Ownership and Review of a pair of Ohm Super Sound Cylinder

It just occurred to me to add - the SSC-4900's are scheduled to be produced next week. The review will be on going as the speakers arrive, are broken in, and a series of music and movie selections are used for demo purposes.

All listening, even movies, will be two channel

1extreme - Excellent question. Our room is 44 feet long, 14.5 feet wide, and a little over 7 feet tall. It's a basement room with the classic live end (where the speakers are) and dead end in the back of the room. 

John confirmed that this is ideal for the Omni sound of the Walsh drivers, and this room is my favorite place for music. 

obigny - John described your experience as the norm for the Walsh Drivers. In his own words - the 120 day break in is to get one's self acclimated to the "you are experiencing live" sound that is promised, rather than the speakers needing break in.

michiganbuckeye (Thanksgivings must be fun a your place :) ) ..

The 4900 will have more output in the all important 50-5000 Hz range, which is the primary reason for my decision. The M700 mono amps will deliver about 500 WPC into the nominal 6 ohm load, and based on the specs, should provide close to subwoofer level bass in this compact package.

The finish is Rosewood.

Here is the room:

[IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v171/craigsub/dad1_zpsofm3sgw9.jpg[/IMG]

The floors have a thick pad underneath the also thick carpet, the walls are all 2x6 over block with insulation and the ceilings are acoustic tile. 

Behind the listener is a stairwell that is perpendicular to the length of the room, and it sets up the "dead" side quite well. 

For full disclosure, as we get into next winter (which I hate bringing up as we get close to spring), should the SSC-4900's deliver, we may move up to the 5015's.

dep14 - Please post additional information as you get it, especially if you pull the trigger on some new Ohm speakers for your system. 

What pre-amp / amp set up are you using? 

I received a couple of emails about using a subwoofer with the SSC-4900's. As this process unfolds, we have a Power Sound Audio V-3601 and an Axiom EP-800. Both subs are powerful, with the Axiom being world class to 13 Hz in a sealed design with the "tight" bass audiophiles love.

We will have options to running the SSC-4900's full range with the PS Audio Stellar Gain, and also swapping the PS Audio pre-amp for a Marantz 7703 and crossing the system at 40 Hz.

I just received the newest copy of Stereophile. The PS Audio M700 amplifiers, at $2998 per pair and 350 WPC into 8 ohms / 700 WPC into 4 ohms, made CLASS A in their latest listing.

The Ohm speakers will be driven by some terrific electronics.

We received an email this morning that the Ohms will ship next week. We are getting stoked about receiving the speakers. Does anyone know how to imbed pics here?

Time for an update: the speakers have not shipped yet. They are built, but the Ohm is having a hard time with shipping boxes. Another customer had his damaged during shipping, so they are trying something different for the cylinder speakers.

While I understand the delay, it is disappointing that no one called or emailed to inform the delay. I had to call Ohm a week after the expected ship date. 

I will update when they ship.

I talked to John Strohbeen today, and he is "pretty sure" the speakers will ship on Monday, April 23. The new foam inserts for the boxes apparently working well, and they are back on schedule.

The Ohm SSC-4900's have arrived. They got here on Thursday - There is a thread on Home Theater forum which allows posting pictures, so anyone is welcome to visit that thread. It is under forums, the Loudspeakers and Subwoofers sub-forum. I am not sure posting links to other forums is permitted here. 

Here is a copy/paste of the initial set up and first 3 day's of ownership:

""We ordered the speakers in late February, 2018. It took just over 2 months for delivery, with good reason. The speakers are a new model, and are a cylinder in shape. Ohm was having shipping difficulties, and finally, after several weeks of experimenting, they came up with a solution: Ship the cabinets in 2 separate boxes, the drivers in 2 separate boxes and the grills in their own box, for a total of 5 boxes. 


The cabinet boxes are on the left, the driver boxes in the middle, and the grill tops on the right. There was some final assembly required, which took less than an hour, including unboxing the TRIPLE boxes for the cabinets and drivers. (Note - there is a picture here in the HTF thread)

The drivers were mounted on particle board to further protect them during transit. Assembly was simple - plug the drivers into the main cabinets using the "fool proof" connectors (they won't let you accidentally wire the speakers out of phase), then lining the drivers up with the 7 mounting holes and using the supplied screwdriver and screws to secure the drivers to the cabinet.

Next - the binding posts are under the speakers, and are high quality, easily accepting banana plugs. The Ohms were then placed where the Axiom LFR-1100's were located. For now, the subwoofers are still there, although we will "clean up the area" this week when I have more time. For now, we are using the Ohms in a far less than ideal situation. Here they are as they are now placed: (Note - there is a picture here in the HTF thread). 

Initial listening impressions: The Ohm SSC 4900's are unlike any speaker I have ever auditioned. One of the first things that was noticed about the Ohm's is they present sound from an almost "black" background. The impression is similar to a band starting the music from a blacked out stage. You hear music, but it just seems to be a wall in front of you.

Discs being played already are Roger Waters "In The Flesh", Cowboy Junkies "Trinity Session", Steely Dan "2 Against Nature", Bob Seger "Live Bullet" and Diana Krall, "Live in Paris".

Some initial impressions: One can be sitting outside the left speaker, and STILL get a pretty good stereo image, including hearing the right speaker quite clearly. The soundstage is wide and deep, yet vocalist and instruments are placed with excellent location and imaging. Margot's voice on Trinity Session changes as she is singing to us from varying parts of the stage. Lyrics are also really clear and easier to discern than from other speakers we have had.

Even with all the detail, they are also very musical. With most discs, one has favorite tracks and others that one might skip. The Ohms are immersive to the point that I am never tempted to skip a track.

After 3 days of ownership, they are already impressing.

MB - Eric Clapton's "Unplugged" is playing now, and it is really good stuff. One can easily hear/feel the tapping on the guitar - that weight that an acoustic guitar delivers is coming through with authenticity.

The actual grills are not in place yet. What you are seeing now is the protective grill for the Walsh Driver. The cosmetic grills are still in their boxes. When we get the room reorganized, the grills will be added and more close up pics taken.

This review process will probably go into fall, with all the aspects to discuss. Yes, a subwoofer will eventually be added. It will likely be the Axiom EP800. The EP800 is flat anechoically to 13 Hz and the DSP crossover can be set to a lowpass at 40 Hz without interfering with the full range response of the Ohm's. 

Rlb - All that is required is placing the driver "cage" onto the cabinet and putting in 7 screws per speaker. That part of assembly was less than 15 minutes. AND ... this is the only speaker in the Ohm line that requires this. The rest, with  more traditional "rectangle box", ship fully put together. Ohm is also working on the shipping issue with the drivers already installed in the cylinder speakers. They likely will have this resolved soon.

dep14 - the speakers are "toed in" so they cross now. That picture was just an initial shot with my phone just so people could get a feel for the size. We will be (if I can get my son to help) getting all the subwoofers and other stuff out of the way this coming Saturday and putting the speakers closer to the boundary walls as suggested by John.

The SSC 4900's are being evaluated within the 120 day time period. I have the option of returning them. On day 10, they will be set up in the optimal position, as will the PS Audio amps - we will be replacing the RCA's with XLR connectors and putting the amps on their own, dedicated stands from Pangea. 

Look for "good" pictures from my wife's (her obsession) multi thousand dollar camera. It's a Canon something. 

As the process continues, we will swap out the current 20 feet of 12 AWG wire for 6 foot runs of 10 AWG wire. 

After that, we will be adding the EP-800 subwoofer from Axiom. 

I forgot to answer about he veneer - yes, they are a real veneer now. Ohm will also send samples of different veneers to allow the customer a choice.

Roysq - A lot of info on the driver is available here:

https://ohmspeaker.com/technology/#coherent-line-source-driver

I think the woofer is 12 inches, and the bass is very good. It goes a bit deeper than the Axiom LFR-1100's, which extend to about 31 Hz. 

When you go to the link, the woofer is inverted, and a lot of work went into the design to make it full range, with just a tweeter to augment the highs.

Roysq .... This is not my trying to pick a fight, but rather responding to some of your post.

1. On what are you basing your suspicion that this is an off the shelf driver? 

2. All too often, when we are told about all the wonderful drivers used in a speaker, the speaker does not sound like music. Golden Ear is a great example of this. I have auditioned the Triton Ones in three different showrooms, and none of them sounded like music. They were loud, and clean, but they were not engaging. In one case, a pair of Klipsch Heresy's with a JL Audio Dominion 10 inch sub was in the same room, and was SO much more musical that it wasn't even close. 

When auditioning speakers, I spend a lot of time on vocals and unamplified instruments. I don't think about the drivers. I feel the music. 

This is a nice escape - feeling music. I spend too much time in the objective world of running and consulting in the auto industry. When it's time for music, all I care about is the system that takes me "there".

One cannot see the driver from inside the "can". It is a totally self contained unit with the same mesh on the bottom. Otherwise, I would have snapped a picture. Apologies, I should have mentioned this earlier.

Time for an update - Our opera singing/masters degree in waiting daughter is home for the summer. She was completely astonished at Margo’s voice in the Cowboy Junkies "The Trinity Session". It really is something one has to hear.

Normally, the daughter listens to "Mining for Gold" and leaves. Tonight, she sat and listened to the disc in its entirety. So did I. I was sitting in front of the left speaker, and once again, the stereo imaging and soundstage was outstanding, even from this seat.

My daughter now thinks I need a pair of the larger Ohms so that she can take these.

Snapsc - Well stated. I have been an audio nut since getting a pair of Electro-voice 16B's in 1977. That was also the first time I experienced push selling from an audio salesman. He had the EV's for $169 per pair and JBL L100's for $499 per pair. 

He pretty much told me I was stupid for liking the EV's more than the JBL's. I was 17 at the time, and went elsewhere and bought the speakers I liked.

Spin forward 41 years later, and it's still the same. Everyone told me I HAD to love the Legacy Signatures. I didn't. And this wasn't bias - I loved the Legacies I purchased in 1988. These were just, well, sterile sounding. 

Good science and hard work make for good speakers. I like Axiom because they sound like music. The fact that they build all of Bryston's speakers adds credibility on the street, but doesn't change the sound. The Axiom LFR-1100's are about $5000 MSRP including the DSP. Having heard Magico's, Revels, etc ... along with Golden Ear, the Axioms are the speakers that sound like live music.

The Ohms are doing the same thing. Neither company waxes on about ribbon drivers. Neither does a lot of advertising. Both seem to have a loyal following. I am not a part of that loyal following: If I tried a pair that sounded terrible, I would say so.

The Ohms make me want to listen to more music. They don't add nor subtract from the performance, but they sure do present the performance in the manner which the disc presents it to the speakers.

Bob Seger's Live Bullet is fantastic on the Ohms. Typically, this is outside summer music on a Peachtree Bluetooth speaker. Now it's a fun listen again. 

If you want to be able to tell your friends about how there are ribbon tweeters, sub bass radiators ... etc .. Ohm is not for you. If you want to experience live music, you just might like Ohm speakers.

Our room is pretty close to what John describes as proper for the Walsh designs. It's live on the speaker end and dead behind my listening position. 

Last night, I had some down time and fired up disc 2 of Roger Water's In The Flesh CD. Once again, the soundstage was wide and deep. Those who are familiar with the disc will recognize the track where "HAL" from "2001: a Space Odyssey" is asking Dave to stop. I have heard this disc 100's of times. This time, HAL was floating above, and sometimes, above and behind me. 

In addition, the entire performance locks down the drums well behind the front wall of singers and guitars. When Susannah cuts loose, one can follow her as she walks along the stage, and she is delivered with authority and not a hint of harshness. The Infinity IRS Sigmas added a harshness to her voice that was disconcerting, as did the Legacies. 

Bass was not subwoofer deep, but was tuneful and solid to mid 20's. As I am used to the Axiom's flat to 13 Hz response, my expectations for subwoofer level bass are REALLY deep.

Another win for the SSC-4900's.

Mapman, this thread is a lot of fun. Seeing other Ohm speaker owners posting is an unexpected and pleasant surprise! 

dep14 - over the weekend, I cleaned out the area behind the speakers, so they now have a "clean" live end. Bass is now extending deeper without the "bass dampener" effect of the idle subwoofers. 

We will get some good pics posted this week - my wife is a very good amateur photographer with a proper Canon something camera that cost me about $4000.

Here is a link to the actual page:

https://www.hometheaterforum.com/community/threads/ohm-ssc-4900-ssc-review-thread.357268/

Guys - I loaded another pic of the SSC-4900 that shows its finish. They are not "glossy", but the finish looks good enough that my wife wants to put them upstairs in the family room. She loves the look, even without the grills. 

dep14 - I will get some more closeups done. If you click on the actual picture, it will fill the entire screen. I loaded it at full resolution, which the site shrinks to a thumbnail. You probably have to get an account there if you don't already have one. The pic, when seen on the full screen, really shows the quality of the veneer. It is "quite good" - not spectacular, but they look really good. 

Surprisingly, my wife, who does NOT like most speakers, loves the cylinder shape and the Rosewood finish. 

Roysq - It is passed time for an update. We have listened to a lot of discs, and also have played with the placement. Right now, I am listening to the Grateful Dead's "Fillmore West" CD. As with every other disc, the Ohm's are impressing with stellar detail and depth of soundstage. 

On Fillmore West, the guitars are purposefully played with the tube distortion of the era, and this comes through with exceptional clarity. The Soundstage is outstanding, with instruments often times being heard well outside the speakers. 

Bass is deep and tight, but won't overwhelm one like a subwoofer can. These speakers are wonderful with drums, from snare to bass. 

Then there is the occasional surprise - yesterday, while relaxing and watching golf, I heard members of the gallery talking behind me. It was a cool effect, and also very easy to pick out the words - 2 guys were betting $5 on whether Justin Rose would make a 14 foot putt for a birdie. 

They also play with such low distortion that one can be listening quite loudly and not realize it until someone tries to talk, and you realize you can't hear him/her. 

I would love to put the SSC-4900's into a blind test with some very expensive speakers like the Magico S5 series. They both have a way of delivering sound from a "very black" background. 

dep - it is still on the middle setting. The owner's manual does not tell what the settings do, so I will try different settings and "see" if I can hear a difference on some challenging material. It's probably better to do it this way, as "knowing" what to expect adds bias. 

It's a tough job, writing up a comparison of speakers going back 40 years, and I do plan on an extensive write up this fall - after 6 months of ownership.

Here are some broad thoughts:

1. No speaker we have had here sets a soundstage as do the Ohm's. For example, on Roger Water's "In The Flesh", during "Another Brick", one can clearly hear the audience clapping in sequence to the beat of the kick drum. This clapping takes place to either side of the listener, placing one in the audience. The singers and their instruments are clearly presented across the stage. It's a remarkable experience, and no speaker has come close to this level of immersion, with the exception of the DSP controlled Axiom LFR-1100's.

2. Vocals sound more "live" than with the Ohms than even with the Legacy Signature SE's. My daughter loves to listen to opera on these speakers. The clarity of these speakers continues to amaze. Acoustic Guitar (my son is a terrific guitarist) has that weight that a real guitar has without a hint of bloom.

3. They need power - I recommend a good 200 WPC amp, primarily to avoid any clipping.

The best par of the Ohm's is they make me want to listen to more music. I look for excuses to hide out in the basement high end room so I can listen. 

This is a quick summer night update - I listening to Steely Dan's 2 against nature last night, and it NEVER sounded this crystal clear across all frequencies along with that huge soundstage. This disc does have bass notes that go deeper than the Ohm's can hit, and I am looking forward to adding the Axiom EP800 to the system - it's flat to 13 Hz in an anechoic setting, and the most musical subwoofer I have auditioned. 

Tonight’s disc of choice was "Unplugged" by Eric Clapton. The Ohms are so musical that I find I never want to skip a song - you know how it goes - there are always a couple of songs that you just don’t like, so you hit "next". I am not doing that with these speakers.

Bondmanp - The subwoofer will be fun to add. With the PS Audio Stellar pre-amp, a cool feature is the combo of XLR Balanced out plus RCA out. We will be able to run the Ohm’s full range, and will be switching to XLR out into the M700 MonoBlocs from PS Audio.

Then a full range RCA output will go to the Axiom EP800, which handles all filtering through its DSP. We can set the lowpass to as low as 30 Hz, which should allow for a seamless transition from mains to sub. The plan is to make this a project this fall when we get the first crappy weather weekend. Summer is too short, and my weekends are on the golf course now - but I still sneak away for one disc daily.

Bondmanp ... now we're getting somewhere! What are you doping while listening? :)

Bondmanp - I knew "doping" was a typo, but it was too good to pass up. :)

dep14 - Looking forward to reading about your listening tests with your new Ohms! 

dep14 - Any updates on the ship date for your speakers? 

I am pretty sure you will find it was worth the wait. What is your electronics make up? We have an Oppo 105, PS Audio Stellar Gain Pre-amp/DAC and matching 700 mono amps from PS Audio. It's sonic bliss for under $10,000 delivered. 

dep14 - I have a 1976 vintage Marantz 250M amp that will get a tryout with the Ohms this fall when it's indoor season. 

I would love to hear some Pass Labs amps with the Ohms, too. 

If your speakers didn't ship before the break, I think you will be happy once you finally get them. The frustration is tough while waiting, but I have no regrets. 

Roysq … We are getting close to doing a formal write up on the SSC-4900's. Unfortunately, I don't know of a way to post pictures into this forum. Does anyone know how?

You can look for a formal write up over the Thanksgiving Holiday, when I finally have some time. I bought a "distressed" Chrysler-Jeep-Dodge-Ram dealership in October, 2017, and this summer was a lot more work than I anticipated. 

For now, I can say I absolutely LOVE these speakers. Every chance I get to try new music, I do. And what they do with old rock favorites like Pink Floyd and Supertramp is astonishing. Deep, tight bass. A soundstage that is MASSIVE. The clarity of vocals is world class. 

They are more power hungry than the Legacy Signature SE's or Axiom M100's, but the PS Audio M700's are more than enough - and for under $10,000 for the total system, the PS Audio Pre, M700's and Ohm's are fantastic. 

Mamboni - Thank you for one of the BEST posts I have read on an Audio Forum EVER. I am planning on a final write up to be posted this Sunday, and our experiences are pretty close. In the last 2 months, I have auditioned Maggie 20.7's, Magico S-5's, Monitor Audio Platinum PL500 II Towers ($27,000 per pair) and GoldenEar Triton Reference. 

The Ohm's have the depth of the Maggies, the dynamics of the Magico's, and just lack a bit of bass in contrast to the Monitor Audio and GoldenEar speakers. 

There are no regrets in this purchase, and the Ohms are staying in our system. 

Mamboni - I have an Axiom EP-800 subwoofer that will eventually be added to the mix. It's a dual 12 inch, sealed subwoofer that is flat anechoically to 13 Hz. I have some pretty good measuring hear at the house, and in our room, the unit provides a flat response to about 10Hz.

Even more important, all signal processing is done via DSP, and a low pass can be set at 30 Hz, perfect to match up with the SSC4900's. The bass quality, to my ears, exceeds even the JL Audio Gotham/Fathom series, and this will allow the Ohm's to enter what one would consider "super speaker" territory.

I haven't matched it in yet, as the review was just for the speakers, which do very well to the upper 20's in bass. John and I talked about this last March, and he is honest to the point where he said adding one of his subs would probably not make for better than what the Axioms would do. And this was also done in the context that I was willing to get a pair of the 5015's (with built in 15 inch subs) at the time.

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 !! 

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. 

roysq .. Get the speakers. They will give you decades of great music. Is that not financially responsible for such a modest investment?

Snapsc ... this is a great suggestion. I did dial in the Axiom EP800 subwoofer last fall, and with a 40 Hz crossover, it has taken the listening experience to new levels. I will try to get some more information posted over the weekend. 

Osteopic1 - You might also look at a subwoofer or 2. A pair of subs crossed at 50 Hz will take a lot of the load from your speakers, extend your response to below 20 Hz, and increase both system dynamics AND soundstage.

Subs that would work well without breaking the bank include:

1. A pair of HSU Research ULS-15 Mark II's for about $1600 USD delivered to your door. Extension to 20 Hz. 

2. A single Axiom EP-800 for $2750 less a discount if you call Ian (the owner) directly. Extension to 13 Hz. I use one with a pair of 4900's, and it's incredible. 

3. A variety of other subs that are not quite as musical as the units mentioned above, but still attractive price points. SVS, Power Sound Audio, and entry level REL come to mind.