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Pick 2... Ohm WMT,ML Source,Zu Druid,Gallo Ref 3.1

I've got my short list down to four speakers, and I need help narrowing these down to two. My plan is to buy the two of them used and sell the set I do not like. I may get one or both of the others down the road, but I only want to start with two.

I've got a Dussun v6i 150w amp with a NOS DAC fed by FLAC files on my Mac Mini in an 11x11 room. Yes an 11x11 room. That's going to be part of the problem. I listen to all sorts of music, but not too much really hard rock or rap.

I'm coming from a pair of Totem Arros and Silverline Minuets before those. I liked the Arros. I found them to be a little too 'boxy' for me, and they never really disappeared. I always had to be in just the right spot to get the big soundstage and even then I could hear the 'box'. Pretty good detail, but they got a little bright when I was in the sweet spot. overall a very good speaker, but they just didn't do it for me.

So this led me to my current quest. The reason I have narrowed my search down to these four speakers is as follows. Not every speaker in the four fill every item I find important.

1) My Small Room - don't want to do monitors, and I'm limited in space and placement.
2) The Box Sound - I hate it. I have craved a room filling, airy sound ever since I heard my first set of Martin Logan Monoliths 20 years ago.
3) Crossovers - the lack of them getting in the way of the music in these speakers.
4) Time-coherence - I still dream of my Dunlavy SC-1s from many years ago.
5) Price - they are all below $2000 used; which is the upper extreme of my budget.

I know the speakers are all unique. The Zu is probably my last choice, but the dynamics, lack of a rear port and wide cabinet may help in my small room (I don't know).

The Martin Logan's concern me with the super narrow listen area and the high crossover frequency.

The Gallos concern me that it might overwhelm the room with bass, and I don't really have room for sound treatment beyond a quilt on the front wall. Everything else about these sound amazing (lack of box, lack of crossover above 150, ESL like tweeter, psudo-omini tweeter and presentation).

The Ohm Concerns me that it will lack detail and have a sloppy presentation. I have heard such great things on the board about these though I'm very interested.

Any help I can get considering my room situation would be great.

Thanks
mailman199

Showing 2 responses by rebbi

rebbi
1,326 posts
 
Mailman199,

I had a pair of Totem Arros briefly. Alhough they are very fine speakers, they didn't "float my boat," either, for many of the same reasons that you cite -- I found them rather bright, and the sweet spot was so narrow in my room that it stressed me out -- that "sitting with your head in a vise" experience.

I went to a pair of Ohm Micro Walsh talls, and then to a pair of Ohm 100's.

Of course, your mileage may vary, but given your room size and the power of your amp, I think the Ohms will be fabulous. Or I'll at least say it's a good bet that you'll be very happy with them. The Micro Walsh Talls really are one of the great bargains of high-end audio. Please do let us know what you think!
rebbi
1,326 posts
 
Do omnis present challenges for room treatment, or do they solve some of it by radiating in all directions?

The Ohm's aren't "true" omnis, and this is by design. The "CLS" drivers deliberatly attenuate output in the rear in order to avoid rear-wall reflections that can confuse imaging and otherwise muddy the sound. One nice byproduct of this is that they don't have to be way, way out into the room, an obvious plus in a room of your size. Also, because they are very easy to move around (no spikes!!!) it's very easy to experiment with positioning, and/or to move them into position when you are listening and out of the way when you're not.
There's no way to know what a given speaker will sound like in your room until you set it up in your room with your associated equipment. Again, with the 120-day Ohm home audition, you can do this with no risk except for the cost of return shipping.
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