Ohm Speakers

[Cawdor]

I haven't bought speakers in 30 years. I'm replacing Design Acoustic D-6s. I'm thinking about ordering the Ohm MicroWalsh Talls or 100-S3s.

I have searched the Web and this site, and I have read what I've found.

Has anyone bought the 100-S3s or the MicroWalsh Talls in the last year? Are you satisfied? Any disappointments?

I will be using them for both home theater and music (mostly jazz vocals and classical).

Any suggestions or recommendations are welcome.

 

[jcPanny]

Bookshelf shootout

Not familar with Ohm, but AH is working on a shootout of high end bookshelf speakers from RBH, Ascend, and hopefully a few others.

For a high end 2 channel or HT system, you might also consider the Onix Strata Minis or Onix Referance line from AV123.com.

 

[cornelius]

Hi Cawdor - I've had a pair of MicroWalsh Talls for about 2.5 years now.

Have you read these reviews?

http://www.sixmoons.com/audioreviews/walsh/micro.html
http://www.sixmoons.com/audioreviews/ohm/ohm.html

The second review is not about the Micros, but still sheds some light on Ohm speakers in general.

Considering their strengths, and their price, I have no complaints about the Micro Talls. If I had to be VERY nit-picky, I'd say that the upper registers could be a little more refined - but this is comparing the speakers to models that cost a LOT more! The overall strengths - mid-range resolution, wide sound-stage - side to side and front to back, big sweet spot, bass, easy placement, small size, future upgrades,... in the end, outweigh this minor pick!

Your room size will dictate which model to choose - the designers at Ohm will help you with that decision, they are great to deal with, and will not sell you something that you don't need.

 

[billnchristy]

I do not own any but I was looking at the micro shorts because it is a cool concept.

I wrote asking a question and the president and owner of the company wrote me back. (which is cool, but something you can also get from AV123 and probably other ID companies).

Anyways, the thing that impressed me was the in home trial period (45 or 60 days cant remember) + if there is anything you want done to them after that period you can send them back and they will modify them for you...very cool.

I guess it is worth ordering a pair to check out.

 

[Cawdor]

Cornelius,

I have read both of those reviews and another I found in The Audio Critic #29.

What speakers did you have before you went with the MicroTalls? How much of an improvement did you perceive?

Here is my problem: As I said, my speakers are over 30 years old. I paid $400 for them in 1975. The MSRP was $600. Adjusted for inflation, that makes them $1600 to $2400 speakers. Every few years I go shopping for speakers, and while I like what I hear, I never hear anything that sounds that much better than mine. Certainly not enough to justify the purchase. Saturday I listed to some Paradigm Studio 60s. While I liked them, they weren't $1800 better than the speakers I have now.

I may have to order the Ohms to try them. Under Ohm's home trial, I'm responsible for the shipping costs if I return them, which is about $200.

 

[cornelius]

Hey Cawdor - Wow, in '75 I was listening to my dad's Fisher tube integrated, and tube tuner with Fisher speakers and turntable. That was a great system, and I wish I still had it. It would probably happily stand up to many of today's newer systems...

Before the Ohms, I had a pair of Q-Series Kefs and psb Image floorstanders. The improvement was surprising - there was that big sweet spot and open sound-stage, but what I wasn't expecting was the huge benefit of the higher crossover with the Ohms. The mids are beautiful! I think this is why these speakers are so involving, and what a lot of today's designs lack. Because of the in-home trial (I think it's 120 days) I was able to compare lots of live recordings, and the naturalness of the Ohms was amazing. Many of the recordings were made by me, in very familiar rooms - the Ohms brought me back to those gigs - that's a quick impression that I got from the MicroWalshes. Now I even use them for movies and TV, and they work great with dialogue/SFX...

Thanks for the Audio Critic link, I was looking for that review a long time ago, but it was unavailable. Bound for Sound also has a favorable review, issue #156 - March 2004.