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

I use Bel Canto ref1000m amps with my OHM F5 S3 and Walsh 100S3 speakers.

These are the bomb for those I would say.

Have not heard others with OHM, but I have heard of very good results with OHM and Wyred from others, particularly audiogoner Mamboni, who is perhaps the most knowledgeable and well rounded listeners out there.

500w/ch ref1000ms work well with any OHM it would seem, but is probably overkill for 100s. THey are perfect for my 5s.

For 100s, you can easily get away with "only" 250w/ch in most all cases I would say. That will help lower the cost.

In my experience, larger OHM Walshes in particular benefit from power, current and damping. Modern good quality Class D amps tend to deliver all these in spades in a small and affordable package.

D-sonic is another Class D line worth considering on a budget.

Due to high damping in particular, Class D amps can come across as somewhat lean in some cases when this is not called for. FOr example, this is the case running my little Triangle Titus monitors of the BCs. The resulting sound can be a touch towards the lean and bright side, however over tweaks like adjusting speaker location relative to floor can help even out even this case, so anything is possible with Class D if done right I would say.

Hi Joekapahulu

I currently have the Ohm Walsh MicroTall SEs and I'm currently powering them with a pair of Red Dragon M1000 Mk I Monoblocks. With a tube front end I'm VERY happy with this combination. Music is loud and clear and I have bass that I'm very happy with. During the colder months I use a Jolida JD-502P with the Ohms and I'm happy with the results. I do notice a little difference with the bass when I have the Jolida in place. It isn't as tight.

Best of luck in the search.

I use 180w/ch TAD Hibachi monoblocks currently in my second system with teh OHM 100S3s and have used these amps as substitutes for BCs in my main system as well.

These are SS amps made to sound more tube like, lower input impedance, lower damping etc. Sound with these is much different, bass not as tight, etc. That can work for or against you depending on room acoustics. Room acoustics in the room these are in are less than optimal, but not bad.

I much prefer the BC Class D amps with my 100s when I use them in my office, which is more optimal acoustically as well. Concrete foundation with thin pad and carpet there, versus typical plywood flooring and carpet in family room where my second system is. Bottom firing bass ports on Walsh speakers can interact strongly with floors like that.

SO I think BC Class Ds are much better overall for OHMs than the TAD Hibachis, though neither are a slouch by any means. When losser, fatter, whatever you call it bass is called for, amps with damping factor well under 50 might have an edge.

Thx for the feedback. It might be time to check out class d more deeply. The idea of a tube are or buffer with it is conceptually intriguing. I was looking at various Rogue integrateds awhile back but got scared off over reports on quality being variable. There are no techs in HI and shipping stuff for repairs gets really costly. My last experience with that added $400 round trip for a $1200 piece of gear. Reliability is as important as sound especially on heavy pieces.

Just a different take on the Hibachi vs class D question.

I personally prefer the 100s with the Hibachis vs my Bel Canto s-300 class D integrated for precisely the same reasons Map prefers his Bel Canto. Run full-range, I like the warmer sounding Hibachis to the tighter Bel Canto. There's certainly a different model class D amp in play here, but I think this one comes down to room/system/personal taste.

Just one more data point.