Ownership and Review of a pair of Ohm Super Sound Cylinder

I called Mr. Strohbeen and he fixed my speaker over the phone.  He told me to remove the can and see if the wire connector had come lose and switch the can with the other to check the enclosure. Very nice guy to do business with, said if that din't fix it they would send me another pair no problem.   It seems the wire had come lose because I nor my wife no longer hear the rattle/ distortion. I switched the cans back to the original enclosure and they are sounding great. I also ran the room correction and to my ears they sound better without it. With Room correction the Ohm's lose some of their 3D sound they don't fill the room like they do without it. I'll play with it a little more but for now I am enjoying them with room corection off. I am already getting used to the sound of them and I don't think it would matter because my wife absolutely loves them so I can't se them going anywhere. 

It is time for the 6 month summary of the experience our family has had with the Ohm SSC-4900's (referred to as the Ohms from now on). During these 6 months, the Ohms have had every type of music thrown at them, along with dozens of movies in two channel, and finally my kids (who are all grown) playing X-Box and Play Station games.

The Ohms are unlike any speaker we have ever had. We all have biases that "hit us" in different ways. When we first unboxed and put the Ohms into our basement system, my instant bias was that there was no way these "speakers in a can" could deliver detail. I was expecting a diffuse sound with punchy bass from the large driver. This bias turned out to be well off the mark.

The Ohms match or beat any speaker we have had here, and also any that I have auditioned at a high end store. For speakers owned, this includes Legacy Signature SE's ($8000 per pair), Klipsch La Scala II and Klipschorns, VMPS SuperTowers, PSB Stratus Goldi, Onix Reference III's, Infinity IRS Sigmas ($10,000 per pair) and numerous others. In store auditions have included Magic S-5's driven by $50,000 in McIntosh electronics, Magnepan 20.7's, Goldenear Triton Reference and Monitor Audio PL 500 II's. 

The associated system we have is a relatively modest PS Audio M700 monobloc amps (350/700 WPC into 8/4 ohms), Stellar Gain Pre-amp and DAC, and an OPPO 203 universal player. For video, we have a standard Spectrum Cable box. Both the OPPO and the Spectrum are sending a digital signal to the Stellar Gain's DAC using Pangea Coax digital cables. The entire system is about $10,000.

Let's start with detail. On Pink Floyd's The Wall, the song has a background vocal muttering something. On the Ohms, for the first time, those words are quite clear … "You … Yes You … Stand Still Laddy!". The see through quality of the Ohms is incredibly well done, yet the speakers always sound so musical. On the same disc, the guitar work on Mother is natural, and the bass depth of the guitars is palpable. 

To come up with one particular arena in which the Ohms shine would be almost impossible. Every disc we have is played with a deep, wide soundstage, a realistic spectrum starting at about 28 Hz and up to well above one's hearing abilities, and never a hint of harshness. The Ohms are a music lover's dream. They can rock with the best of them, handle male and female vocals with all the emotion intact, and are the type of speakers that make one look for reasons to lose a couple of hours listening.

They also are a tremendous experience for watching video - whether from DVD or from the Cable Box. One experience from earlier this year was watching golf after walking 18 holes with some friends. The microphone was picking up the gallery of golf fans, and one could easily hear comments from the audience members, sometimes coming what seemed behind me. Regular television is actually enhanced by these speakers. 

So - what are the caveats? The Ohms need power - good, clean power - to drive them. They won't rock in the way the Klipsch Heritage line can. Personally, I would recommend nothing short of a good 200 WPC amp to drive them. They are not the speakers that you crank for your buddies while showing them off. They are the speakers you buy because you want to experience something that is close to what you experience live. Just don't expect 120 dB in output at the listening position. Even with that Caveat, we have a pair of Stereophile Class A Klipsch La Scala II's here, and it is the Ohms to which I turn for the best music performance. 

A good subwoofer will add to the bass depth. I am a bass-aholic, and even with the knowledge that a subwoofer will add to the experience, for 6 months, we have run the Ohms without a sub, and we just plain love them. 

On a personal note, to everyone who has owned Ohms for years, and a couple of you, Decades, thanks for participating in this thread. Let's keep the conversation going. This thread has evolved from one person's long term review to a thread of Ohm owners adding their experience and expertise to the thread. You guys all are amazing! 

If anyone has a question, please ask. One of us will hopefully be able to help. 

For now, Terminator 2 is starting on cable. The Ohms are already making it better - it's a wall of sound. Time to enjoy !! 

Craigsub, thanks for the detailed 6 month ownership summary.  Curious to find out more about your conversation with John on subwoofers.  I have a pair of old Fs and am trying to decide between just updating the drivers or getting the F-5015s with the intergral subs.  The large size of my center console would place subs outside of the main speakers instead of between them if I purchased one or more separate, non-integral sub(s).  Also debating going without subs to save the $$$.

Michiganbuckeye (yesterday was confusing for you??) … The subwoofer conversation started as a conversation about the F-1015's and the SSC-4900. I believe the F-5015's are about $11,000 to the SSC-4900's $4900. The $6100 difference is pretty large.

I was leaning towards the F-5015's, but John was looking for exposure in something that more people could afford. We discussed the subs I have here - including one from Rythmik, one from Power Sound Audio and the Axiom. The fact that all crossover and slopes are done in the digital domain, plus the response to 13 Hz anechoically, led John to give the nod to the Axioms with his speakers.

If you upgrade your speakers, adding a sub for the 10 to 30 Hz range will make a lot of sense. That being said, the F-5015's look awesome. Either choice will probably be worth the time and money. Has John given you any suggestions yet? They are running a Black Friday deal now (got a couple of emails about this) - maybe he can get you a deal on the 5015's. 

Thanks Craig,

Nice comments and review.

Are you planning on setting up a center and surrounds from OHM?

Will the sub be as a .1 for theater use only, or are you thinking of setting it up line-level and crossing it at the sub?

Always interested as to how people integrate their 2 channel and surround systems.