REVIEW: Ohm Micro Walsh Tall -- stereo speaker system

Rich Carlson · « **Reply #20 on:** 11 Dec 2005, 10:46 pm »

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).

audiojerry · « **Reply #21 on:** 12 Dec 2005, 12:22 am »

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...

Aman · « **Reply #22 on:** 28 Dec 2005, 07:49 am »

Hi guys! I'm back

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!

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.

eichlerera1 · « **Reply #23 on:** 3 Jan 2006, 06:35 pm »

Tech Hi-Fi in Rhode Island definitely carried the Lincoln Walsh Ohms.

Rich Carlson · « **Reply #24 on:** 27 Jan 2006, 08:51 pm »

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.

skrivis · « **Reply #25 on:** 28 Jan 2006, 02:25 am »

Quote from: Rich Carlson

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.

eragot · « **Reply #26 on:** 30 Jan 2006, 11:03 am »

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