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

Thought I'd resurrect this thread to share a bit. Like many others I've had a lot of free time on my hands, especially this winter, and decided to revisit some past purchases. So, of course, the MicroWalsh Talls had to make an appearance. I tried various components with them (it was a swap-fest) to find just the right synergy. This is where I landed:

Sonore microRendu
MHDT Lab Pagoda
Marantz HD-AMP1

There were a couple of surprises along the way. First, I didn't think the HD-AMP1 (35/70 wpc) would be powerful enough to really make the Talls sing. It is. This integrated is by no means SOTA but based on the older Hypex UcD technology. It sounds wonderful and makes me even more curious about the latest class D amps. As @mapman and others have said for years, Ohm's love class D, and I couldn't agree more.

The other surprise came from putting the Pagoda in the mix. It elevated the sound quality well beyond my past experience with these speakers. Rich tone, clarity on top, beautiful mid-range, and a nicely balanced low end. I would expect a tube preamp to make such a difference, but a tube-buffered DAC? Yeah, but there it is. 

Finally, setting up the Talls took no time at all .. dead center image, vast sound stage, wide sweet spot, etc. I had truly forgotten how unique and enjoyable the Ohm's are. Glad I held on to them.

Good to know mega wattage isn't necessarily a must-have with Ohm's. My class D amps all double into 4 ohms as well and each do pretty well driving the MicroWalsh Talls. The lowest wattage amp, a Fleawatt TPA3116D2 (25/50 wpc), won't go loud but does an admirable job within its limits.

Class D and tubes. In hindsight, I wish I tried it sooner.

@t8kc .. curious how you're managing bass? External x-over?

@t8kc .. thanks. My curiosity stemmed from this statement in particular:
 

The speakers seem to perform better now that the sub is taking over the bass load.

So, if I understand you correctly you're going from amp -> sub -> 4XO's and using the sub's crossover. Is that correct? Never tried that method but I've been curious if it works well. I use an old Outlaw ICBM-1 active crossover for bass management, a leftover from my home theater days. BTW, I have a pair of the MicroSubwoofer 10's. I was surprised Ohm is no longer offering them.

BTW, I just noticed this thread has nearly 15 million views. Incredible. See what you started @rebbi !

IIRC when I bought my subs and spoke with John about them he mentioned importing them from China but "tweaking" the electronics and doing the veneer etc. in Brooklyn. I was fortunate enough to hit a great sale on them. Hard to beat for the price.

However, several very popular "private" web reviewers (Guttenburg and Zreviews come to mind) have become fans and given rave reviews in recent years.

Rave reviews indeed. Z's in particular was rather enthusiastic. No doubt both peaked a lot of interest as of late. I'm glad for John and company, the accolades are well-deserved.