kichy

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
1 to 3 months

Price Paid:  $200.00 from ebay

Summary:
This review is for Walsh 2s from the late 80s. What can I say? After 12 years of Mirage M5 bipolars I came running back to the sound that I love! I last had a pair of Walsh 3XOs but the essentially similiar Walsh 2s were just what I needed for my current room. I missed the image focus and the natural midrange that were lacking in the Mirages. Sure, the M5s threw a bigger soundstage but it was much more diffuse and , amazingly, the Walsh 2s, with a Sherwood receiver, throw out just about as much bass as the Mirages did with a 250 watt Acurus! I even hooked my little NHT SuperOnes up and they sounded a little closed off and lacked the naturalness of the Walshes. The speakers have it all--sweetness, imaging, image focus, transparency, and a huge sweet spot. They are easy to move, not fussy about placement, and the drivers are protected physically as well as thermally. I found myself digging out all manner of CDs and jumping on the computer to order more music from amazon. And that about says it all..I wish all products were like this.

Strengths:
imaging
soundstaging
image focus
natural vocals
huge sweet spot

Weaknesses:
bass a tad overripe/bloated

Similar Products Used:
Mirage M5si
Ohm Walsh 3XO
Ohm L
NHT SuperOne

Price Paid:  $200.00 from ebay

Summary:
This review is for Walsh 2s from the late 80s. What can I say? After 12 years of Mirage M5 bipolars I came running back to the sound that I love! I last had a pair of Walsh 3XOs but the essentially similiar Walsh 2s were just what I needed for my current room. I missed the image focus and the natural midrange that were lacking in the Mirages. Sure, the M5s threw a bigger soundstage but it was much more diffuse and , amazingly, the Walsh 2s, with a Sherwood receiver, throw out just about as much bass as the Mirages did with a 250 watt Acurus! I even hooked my little NHT SuperOnes up and they sounded a little closed off and lacked the naturalness of the Walshes. The speakers have it all--sweetness, imaging, image focus, transparency, and a huge sweet spot. They are easy to move, not fussy about placement, and the drivers are protected physically as well as thermally. I found myself digging out all manner of CDs and jumping on the computer to order more music from amazon. And that about says it all..I wish all products were like this.

Strengths:
imaging
natural midrange
sweet spot
bass surprisingly potent
no listener fatigue

Weaknesses:
bass a tad overripe
soundstage good but recessed

Similar Products Used:
Mirage M5si
Ohm Walsh 3XO
Ohm L
NHT SuperOne

Price Paid:  $1700.00 from ohm acoustics factor

Summary:
I purchased the Ohm Walsh Series 100-S3 in 2/07. I was intrigued by Ohm Walsh speakers by a one-time encounter with a person (walsh owner) many years prior who swore by their huge soundstage and natural sound. So after some trepidation, I decided to purchase the 100's (without hearing them) which fit my budget much better than the higher end models. Prior to receiving the Ohm's I upgraded my system with a Rotel 1070 pre-amp and power amp. At the Rotel dealer I auditioned the B&W's which traditionally pair nicely with Rotel. The speakers in the $2100 range sounded incredible and I was excited and nervous about how my Ohms would compare. The speakers arrived very solidly boxed. After hooking the system up I played a CD with the wife and kids listening. I was told over and over to expect a significant break-in period with these speakers, but I was still very bummed at how closed and limited the sound was. I was already figuring out the cost of shipping them back and buying the B&W's. Over the next 2 weeks I proceeded to break the speakers in and they opened up like a giant clam bearing a beautiful black pearl. It's hard to figure out what is bigger, the soundstage or my stupid grin when I'm listening to these incredible speakers. I like a wide variety of music, but listen to mainly rock and alot of live Grateful Dead and Phish. These speakers are so warm and produce such a natural sound. They sound great soft, but can shake the house if you want. I love bass, but need it tight and clean and the Ohm's deliver big time. The Ohm website tells it straight.. " they sound like music, not like speakers". With these speakers I feel I'm perpetually in the middle of a great book and can't wait to have the time to sit down and listen to music.

Strengths:
Warm, natural sound with a huge soundstage and more than adequate detail. I challenge you to find a better sounding speaker in this price range. I wonder what the higher end Walshes sound like!

Weaknesses:
Not for those who like overly bright sound. These speakers have a very warm sound with a lot of space in which the listener can poke around. I expect I'm missing some detail by using my old Sony low end CD player. I'm hoping to upgrade soon to the Rotel unit.

Price Paid:  $1700.00 from OHM Acoustics

Summary:
THis review covers the latest version of these speakers - the 100-S3. Before purchasing these speakers, I spent hours in front of my computer researching the speakers and the company. To me, customer service is just as important as the product. I'm amazed at the number of speaker companies that exist, but how many will be around in just a few years, or when you need tp replace that driver? I wanted to buy from a well-established company that had a solid history of taking good care of their customers.

I called OHM, explained what my needs were, told them what electronics I would be using, and gave them my room dimensions. John Strohbeen, company president, suggested the 100-S3. I chose the white oak finish and 2 weeks later they arrived at my doorstep.

These speakers were unlike anything I've ever heard before. I'm niot saying they're better than anything I've heard, just different. The sound envelops you and seems to come from a very wide stage unfolding in front of you. This is unlike cionventional speakers, which fire direclty at you and you can always tell where they are in your room. Also, you can move about the room freely and the sound remains nearly the same in any location within the room. Where these speakers really excel is in how they make human voices sound real. I have not heard any loudspeaker, regardless of cost, render voices with such stunning reality.

After 2 months however, I eventually decided to return them to OHM. This was in no way due to any fault in the speaker. I was after a different type of sound; one that I had become accustomed to with forward-firing conventional speakers.

As expected, OHM promptly refunded the original cost of the speakers, as promised

If you're looking for a new pair of speakers, I would highly recommend you give these a try. You have nothing to lose but your shipping costs and you get to play with them for 4 months.

Strengths:
Customer service, trial period, warranty, outstanding with voices and organ music

Price Paid:  $1800.00 from Ohm online

Summary:
This is a review of the new Ohm 100 series 3.

3 years ago, I bought a set of Ohm Micro Talls. A year later, I gave them to my daughter when she moved into her apartment. I then bought some B&W N805 and a subwoofer. Within a few days, I started to miss the Micro Talls. But, I decided to keep them and make changes to my system (tube rolling, cable changes, tweaks, etc.) to get something similar to the Ohm magic. Everytime I heard the Micro Talls at my daughter's apartment, I regretted giving them up.

When I read that Ohm upgraded their Mk 100 series, I ordered a pair. I sold the B&W N805 a few days after I received the Mk 100 S3. I was able to do a side by side comparison. Even without a breakin period, the Mk 100 S3 were so much more musical. They each had the same amount of detail and air but the Ohms high end wasn't as strident and etched as the N805. I relax when I listen to the Mk 100 S3. I never felt that same easiness while listening to the N805 even after months of tweaking.

That all said, I will admit that I like a warm, musical sound. I have an Audible Illusions M3A preamp and a CJ MV 60 amp. My front end is Marantz SACD and Linn LP12 with all the upgrades.

Like most audiophiles, I have rotated my equipment for many years until I found the sound that pleases me. I have owned many different CD players and amplifiers. I have also owned several pairs of B&W speakers, several pairs of Martin Logans, a pair of Vandersteen and the list goes on.

What I like about the Mk 100 S3 is the detail without an etched treble. I like the huge sound stage but that instruments are solidly placed within the sound stage. I like the air around the instruments. I like the solid, tuneful base. I think the base is more natural than the powered subwoofer that I used with my N805. In fact, I really like the base...it is not too much and not too little...it is just right.

I think Ohm is making a mistake by not displaying these in audio showrooms. I think anyone who listens to them would buy them. I have decided to stop searching for speakers. These are going to be my last pair.

Strengths:
Customer service is great. They didn't try to sell me the most expensive speakers. They asked about my room size and recommended a speaker that would be best suited for my room.

These are great speakers. Your ears will love you forever if you audition them.

This new series has a smaller footprint. This is an incredible bargain.

Weaknesses:
None that I can detect.

Similar Products Used:
Too many to list. B&W, Magnapan, Martin Logan, Vandersteen and Alon to name a few. I am not ashamed to admit that I have bought and sold many speakers over the past 15 years. I was trying to find the perfect speaker. To my ears, these are them.