Ohm Walsh Talls (opinions sought)


I demo'd the 1000's at the Ohm factory in Brooklyn several years back. This was way back when I first started my journey into hi end audio. My faint recollection of them was that they were very musical and easy to listen to.

I'm wondering if anyone can tell me how they would compare sound wise to the Vandersteen 1ci. Is there anyone out there with experience with both speakers?

Incidentally, I spoke with Jake from Ohm this morning. He said that current lead times are around 5 months and he expects that timeframe to shorten moving forward as they got slammed with orders last summer. 

 

 

 

128x128audionoobie

I have the 5000’s in a difficult room.  Their design, along with their adjustability via the controls on the top of the speaker, has made all the difference.  They do better on the low end with a sub, and prefer power behind them.  In sum, they have achieved what a handful of far more expensive conventional speakers could not.  Imaging in this room is simply fantastic and the very reason I gave them a try….they can easily do whatever is needed via adjustment, placement and angle.  Inky way to see if they work for you is to give them a try….they have a generous trial period.

I have a pair of Ohm Walsh 1000s that replaced a pair of Bowers and Wilkins 703s. I'm pushing both with a Mcintosh MAC 7200. I cannot be happier with the Ohm 1000s. Of course, everyone has their personal preference as to how reproduced sound is pleasurable. I personally feel the Ohm's have a very open, lively presentation. I can close my eyes and have the closest experience of listening to the music live as any speaker I have run across. I believe that the 360° dispersion of the sound bounces off the walls in my listening room and therefore creates a natural reverb which comes from listening to a band live. The absolute best feature of this type of speaker is that there is no sweet spot. The tweeters are angled upward and toward the middle of the room. You can literally sit anywhere in the room and still get the left and right separation. My son sells high-end audio equipment and also feels that the Ohm's standup to any speaker on market. However, he states that there are far from a studio reference speaker. That may be why I moved away from the Bowers and Wilkins since they are little closer to a studio reference. Again, I want to enjoy music in a way that replicates hearing it live. I can push the Ohm's relatively strong with the Mcintosh and feel the musicians as if they are in the same room. Vocals are absolutely amazing. They are still handmade in Brooklyn New York and you can pick out your particular choice of wood veneers. This is why you need to wait almost 6 months for delivery. This is also why they do not advertise nor use dealers, can't keep up with demand. Enjoy!

If the new Ohm speakers are anything like the original Ohm F speakers, I’d say buy buy buy! Placement was easy and the sound was fantastic! They are a speaker I wish I’d never sold!

All the best.

JD

I cannot comment about the smaller Ohm Walsh talls, and I can’t compare them to a lot of other speakers because I was sold on Ohm Walsh for my difficult room when I bought a used pair of Ohm Walsh 4s.  But I totally second the praises sung above for the 5000’s.  I got the 4-5000 upgrade.  The adjustability is wonderful.  Mine are pretty much in the corners of a narrow but very deep room with windows all along one 40 plus foot long wall.  I’ve got the bass set for medium sized room, and turned off the subs.  Even at moderate volume, the sound is massive.  This is not to say the vocals of the Cranberries lose any of their ethereal quality, but over 70db at my listening positions and the music is physically experienced.  The 5000’s are notches above the 4’s of the 80’s.  Percussion, if that’s your thing, is amazing.  I think I’ll put on War’s “The World is a Ghetto” and crank The Cisco Kid.  I can feel it already.

Steve