Bloated speakers/weight wise

(I also should mention though, that I'm one of those who feel listening at unnaturally low levels, while sometimes unavoidable, does constitute its own form of distortion that renders reproduction less lifelike. Of course the same thing goes for listening too loud as well.)

I would think most speakers are designed for accuracy at the realistic listening volume. I remember talking to John at Ohm Acoustics many years ago about the different models he had back then and he said that he has this particular model that sounded really good a low listening volume. He also said that he did not understand why this was so, he not intentionally designed it to do that, but it also sounded good at realistic levels. I do not remember the model, but it was not a Walsh and I doubt if it's being made at this time.

Finding a speaker that sounds 'good' at low levels is notoriously tough, but it is also rarer to find a speaker that can play at truly lifelike levels on large-scale material without seriously faltering than most audiophiles seem to assume. (My own speaker accomplish neither.) Either that, or probably most of us almost never listen at truly lifelike levels, but speakers that aren't large, driven by amps that aren't high-powered -- both of which are common in this hobby -- can't really get that done for the most part. Which is okay, because most listening rooms can't support that kind of volume anyway. Of course, if you mainly listen to a guy singing and playing an acoustic guitar, or string trios, the lifelike volume factor doesn't present as much of a problem. I coined a term I use to describe this theoretical factor (to myself, 'til now), "absolute amplitude distortion". But this concept really only applies to acoustic material, since there is no truly 'correct' volume setting for multitracked studio rock/pop, music which always depends upon electronic sound reinforcement in live performance. Still, no matter what kind of material you're playing, if you listen too low you'll miss musical detail and impact, and if you listen too loud you'll hear non-musical detail that's not an intended part of the performance, and most systems will throw the tonal balance off-kilter in either case.

speakers that aren't large, driven by amps that aren't high-powered -- both of which are common in this hobby -- can't really get that done for the most part.

I once owned full range electrostatics's (acoustat 2+2's), I did not keep them long. Did not like that small sweet spot and missed the dynamics. So I got my first pr. of Ohms, they are very easy to live with cause to me they sound like a hybrid, near electrostatic sounding with dynamics plus a very large listening area. I am a Ohm fan now.

Now to the quote above. I came across this particular Blue Circles amp. review, and after reading it I called John at Ohm's again and flat out asked him what amp. he would recommend for the Walsh's I have to get the most out of them. Now mind you; I have been using a ss 200 wpc at 8 ohms, 375 at 4 ohms and when I played music at higher volumes, the sound became fatiguing and earitating so I thought the amp. may be clipping. Well anyway John recommended the Sunfire Signature, and he said, make sure it's the Signature. What a difference this kind of power makes on these speakers. There just a clear and keep there composure at higher very high volumes, so high I can't here myself take (like I take to someone in a quiet room).
It was reading this review that prompted me to call John.

http://www.soundstage.com/revequip/bluecircle_bc8.htm

You may be interested in what is said when lots of power is fed to Walsh speakers.

I haven't heard a Walsh Ohm in years and don't know much about them, but maybe the unique traveling-wave vs. traditional pistonic principle of driver operation works well at high SPLs?

I would like to shear one more thing. Unlike most setups, the Walsh sound much better to me on the long. The room is 24'x 14.5', ceiling height is 8.5' and the speakers are 12' apart (center to center). If I sit center stage, I am 12' from each speaker, (great sound stage). Now if I listen 5' off center to my right, the same sound stage remains, but shifts to the lift.

Now here's the real "kicker"; I have another pr. of Walsh, the smallest ones they make; I think there call the 'mini shorts', they are used as the rears. To explain what the rear speaker do, there are two links below that explain this.

Here is my personal experience of the difference the rear speaker make...Without the rears, there is a great sound stage in front of me. With the rear speakers, there is a great sound stage in front of me, PLUS the room is FILLED with music and I am not aware of the rear speakers playing, but when I shut them off, all the music shifts in front of me; there is overwhelming difference and this is done with no extra electronics; one, two ch. amp. is all that's needed.

Sorry about talking so much about my system, but I wanted to shear this with with all that may read this.

Here are the two links that explain this.

http://www3.nbnet.nb.ca/fass/index_htm2.html

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/4569074.html