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Ownership and Review of a pair of Ohm Super Sound Cylinder

Greetings all - I recently ordered a pair of Ohm Super Sound Cylinder speakers, or SSC-4900's. They are in the middle of the Ohm Walsh lineup, and are about 38 inches tall and the cylinder cabinets about 12.5 inches in diameter.

Specs are listed at 88 dB for a 2.8 V input, and a response curve of +/- 3 dB from 25 to 20,000 Hz. 

This whole process is part of a "high end, high value, USA made two channel system" thread I started a couple of months ago on another forum. The electronics are the PS Audio Stellar Gain Pre-amp/DAC and a pair of PS Audio M700 mono amps.

The PS Audio equipment has already elevated the Axiom M100's and Martin Logan Electro Motion ESL speakers in terms of performance. The Axioms have a "twin" available in Brick and Mortar outlets from Bryston called the A1's. 

For reference, other speakers which we have or still have in house include: Klipsch LaScala II's, Legacy Signature SE's, Infinity IRS Sigmas, Ascend Sierras, PSB Strata Goldi, VMPS Super Towers and a host of other speakers. 

The Ohm Walsh speakers have been something about which I have read since 1977 (the year I got the audio bug), but have never had the chance to experience. The SSC-4900's sell for $4900 per pair, though the name and pricing are coincidental. The "4900" is due to the idea that the speakers are "almost a 5000", but with less controls - one switch vs. 4 for the 5000, but also a lower price.

John Strohbeen, who is he president at Ohm and who has been with them for almost 40 years, was gracious enough to spend an hour talking on the phone about our room, the associated gear, and also that there would be a review thread. It was after this discussion that we decided on the SSC-4900's. 

I am purchasing the speakers, not getting a review pair. They are under the 120 day return policy. John is well aware that my daughter sings opera, my son is adept at classical guitar, and that live music is the reference. He was actually quite pleased about this. 

This will be fun (at least for me), and hopefully informative. Comments are welcome. 

I honestly have no idea what to expect from the Walsh sound. They are so different from other speaker designs that the only thing to do is set them up properly and hear what happens! 
craigsub
mamboni
75 posts
 
@craigsub

As you no doubt know, the bass output of the Ohms will depend to a large degree on their proximity to the front wall - positioning is a compromise between imaging and bass. You must really love your deep bass if you find the SSC lacking as it's low frequency output is similar to my Walsh 5000, being nearly flat in room to 20 Hz! Personally, if I were you I would supplement the SSC with a supersubwoofer to handle the 13 - 20 hz range. Below that you risk shaking your home to pieces!
djones51
4,947 posts
 
Wonerful post mamboni, I hope the 2000’s I ordered give me half the pleasure your 5000’s have given you. May I ask are you still using Rotel for amps? I was a bit surprised when I asked Evan what amps they voiced the speakers with, he didn’t exactly say but did say they really liked the NAD C388 with them. I guess the smaller 2000 speakers not sure that would drive the 5000’s. The other amps he mentioned were modest priced amps as well. Actually this thread  and one other on the OHM' s why I decided to try them. 
mamboni
75 posts
 
I'm now driving the Ohms with the Wyred 4 Sound ST-1000 class D amp and they are an excellent match. As the Ohm 5000s have a nominal 6 ohm impedance and an easy load, the ST1000s are effectively good for 750+ watts per channel - they are never really taxed in my 14 X 17 X 8 bedroom. The room enjoys a fortuitous acoustic as there are three large closets and two alcoves connecting to it, and dormers on one wall for truncated corners. It's an old 1930s house, very solid with plaster walls. There are no audible standing waves - the bass is nicely uniform and extended. And I can play the Ohms as loud as I want at any hour with nary a sound detectable outside. Because the enormous power reserves, the Ohms sound effortless. As it is a short line source it works well in this smallish room. Few loudspeakers of comparable sound output could work well in a small room as the Ohms do. They sound indistinguishable from mini monitors at low volumes.
bondmanp
1,782 posts
 
@djones  - As a happy 2000 owner for 9 years, I expect you will enjoy your new speakers.  But please let them break in as per Ohm's instructions.  And while they work well with a wide range of electronics, they will respond well to improvements in associated gear.
craigsub OP
63 posts
 
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.


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