Thanks Mapman - I'll have to give it a try sometime. I think I have a great combo amp/wise, so a tube DAC sounds like a nice tweak... |
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I've had mine for 4 years - great speakers:
plus:
small footprint
sound stage
bass
midrange purity
sweet spot
customer service/upgradeability
easy to place
musical
non-fatiguing
affordable
minus:
not quite as pretty as some others
best to stay away from overly live rooms |
I have the remaster from 1999. Amazon has it available... |
In my experience, the sound doesn't bounce around so much, as the room is "energized" by the sound that comes from the speakers (I think John Potis used that term). In other words, as Ohm used to advertise years ago, the back wall of the room just disappears.
Although the Ohms aren't hyper detailed - I heard, or rather saw, the placement of the instruments in an orchestra with the Ohms in my room. They don't have that Hi-Fi, super detailed sound with images floating in space - it's more tactile than that.
The non-fatiguing aspect - I don't think of the speakers as warm, but smooth. But not smooth in the sense that you're missing out on the performance, just natural, I guess... I think it's the fact that the the tweeter crosses over so high - the mid-range is not affected. |
Have fun auditioning! Take advantage of the 120 days - really let 'em break in.
Finish-wise, I think they look great. I think the black ones will look really nice, and they can hold their own in any decor. I just did a major renovation - custom cabinets... and my Ohms look great in the newly renovated space (mine are walnut).
If you have questions along the way, just let us know, and call John at Ohm! |
Mine arrived only in bubble wrap... |
Enjoy, Rebb! Keep posting you're impressions, and give 'em time to settle in... |
Mine didn't come with any kind of manual - I emailed John if I had a question - he always emailed back quickly.
If the room is live and they're close to the back wall, they can generate lo end - try to keep the speakers away from the back wall, but experiment. In my case, I tuck them about a foot away for casual listening/TV, but move them out for critical listening (equal triangle). Like you said, they're very easy to move around, so that helps. |
Rebbi, I'm really glad that the Ohms are working out for you so far!
Bass - for a quasi-full range driver, all Ohms go deep, but not at the expense of definition, or naturalness. John at Ohm says that people think subs are built into his speakers...
The depth and presence isn't only available on great recordings! When I was in the demo period with mine, I played some live recordings of my band, recorded very simply, with one mic. I found firstly, the Ohms didn't color the sound frequency-wise, but also, you got a real sense of the venue too! Pretty cool... |
Micros + Cyrus 8vs2 (70 watts, conservative) |
Slight thread digression, but Mapman, adding a tube DAC is an interesting idea. I was recently looking at the Paradisea +. Right now, I have a modified LiteAudio DAC AM and it's been working nicely, but I'm sure can be improved upon.
What do you notice most about the tube DAC and the Ohms? I always thought Ohms wouldn't need tubes, because I thought of tube gear as taming many of today's overly bright speakers... which the Ohms are not! |
NIce, glad you're starting to break them in - LIke Mapman said, looks like you'll be tweaking for a little while, as they settle. Have fun... |
Rebbi - You've been pulling out lots of great recordings - it is a great feeling when you get the most out of them.
Since these conversations on the Ohms began, I've been listening to my speakers with a more critical ear again, also pulling out older recordings. I must say that these speakers have saved me from having to spend money every year in search for something better. I usually grow tired of something after a very short time, but after 4 years, these MT's keep delivering the goods. |
Rebbi - you are definitely caught up in the trade-off-world... The Ohm's neutrality is what won me over, you'll have to decide on which speaker sounds more musical to you - and one that you can live with for the long term. |
Rebbi - Sounds like you're really taking advantage of the demo process - not something you can do in a store!! That would make sense that you're getting more of the tweeter, with the speakers farther apart. |
I picked up my speakers directly from them, and saw their digs... It's just like the pictures, and all of the guys who work there are super nice. While I was there, John was telling me that a certain microphone company uses Ohms, due to their neutral character (he wouldn't mention which company).
Years ago I remember someone remarked how John sent a tweaked pair of Ohms to accommodate their particular space requirements. I think the upgradeability is really a plus.
BTW, have you guys checked out the Ohm upgrade review that John Potis wrote? It also sheds some light on what Ohms are all about... |
Winegasman, This is another interesting comparison! Once I heard time coherent speakers, I had a tough time going back to most dynamic speakers. I listened to Meadowlarks and Vandersteens, and I liked how the music spilled into the room, drawing me in, instead of being fired at my ears. But like you said, the sweet spot can be small. The Ohms remind me of time coherent speakers, but with a sweet spot that allows more than one person to listen. |
In one of my emails to John Strohbeen, he said that he preferred amplifiers with high dynamic power ratings into low impedences. He said that the MWT dips to about 4 ohms at the low frequency cut off, but it's above 8 most of the time.
Just a little more info from the field - When I switched from a McIntosh MA 6200 to my current Cyrus 8vs2, I noticed extended bass with a lot more control. I'm sure there are a lot of factors, but one that I keep thinking of, is the high damping factor of the Cyrus... |
Rebbi - Happy New Year, and congrats on your decision. Although it cost you more $, that was great that you held on to the Totems and went through the demo process a little longer.
Like you said, so much back and forth (sometimes very heated) is just different tastes. But I think this thread was a great testament to Ohm's ability to really deliver - Totems are no slouches, I've heard them all.
If you can, please share some insights on the second set of drivers that John sent you, and let us know what you decide on.
Winegasman, the Ohm's ability to handle piano is something that I've heard from other listeners - there's even an old thread here somewhere that mentions it. Besides the room-filling sound, IMO, the crossover-less midrange really makes a difference for a more natural sound... |
I was going to mention John's passing on this thread... His review was the only resource at the time, for me. Like the rest of you, he answered my emails and helped me decide on the Ohms. |
Check out Ellingotn's live at Newport double CD. Amazing!!
The horns and the kick drum particularly come across on the Ohms... |
I emailed John after the '07 RMAF, this was his response about Blue Circle:
Hi Neil,
Yes, we are going to be making them for Gilbert. I was at the show getting consumer feedback before gearing up for production. Several people said we had the most natural, accurate sound at the show and everyone was amazed at the imaging.
Good Listening!
John |
I'd like to hear the Penny someday!
Hope you're enjoying the 100s..! |
Rebbi - Sending positive thoughts your way - hope he's doing ok!
-Neil |
Hang in there Rebbi. There'll always be time to listen to some music... Awaiting your reports - but no hurry... |
Bondmap - I have MWT's, and I auditioned 1C's a few years ago. I'm a Vandy fan, but I chose the Ohms.
Image depth was one of the things that I gained with the Ohms. As mentioned, the overall presentation is a little behind the speakers. Vandys were the first speakers that I heard that had that front to back imaging that made instruments sound real. The Ohms do it too, with much easier placement and a much larger sweet spot.
It is very easy to get the speakers to disappear, since owning them, it's very hard for me to like conventional speakers, like I used to. The music spills into the room, and never sounds like it's emanating from a box... |
congrats - when do you get 'em? |
Awesome P! I remember playing some old Yes on my Micros and hearing the music in a different way than I had ever heard it before. |
Hey P - Interested in hearing the results with the Parasound gear. When I switched amps last year, the bass got a lot deeper. In my room (12x25), I pretty much have enough bass - maybe I'll try hooking up my sub to find out, but I think the neighbors will have a problem with it... |
John is great - I sent him specs of a few different amps, and he gave me advice on how each one would do with my MWT's. It's really fun being able to get direct advice from the designer, I couldn't think of dealing with any other speaker company. |
Marty,
I don't think John does shows. I think they're content over at Ohm, quietly going about building speakers. The last I heard of John at a show, was RMAF in '07 at the Blue Circle booth. He was there getting consumer feedback on the Penny, before production... |
Marty - I was thinking the same thing while going from room to room at the HE Show in New York. I went after owning the MWTs for a year or two and had a good barometer with some hours in on the Ohms.
The thing I walked away with was that the spacious sound of the Ohms is achievable with regular old cone 'n dome speakers... It just takes a lot more $... I heard some speakers that I liked (although many of them still sounded 'hi-fi' to me) but they were pretty pricey and the sweet spot was always small. The rooms are not great sounding, but I think the Ohms would be more forgiving than what I heard. I'd like to hear the Blue Circle Penny... |
J - I started out with an MA6200 on my MWTs, then upgraded to a Cyrus 8vs2 and the speakers went up a notch in performance. Deeper bass, more detail... Surprised to hear Bill Evan's piano sounded tinny - his touch is anything but that. Plus, I always dig how the Ohms resolve piano.
Keep breakin' 'em in! |
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Hey Bondmanp! I really like Vandys, and I'm an even bigger Ohm fan (I chose MWTs over the 1C).
There IS some kind of deal out there for you. They're a great investment. The thing I like about Ohms, is all of the money I've saved by buying them when I did. Otherwise I'd have been on the speaker merry-go-round for the last 5 years... |
Too bad about the delay, it'll be worth the wait, though.
Who's Paul Mason? |
Hey Bond - I never had the ability to compare the vandys and Ohms in the same room - but I demoed the vandys quite a bit, when I was interested in a pair of Meadowlark Kestrels, a few years ago. Those two speakers where in the same room, and it was that demo period that hooked me on time-coherent type speakers.
The Ohms have that same, open, effortless, natural sound (IMO). I've never seen the step response test of a pair of Ohms (would be interesting to see) - but I emailed John and he said that the drivers are mounted to be in time from the listener and the supertweeter has a simple low pass filter to keep the two drivers "in phase".
If I ever need subs, I'd most-likely go for the vandy subs in stereo. |
Rebbi - I'm just throwing out ideas, others here might have better recommendations, but 3 things you could try:
1.An NAD - C -375BEE - (150W)
2.Switch to seperates - Maybe something like Audio by VanAlstine - you can put together a tube pre with a solid state amp.
3.Send your integated to Underwood hifi: http://www.underwoodhifi.com/mod_unison.html |
Hey Marty - I'm finally starting to get into Richard Thompson - he was on Elvis Costello's show a couple of weeks ago - he was amazing... |
Rebbi - Tchad Blake is GREAT!! He's done some amazing recordings with Mitchell Froom - An album that sounds great on my Ohms, is Colossal Head, by Los Lobos. An incredible album that Blake and Froom collaborated on...
It sounds like the Manley/Canto combo is working for you. I think that rig will be hard to improve upon, without getting into crazy $$$! |
Thanks for the RT suggestion, I'll definitely check it out! |
When we get to 999, we I think we should honor Rebbi with the 1000th post... :) |
Rebbi - It sounds like you gave the Ohms a listen for a long time, but it's you're time to move on. Once in a while I get the bug to try something else, but it passes. You have to try things out, glad to see you found another speaker that suits you.
I'd have to guess that because your room is on the live side, the Ohms, as great as they are, are less forgiving than more directional speakers. I've owned psb's before and also liked them a lot - nice speakers!
The truth of the matter is, I've been hitting the audio forums a lot less than I used to - with the exception of this thread, so thanks Rebbi! |
Ron, I'm also in NYC, I've had my MWT's in a couple different rooms in my apartment, and never tweaked a thing. I think it's more about the sound of the room, vs. where you're sitting. As long as your room isn't too live, the MWT's are the best small speaker! The MWT's drop to about 4 ohms at the low frequency cut-off, but are over 8 most of the time. If you have questions about compatibility, ask John over at Ohm. |
Hey Ron, That's too bad about the bass - I've always thought of the MWTs as a great apartment speaker. I'm in a 12x20 room and my MWTs have tons of bass. My amp is a 70 Watt Cyrus 8vs2 - not a lot of power, but when I replaced my McIntosh integrated, I noticed much deeper bass with the Cyrus.
I've also simplified my set up recently. I really wanted to go tubes (I was looking at Rogue and Manley Labs) - but I didn't want to give up the Ohms, so I'm sticking with SS for now... |
Kristian makes some good points - but the pro worlds and civilian worlds are very different. I listen to studio monitors all day long, and I'd never want a pair at home. I've heard every kind of passive and active monitor in studios all around NYC, but my living room is not a control room or mastering lab.
I've had my Ohm's since '04, I immediately knew they were great when I heard them, and I've had no reason to replace them. I love active monitors, and rely on them, but at home I don't want my head in vice, and my wife would kill me if I started installing room treatments. The Ohms are the best balance of neutrality and user friendliness that I can live with.
I don't think passive speakers are outdated - especially considering that there are many more passive designs to try than active - the only active monitors that I've heard are all cone 'n dome. When Ohm makes active speakers, I'll sell my amp... |
Here's a review of Blue Circle's speaker that uses a Walsh driver. Interesting to read the reviewer's impressions of mid range resolution and soundstage. BC made a good decision to enlist Ohm...
http://www.soundstage.com/equipment/bluecircle_bm2.htm |
I'd be curious to check out Shahinians, particularly the Compass. I'm in the area and I've been in touch with Vasken, so maybe sometime I'l get an audition. If I do, I'll report back...
I have a feeling I'd like the Compass, the only problem is they're larger than the MicroWalsh, and a lot more expensive (I think 4 or 5 times the price). |
What's the first equation?! it looks familiar...
Funny, I've been looking into Wyred4Sound the last couple of days. Good reviews on their amps and the DACs look good too.
The W4S amps look like a nice combo with Ohms... |
