Amplifier advice from Ohm Walsh 100 Mk. II owners

The Hibachis work well with Ohm 100s and are dirt cheap right now ($650/pr direct from TAD, last I looked). I can assure you from personal experience that this combo works well. However, the TADs are on the warmish side for SS amps, and they're not the last word in "transparency", so - if that's your thing - they may leave you a little short of the mark. They're also slightly quirky on the layout and - tho nicely finished - they're definitely not "jewelry".

If you tend to listen "to" (ratther than "thru") the music, you'll probably love 'em.

Good Luck,

Marty

Incidentally, if you use a single source, the current version (I think) offers attenuation - so you (technically) don't need a preamp (tho you might still want one).

You might want to check w/TAD to be sure on this point.

Marty

Marty, thanks again for taking the time to offer your advice. I emailed Paul and he's been extremely helpful, providing incredible service by answering a number of questions. I ordered a pair and was even able to get XLR inputs since the Doge 8 has an active balanced circuit with XLR outputs. I needed to verify that with Pacific Valve before asking Paul to go ahead with the XLR's in place of the single ended inputs. From your descriptions of the sound and the other extremely positive reviews of Paul's work, I feel confident that I'll be happy with the amps, despite not having had the opportunity to hear them first. And at an extremely reasonable price! I'll let you know how it all comes together. I'm really glad I came across your mention of the Hibachis and appreciate all the advice you've offered.

Tao,

My pleasure.
Good luck with the project.

Marty

UPDATE: I just wanted to let you guys know that the Doge 8 and Hibachi have both arrived. They sound fantastic with the Ohm amps and I feel pretty certain that they should keep my urge to upgrade those components at bay for the next couple of years. Thank you, both Marty and Foster, for the advice. I'm trying to get the components burned in, within my time constraints, but even now everything sounds fantastic, given the relatively modest outlay. I assume it'll only get better as time goes on. The Hibachi, at first, seemed less robust than the 200 watts implied, but after 2 days of playing, the initial question marks disappeared. As these are the first new amplification components I have ever bought, this is the first instance of burn in that I've had immediate experience of. I'm very happy with the Ohms. Despite having looked into them for the past few years, I hadn't imagined I would be buying a pair at this time, but the opportunity for a relatively close sale in a finish I like made it irresistible. I'm glad I took the plunge, despite this not fitting into the equipment map I'd had for myself. I think these Hibachis will be keepers and can do duty with a W4S DAC-2 as a preamp in a second system when the urge to try SET becomes too great and I'm forced to change things up. Thanks again, guys!