Ohm Walsh Micro Talls: who's actually heard 'em?

Well, I've just found this thread. Around '04 I was looking for some new speakers. I first bought a pair of Shahinian Obelisks- new. My rig was McIntosh MCD205/C45/MC252. Cut to the short, the Shaninians had a mid-range suck out I wasn't willing to live with, so I sold them and took a not too bad hit financially.

I tried the Ohm 100 (current model at that time) based on their in-home trial policy as I didn't want to get burned again. The 100s were chosen as they were the recommended the right size for my room.

All I could say was "Wow!!" Incredible sound for around $1400 IIRC- a fraction of what the electronics cost! I had owned/sold/reviewed about 35 pairs of speakers (up to $10k) and listened to at least that many more speakers in 35 years of audio and the Ohms were my personal favorites. They handled all types of music well and played loud, soft, in between. The Ohms did it all. Even when paired with much more expensive McIntosh electronics, they held their own. I was in nirvana.

As things go a number of events: a move, adopting 5 yr old twins, mother-in-law moving in resulted in my losing my music room. I now had to use the family room for music. The Ohm 100 were way to small and I couldn't afford the $$$ for a new larger pair (my audio "mad money" was now going for the kids' educ, inevitable braces, etc). I ended up selling them and building some nice corner speakers using GPA 604 and I enjoy them, but often wonder what the new Ohms would sound like.

I still believe the Ohms are one of the best speakers out there and when you factor in their low prices, they are a steal.

Happy New Year everyone.

Thanks for all your kind words. We are still filling orders from last year; but expect to be up-to-date in the near future.

Thanks again,

John Strohbeen

Thanks John.

One of these days, perhaps before too long, I will test the waters with the latest drivers....

Sndsrtaud: FWIW, I upgraded to a used McIntosh C220 tube-hybrid preamp last summer. At full list price new, this preamp alone lists for more than my Ohm Walsh 2000s ($4000 vs. $2800). Am I becomming a Linnie, focusing on source and front end gear? Perhaps, but the Ohms really do punch above their weight, and I can't imagine upgrading to other speakers unless I win the lottery. The biggest shock was the Ohm's ability to highlight the differences in digital cables I mentioned above. I now have come to understand that those who say cable is cable are either hard of hearing or lack the speakers and gear of sufficient resolution to allow hearing cable differences.

If you ever want to get back to Ohms, Sndsrtaud, look on this site for used offerings, and talk to John Strohbeen at Ohm about updated drivers in older, refurbished cabinets. The prices on these one-offs can make Ohm Walsh designs even more affordable.

FYI - I have had a lot of "Holy Crap!" moments with my Walsh 2000s. Had another one last weekend.

I was getting ready to box up an old Onkyo Dolby ProLogic AVR, retiring from the den. I wanted to see if was functioning properly first, so I fed it with my MacIntosh C220 preamp and hooked the 2000s to it directly (no subwoofer, full range). WOW! I have never really listened to the 2000s full range much before, but the bass output was amazing. Deep, tight, clean and powerful, subjectively almost as powerful as my Vandersteen 2Wq subwoofers! The rest of the audio spectrum sounded great as well. I ended up listening to some of my Reference Recordings CDs. Although I think my big rig amp sounds better, and the subwoofers to give a nice assist to the amp and Ohm speakers, the difference was not as wide as I would have expected.

Ohm rocks!