated listening spaces. Like you, I’m one of the unfortunate. Please allow me to share my situation as it’s similar to yours and will hopefully offer some encouragement.

My typically appointed living room is 13’ x 18’ x 8’. My gear is racked on a Salamander Synergy unit smack in the middle of the speakers and wall. Measuring as you did from the middle of the driver, the Talls are 26” from the front wall, 38” from the side walls, with 80” between them. My sofa being the prime spot puts me at 9.5’ from each speaker. While facing the gear, I have a large picture window (with treatment) to my left, a 68” archway to my right, and a 69” archway behind me. The back of the sofa measures 58” to the back wall and archway. The archway behind me opens to a foyer and stairway. The archway to my right opens to another room .. a fairly open design and somewhat problematic.

This arrangement also includes a bookcase, liquor cabinet, chair, tables, lamps, and artwork, etc. There was a lot of experimenting, moving stuff inch by inch until I locked it in. It took a while and it wasn’t easy, but the results are great. It’s all there .. imaging, depth, and width. Coot, if I can achieve this in my room, I’m sure you can achieve the same. That being said, you have whole lot more space adjoining (13,000 cubic ft. - wow!) than I have. However, I encourage you to reevaluate the space and start with speaker placement or perhaps moving your sofa forward a bit. It’s surprising how much difference a few inches can make. Perhaps snapping a few photos of your space and emailing John for guidance might be helpful.

Best of luck. Sorry I couldn’t be more help to you. Cheers.