AudioCircle
Other Stuff => Archived Circles => General Archive => Topic started by: Aman on 29 Nov 2005, 03:18 am
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Review: Ohm MicroWalsh Tall speaker system
By: Andrew Grathwohl (Aman)
Associated Equipment
Secondary Speakers: Ohm Model E
Amplifier: Pioneer SX-450
Source: Goldring GR1
Cartridge: Grado Platinum
Interconnects: DiMarzio M-Path Solderless ICs
Music Used:
John Abercrombie - Gateway (ECM 150 gram)
Cannonball Adderly - Pyramid (Fantasy 140 gram)
The Beatles - The White Album (Apple)
John Coltrane - My Favorite Things (Atlantic)
Miles Davis - Get Up With It (Columbia, 180 gram)
Bob Dylan - Blonde on Blonde (Columbia)
Jefferson Airplane - After Bathing at Baxter's (RCA)
King Crimson - In the Court of the Crimson King
Led Zeppelin - II (Classic Records 200 gram)
John Lennon - Imagine (Mobile Fidelity Sound Labs 180 gram)
The Moody Blues - Days of Future Passed (Deram)
The Mahavishnu Orchestra - Birds of Fire (Columbia)
Thelonious Monk - Straight/No Chaser (Columbia)
Eugene Ormandy/Ludig Van Beethoven - 9th Symphony (Columbia)
Eugene Ormandy/Handel - Messiah (Columbia)
Pink Floyd - Dark Side of the Moon (EMI 180 gram)
Todd Rundgren - A Wizard/A True Star (Bearsville 140 gram)
Traffic - John Barleycorn Must Die
Yes - Close to the Edge (Atlantic)
Yes - Tales from Topographic Oceans (Part 1 and Part 4 only) (Atlantic)
Frank Zappa - Joe's Garage
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Back in 1978, my mother, a junior at UCONN in Connecticut, was searching for a pair of small stereo speakers so she could enjoy her Fleetwood Mac and Todd Rundgren records. She knew very little about what good sound was, and really didn't know what to expect when she stepped into a small stereo shop in New Haven, CT. After listening to “The Chain” on three or four different systems, my mother ultimately decided to purchase a modest 500 dollar system, which included a Pioneer SX-450 amplifier, a Micro Seiki MB-15 turntable, and a pair of Ohm Model E speakers. She used these speakers for nearly twenty years, and enjoyed all sorts of music over the decades. She was satisfied with Pop, Rock, Jazz, and Classical, and never felt the urge to upgrade.
About five years ago, we my mother and father had to make room for a television upgrade in the room where the old college system was. We moved the speakers into the attic, to be forgotten for a long while. When I began to get interested in hi-fi, I took the old speakers out and gave it for a spin. I was impressed by the sound they put out. On my 100w Marantz integrated amplifier, I thought they sounded quite decent. After switching to the Pioneer SX-450 from my mother's original system, I just fell in love with the sound. I sold my Marantz and had a blast with this vintage setup.
Ohm Acoustics is an interesting speaker company. They've been around for nearly thirty years and have seen all the odds and ends of the industry. John Strohbeen, the owner of Ohm, has been so almost since the beginning, and definitely knows his stuff. The few times I talked to him about purchasing a pair of Talls from him, he was very informative and helpful. This is a very unique audio company – the “salesmen” (there are only two different people that sell their products – the President and Vice-President of the company!) are not the least bit pushy and are very kind. I wondered how in the world Ohm Acoustics could possibly have survived all these years, especially considering the terrifying drop in audio equipment sales in recent years. I figured that a company could only stay alive for this long if they had a solid fan base, and supreme dedication to their products. It can be seen later on in the review that this quality is apparent. Also, even more shocking, this company never had a dealer circle. That's right – they never mass-produced their speakers in order to sell them to retailers. This shocked me even more.
So on with the product at hand. I saw the UPS guy walk up the stairs with my speakers, and I just jumped in joy. I saw two men carrying gigantic boxes, and it had Ohm written all over it. I unpacked the speakers, and found they were very securely-packaged. They were wrapped tightly and double-boxed, with stiff foam barriers on both ends of the package to assure that it didn't get dented during shipment. As I tore the plastic off of the speakers with anticipation, I marveled at the beauty of the finish I had asked for. I got my MicroWalsh Talls in oak. Mind you, this is not fake wood, or plastic – this is REAL wood. A solid, stable cabinet built from real wood. Who else could give you this kind of quality for 1000 dollars? Simply put, I can't think of any other dealer who could.
The speakers don't cease to amaze me just yet, however. As I carried them into my listening room and plugged the speaker cables in, I stared open-jawed at the attention to detail. The caps were solid, and the binding posts were secure. I was in doubt in regards to the cost of the system. When I turned on some tunes, I was in even more shock. Even before burn in, the speakers showed huge improvements over my previous Ohms. They possess a similar sound signature, but it is so much more refined! After about 60 hours of burn in, the sound became even more miraculous.
Now for the impressions. The first album I graced these speakers with was Frank Zappa' wonderfully-recorded Joe's Garage. The opening track, featuring the “Central Scrutinizer”'s raspy, whispering introduction to the story of the album, sounded crystal clear and well-placed. With the previous speakers, there would be distortion outputted due to the inability to handle the complex structuring of the sound. As the music got more frantic and merged into the title track, Warren's guitars and Ike Willis' vocals exhibited profound realism and depth. I could easily pin-point the locations of all the instrumentalists. Ike's groovy voice was centered and almost right in front of me. As his pitch increased and decreased, his voice remained in the same position. Most speakers usually show signs of increasing or decreasing height of a particular instrument when it goes up and down in pitch, because it puts more stress on the tweeter (higher up than the mid/woofer) when higher in pitch, and less when there is a lower pitch. The result is that the lower-pitched notes will be closer to the ground than the higher-pitched notes. Not the case with these speakers. The unique “Walsh” driver design, where the omni-directional driver reflects sound from all angles (accept for the back), results in incredible sound staging and imaging.
This was most apparent when I put on Miles Davis' “He Loved Him Madly” from his two-LP set, Get Up With It. The solemn, ambient organs and keyboards stood perfectly still, even as they progressed to pitches that were almost uncomfortable to listen to. Even more astounding was how the speakers were able to form a sound scape that was nearly five feet wider than the actual speakers were. The keyboards wrapped around my head, which I have never felt before from a pair of hi-fi speakers. And while this was going on, the soft and nimble percussion was still perfectly in the middle. I've heard a lot of speakers that were more expensive than these speakers, particularly the offerings from Magnepan, but I have never heard anything quite like this before.
The Ohm MicroWalsh Talls offer more than life-like sound staging and imagery. I have come to the conclusion that they are one of the few speakers that are adept at producing just about all types music, and all types of recordings. No matter what music I played, be it John Coltrane's My Favorite Things, or Ormandy's Beethoven 9th Symphony, or even Yes' Close to the Edge, the speakers reproduced the record with ease and ability. This is most likely attributed to the incredible accuracy that these speakers possess. Because the crossover sends signals to the midrange until around 8khz, there is not a single note missed. The tweeter only takes what is higher than that, and, let me tell you, this leads for not one ounce of brightness. Instead, the resulting effect is a very balanced presentation. This characteristic is just one more sign of the experience and professionalism that John Strohbeen and company triumph in. Where many $1000+ speakers are raved in the reviews for being realistic and for only producing what is on the media, the Ohm MicroWalsh Talls take this a step further by also offering superb, realistic imagery that those type of speakers suffer from.
What can be said about these speakers? Honestly, these speakers may just represent the best value in the market. They are full-range, they are beautifully-built and feature real wood cabinets, and have, by far, one of the most realistic and idealistic sound traits that a speaker could have. They are even fairly sensitive, being able to be driven by my 15W Pioneer SX-450 with ease. And, to tall it all off, the speakers come with a free 120 day in home trial. This offers plenty of time to not only get them adjusted with your equipment, but to also give them a full burn in. When I talked to Strohbeen, I was informed that they have never once had a speaker sent back to them. That is proof enough that Ohm's products are fantastic and far above par.
There really isn't much more one could ask from a $1000 speaker. I strongly recommend that you take up Ohm's four-month trial period and audition a pair of Ohm MicroWalsh Talls for yourself. These speakers represent the best purchase I have ever made in my life, and I suggest that the case will be the same for anybody else who purchases them.
(http://img293.imageshack.us/img293/8126/ohm47og.jpg)
(http://cgim.audiogon.com/i/vs/s/f/1132631501.jpg)
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Nice review Aman !! I always remember their older speakers - '70's and '80's... Ohm F (http://www.ohmspeakers.com/store_item_detail.cfm?item_ID=38&cart_ID=1129128518160)...that was a favorite of mine. Nice to see their still around (http://www.ohmspeakers.com/)... 8)
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Thought I'd bump up this thread just to make sure others were able to see the review if they wanted :)
-Andrew
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Can you define mass-produced? Back in the 1970s Ohm speakers were sold through a large chain called Tech HiFi.
Ohm may not have mass-produced their speakers but I am sure they made large quantities of them for Tech HiFi.
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That's the only thing you could have said about the review? :?:
Anyhow, I am familar with their deal they had with Tech HiFi, but I am sure they were a specialty item at that store - they didn't stock many units at a time, I'm sure. I mean, only three or four people built these speakers, and at one time, they had more than 5 speaker models in production at the same time!
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Nice review; certainly seems to be a good speaker option for the future. Thanks for bringing it to our attention and enjoy them, Aman!
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Tech HiFi had the Ohm dynamic boxes as a house brand of ill repute. They were a slightly sleazy chain and moved a lot of stuff in the heyday of 70's hi fi. Anybody remember the marketing gimmick of tractor trailor sales?
I can't recall Walsh driver speakers ever being sold at Tech HiFi, although that doesn't mean they weren't. There was pretty much only the A and the F in those days, anyway.
The Walsh drivers are a totally different ballgame from the old house brand, imo.
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Aman, thanks for bumping the thread - very timely for me since I just bought a pair of these! I will pick them up a week from today, then post something once I've had a chance to hear them.
Rich
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Hi Rich,
Just curious, Do the speakers ship from the address listed on their website in Brooklyn and is that where you're picking them up from? I may be intersted in a pair of these for a couple of reasons: first and foremost I have a 20 month old who enjoys yanking the grills off my AV-1's and pushing in the tweeter and it doesn't look like I would have that problem with these speakers. I also like the idea of possibly being able to pick them up if they do indeed ship from Brooklyn as I am local. Secondly I was unable to find any negative reviews about these and they're in my price range, and appreciate Aman bringing them to my attention with his review. I do remember Ohm speakers from the early 80's but never actually heard them. Be sure to post a review.
Ken
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Very nicely written review, Aman. I, for one, appreciate the effort and time.
Don't let the curt replies get to you. I think the Critic's Circle is a great vehicle for informing AC members about new or unfamiliar products..
It seems like too many members entrench themselves in a narrow range of brands, closing the door on other possibilties and opportunities, and sometimes becoming militant if someone comes along and suggests that something else might be good. Some seem to have the need to re-assure themselves that they have the best out there.
Anyways, I like the look of the Walsh. I've always wanted to hear one along with Shahinian, but none in my area. Where do you live? Do you find that they perform much better when placed well away from the walls?
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Actually I'm quite intrigued by the Ohms even though I own Ascends.
Aman; how would you characterize the sound as compared to dynamic speakers? Or more speicifically, what other speakers have you listened to/owned, dymanic or otherwise, that compare to the Ohms?
Thanks, nice review btw.
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Hi Rich,
Just curious, Do the speakers ship from the address listed on their website in Brooklyn and is that where you're picking them up from? I may be intersted in a pair of these for a couple of reasons: first and foremost I have a 20 month old who enjoys yanking the grills off my AV-1's and pushing in the tweeter and it doesn't look like I would have that problem with these speakers. I also like the idea of possibly being able to pick them up if they do indeed ship from Brooklyn as I am local. ...
Ken,
I actually found a used pair local (well, relatively - about 1 1/2 hours away) to me in Pennsylvania, and am picking them up from the owner next weeeknd. But, I do think they ship from Brooklyn - give them a call, they're very nice on the phone.
Rich
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My recollection is that Ohm had a very generous audition policy, and the owner seemed like a really nice guy.
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A long home trial.....nice !! >> http://www.ohmspeakers.com/hometrial.cfm
The first sentence is right on target !! 8) [/list:u]
some history.. (http://www.6moons.com/audioreviews/walsh/micro.html)..[/list:u]
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Thanks Rich,
I called Ohm on Saturday and was surprised to hear someone actually answer the phone, It was John and had no problem answering any of my questions. BTW were you the lucky one in PA to pick these off agon recently. http://cls.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls.pl?spkrfull&1138219553[/url]
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What about a group buy proposal for all you folks looking for Ohms? Given it's a small shop they might go for it.
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I guess Aman has checked out.
I kinduv got the feeling he was perturbed that he didn't get enough recognition for his nice review.
Are you still out there, Aman? :scratch:
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Andrew - definitely one of the best-written consumer reviews that I've seen on the forums - even if I disagreed with you (which I don't)! The MicroWalshes ARE one of the great deals in hi-fi today.
Ohm Walsh speakers have been a great lesson to me on what a hi-fi system should do. Or, in this price range, what one SHOULDN'T do. As you described, Ohms handle any type of music - they are what I call "big picture" speakers. They present the music, no hi-fi gymnastics, just music. Yeah, they have the big soundstage, but it's that amazing mid-range that really sets them apart.
The MicroWalshes are the only speakers that I've owned that I want to hold on to over the long-term. I've had mine for exactly a year and I like them more now than ever before. More so with speakers than other components, the excitement usually disappears after a month or two, when I realize that there's no connection with the music. Not so with the Ohms, I'm keeping mine for a long time!
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What about a group buy proposal for all you folks looking for Ohms? Given it's a small shop they might go for it.
Not be a bad idea but I'm just not quite ready to make the plunge just yet till after the holidays. :(
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Thanks Rich,
I called Ohm on Saturday and was surprised to hear someone actually answer the phone, It was John and had no problem answering any of my questions. BTW were you the lucky one in PA to pick these off agon recently. http://cls.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls.pl?spkrfull&1138219553[/url]
Yep, that was me :D
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Picked up the Ohms yesterday, and have now had a few hours listening time with them. Don't know if I can match Aman's very nice review, but let me give it a shot: First impression - fabulous soundstaging and imaging, very natural sense of depth especially. Smooth sound, not very efficient (compared to my other speakers, see below). Easy to blend with subs. Really good on voices. Not quite as refined in the highs, and not quite as much detail and impact as my Paradigm S2s (but, something of an unfair comparison - the Paradigms cost over twice as much, and may not go as low - they really need a sub). I agree with Aman that the Ohms are good on all kinds of music, but at this point I'd probably qualify his rave with "for the size and price" though maybe it is partly a matter of taste. I could certainly live with the Ohms.
I do need to say that although I've moved the Ohms around to a few different positions, I have not yet had the time to really optimize them. They are likely destined for my office system, a smaller room in which they must be near the wall (the Paradigms don't really click in my main system until they're 4 feet from the wall behind).
My associated equipment: Theta Miles, Monarchy DIP Classic, Benchmark DAC1, PS Audio PCA-2, Bryston 3B-SST, ACI Titan subs (2). I also have a Behriniger DEQ2496, and will be curious to see how the Ohms do when equalized (comparisons above are without eq).
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Thanks for your honest viewpoints, Rich. Maybe you see things differently because your perspective might come from someone a bit more experienced and current of the state of hign-end audio, where as Aman's perspective may be more from someone who's high-end involvement has been more limited.
just speculation...
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Hi guys! I'm back :D
Sorry about kind of "checking out" there. I have been very busy at college, and then the holidays came around and I simply couldn't find the solid time required to read this thread and others around the web.
Thanks for all of the pleasant responses and notices of appreciation which I have received. I hope that this review helped some of you out there that may have been interested in this speaker. Well over another hundred hours later, I can safely say that these speakers are just simply incredible and will find a permanent space in my system for a long time. True, my experience in high-end audio isn't very grand, nor have I been investing in audio gear for very long, but I just paid one G for these, and to me, that's a lot! :D
All kidding asside, these were exactly what I was looking for and I'd be willing to reckon that after a room change and more careful placement (and a better amp) these speakers may take off even more. I have a recently purchased Wassily Kandinski print that is placed near the speakers, and I find that the spacey contents of his paintings truly match the Micro Walsh's ability to take the listener to a completely interstellar trip. The most magical artists I've heard so far on these speakers range from Sun Ra, to Sigur Ros, to Frank Zappa and Captain Beefheart, all the way back to Dave Brubeck. Listening to these speakers has truly been a treat.
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Tech Hi-Fi in Rhode Island definitely carried the Lincoln Walsh Ohms.
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Thought I'd revive this thread to tell a nice story about Ohm's customer service. Shortly after posting my review, I noticed a problem with one speaker - lower level, and less treble. I contacted Ohm through their web site, and heard back within hours from John Strohbeen, the president. He suggested that I send the driver units from both speakers, so they could diagnose and repair any problems, and make sure the two matched. Because it was only a couple of days before Christmas, I waited until after the first of the year to send them. I now have them back, the speakers re-assembled, and will be able to get back to more optimizing and comparison. Along the way, I talked with John on the phone, and found him to be very pleasant and helpful. The repair was very reasonably priced - superb customer service!
On a first listen, my impressions are much the same as in my earlier post, so I don't think that was based on listening to the defective speakers (I suspect that I damaged one somehow). But I will listen some more, and return to post further impressions.
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Thought I'd revive this thread to tell a nice story about Ohm's customer service. Shortly after posting my review, I noticed a problem with one speaker - lower level, and less treble. I contacted Ohm through their web site, and heard back within hours from John Strohbeen, the president. He suggested that I send the driver units from both speakers, so they could diagnose and repair any problems, and make sure the two matched. Because it was only a couple of days before Christmas, I waited until after the ...
I talked to John a bit too. I'm not sure I'm wholly thrilled with his ideas about how bass frequencies should be properly reproduced, but it kind of reminded me of VMPS. :)
It's the norm for me to talk to the owner of the company that makes my hi-fi gear, so that wasn't a big deal. hehe
I will say that Ohm F's were probably very limited production. I only ever saw one pair at one store. The newer Ohm Walsh speakers seem to have been reproduced in much larger quantities. the place that carried them locally had a bunch of them in stock, they ran sales, and they had a half dozen stores around the state. Every single other item they carried was in mass production, so I find it hard to believe that they'd carry Ohm if it wasn't the same. (Although they did carry Quad ESL's and I don't know how high the production was on those.)
So maybe Ohm wasn't produced in the same quantity as Polk or Bose, but they had to have been cranking out quite a few of them.
In my case, they'd have had to custom make a set of speakers for me. I kind of fit in between their models. :) It didn't sound like the same trial period applied to custom stuff, so I elected to pass on the Ohms.
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Let me say that John and Brian at Ohm are the nicest and most helpful audio guys I have run into in a while (John Rutan at Audio Connect is also up there). I purchased a pair of Micro Talls in August, but ended up returning them in October.
I had gone from Vandersteen 2ci's and the Micro Talls just lacked a certain presence. In many respects they were excellent - mid range was just schweet, but the bass lacked a crispness and that illusive "presence." The music seemed to be missing something.
I went back to them (I live in Brooklyn) and borrowed their small sub to pair with the speakers. That added a bit of the "presence" I was looking for and the bass was certainly there if you wanted it. But something was still not quite there. Mind you, the electronics driving them were reasonably decent (Rotel RC-995 Pre, Mark Levinson ML-9 and Dynaco CDV-1 CDP).
I ended up auditioning a pair of Vandersteen 1cs. They did the trick. The presence was back. The imaging is just as good and the clarity I am looking for is still there.
The Ohms would be perfect for my bedroom system, but the main rig gets to keep the Vandys. Of course, the electronics have completely changed since the Vandys went in (TAD-60 amp, CJ PV-10aL pre) but the sound I was looking for is there.
Cheers and enjoy the Ohms.
Eric