Anybody listen to Ohm Walsh speaker w/digital amp?


Digital amps have such a "grip" on loudspeakers I couldn't help but wonder what Ohm Walsh speakers sound like with digital amps. I'm currently running my Ohm Walsh 200MkII's with a Denon AVR-3805 surround receiver. Anybody heard such a set-up with say a PS Audio, or Bel Canto, digital amp???
128x128condocondor

Showing 2 responses by jmelvin

Hi everyone .. been lurking here awhile with not much to contribute until now. I've been slowly moving away from home theater and back to 2 channel. I've lived with the MicroWalsh Talls for 5 years now (obviously love them) and just replaced my older Marantz SR-8000 receiver with a PS Audio Trio A-100 amp and P-200 preamp.

After much research and some email exhange with John S. from Ohm I took a chance on this gear. John did not recommend this or any other manufacturer specifically. What I asked of him in particular was his impressions of ICE amps with the MWTs. He was very encouraging and liked the match alot.

After listening to the new amp/pre for a few weeks now, I can honestly say for me it has been exactly the change I was hoping for. For the record, please understand that I'm not well versed in audiophile-speak and have not been exposed to alot of high end gear like many of you. With that in mind, the PS Audio sound seems quite neutral to me compared to the Marantz sound. The soundstage didn't seem to get deeper or wider, but taller (this was stunning actually). The bass .. cleaner, tighter, louder .. in fact everything I'd hoped for .. more authority and punch at the lower extremes. Effortless is another word that comes to mind.

Needless to say I'm a very happy camper right now. The amp/pre stays. The MWTs .. I just can't give them up.
In regards to clean power & current .. after reading this during my search, I knew I wanted an amp able to double its power into 4ohms. I did look at Bel Canto, Nuforce, & a slew of others. Point being .. my Marantz receiver actually rates slightly higher in WPC than the Trio .. yet the Trio's ability to deliver more current seems a likely reason for achieving that effortless sound I'm hearing .. yes?!

Condocondor .. thanks for the warm welcome. Cullen Circuits seems to be pretty well known and respected. I found them during my search (thanks for the link anyway!) and in fact my preamp shipped directly from them. By the way, I was very tempted to pull the trigger for the modded units, but really wanted to hear them in their "virgin" state. This way if I decide to mod them later I will have a reference. Cost was a factor as well.

About 5 years ago I bought a heavily modded Jolida 301 tubed hybrid from Bill Baker called the RAM 301 (mods designed by Dan Wright) at a nice discount. Liked it very much by the way, but, I had never heard the Jolida in it's original state .. thus I'm clueless if this was really the great upgrade as reported. Live and learn.