Speaker recommendations requested

nelsress · Feb 8, 2015

Thanks Marco

Somehow I missed your response regarding the Infinities, I appreciate the tips. I haven't gotten around to working on them at all, they're coming up in the que but not too close to the top yet! Plus the 700B I just picked up bumped them down a peg.

I will keep both of your suggestions in mind however and try them out once the RSii b's are ready to rock and roll.
Ciao,
Nelson

laatsch55 · Feb 8, 2015

Missed a chance to hear some 4.5's the other day, by a few hours.....

nelsress · Feb 8, 2015

4.5's-gotta look them up...

I assume they're one of their larger, better thought of models but I'm not sure without looking them up. The RSiii b's are the first Infinity speakers I've ever owned, except for some car Infinities in the 70's or 80's. There's a lot of folks who really like 'em though so I figured I'd give 'em a shot!

laatsch55 · Feb 8, 2015

To tell ya the truth I haven't laid eyes on em. Stephen was trying to get em set up before my plane took off last weekend. He didn't make it. Course by the time my plane got to Rapid City they were up and goin g. He had a pair of 1.5's running when I was there and I can only imagine what they would sound like..Couse....I still haven';t heard a pair of speaks I'd trade my K's for

laatsch55 · Feb 8, 2015

Got Stephen to send some pics......

laatsch55 · Feb 8, 2015

Ribbons and 12" Watkins woofs....4500.00 in 1978...

nelsress · Feb 9, 2015

Very nice!

laatsch55 said:

I remember seeing a similar looking pair back in that time frame that were sold with a separate powered subwoofer, I wonder if they're the same ones? Really cool either way. What was Stephen's preliminary assessment of their sound, did he say?

laatsch55 · Feb 9, 2015

They do not have a powered low end. They are however very amiable o biamping. Very good factory crossover though. Nowq Stephen owns 4 pairs of K-Horns and he said the 4.5's are a completely different experience and just wonderful....

Rat44 · Feb 9, 2015

Any update on the AR 90's ?
They are well worth picking up or at least hearing.
I like my AR 9's and they are similar except have dual 10" woofers instead of 12 ".

nelsress · Feb 9, 2015

AR 90's

Rat44 said:

A month or so ago my friend showed up with the AR 90's and we took them into my living room and hooked them up. This particular pair my friend had just picked up so he hadn't had a chance to listen to them yet. Anyway, we listened for a little while but I knew right away that they were not for me and not having heard them, or any modern ARs for that matter, I didn't know how they "should" sound, just that these didn't sound too good. Boomy bottom end and I couldn't really hear any high end except a hiss. Too bad, I was hoping I'd like them but it was not to be, at least with this pair.

My friend did say that he really liked the AR 90's and that he had a couple pair, as well as some AR 9's and that what I was hearing was not representative of what an AR 90 sounds like when it's "right". Anyway, that's the story with those.

I finally got to work on the Infinities and found the three woofers that I got with them are all reading close to 3.5-3.6 ohms and someone offered me one to replace the one that was missing when I picked these up. Sometime this week I'll be removing the polydome mids and the EMIT tweeters and make sure they're not open and then all I have to do is dig in the cabinets and determine what caps and resistors I need to rebuild the crossovers.

Somewhat "the cart before the horse" but at least now, after the WOPL 400 build is complete I'll have the RS-iiib's and the ESS AMT-1b's to A-B.

laatsch55 · Feb 9, 2015

Not a bad situation to be in.......having to choose between those two.....

nelsress · Mar 12, 2015

How about Ohm Walsh 2's?

An opportunity to pick up a pair of Ohm Walsh 2 speakers for a buck and a half has come up and they're local-only a half hour from me and I've always heard good things about Ohm Walsh but am not sure which models are the preferred ones. How do any of you feel those would compare to the ESS and Infinity speakers I already have? Are they on a similar level, not as good or better? I realize that's a loaded question and subjective, depending on one's taste but welcome opinions. Thanks.

laatsch55 · Mar 12, 2015

The only thing I can comment on is the Ohm Model F's.....owned a brand new pair in the 70's. Not familiar with the 2's, but for a buck and a half ....who cares?? Gedt em!!

62vauxhall · Mar 12, 2015

I heard a pair of Ohm F's a looong time ago, my boss had them along with a BGW power amp. Lots of detail but would not move your pant legs with bass. Stands to reason since the Walsh is firing into a sealed box. What was interesting I thought were the 3 different materials joined edge on to make the cone. Each one was supposed excel within different frequency ranges. One thing too is that they will never make your ears bleed from a high SPL. Also no crossover, just a single full range.

laatsch55 · Mar 12, 2015

And incredibly pure and musical;....

Fishoz · Mar 12, 2015

New member Lastplace is running Ohm Walsh 2's. He says he loves 'em but hasn't advised why.

nelsress · Mar 13, 2015

Ohm's Law?

Thanks for the input guys, I think I'm going to go for it. I've been reading about them from people who own or have owned them and the original 2's seem to be a fan favorite. No foam surrounds to rot like many of their models and they say they respond better to high powered amps, which I may just have here shortly. Many speak of the "omni-directional" and "semi omni-directional sound being so enjoyable and it sounds like it's somewhat addictive. They've got high owner satisfaction, after reading tons of reviews I've dubbed it "Ohm's Law" it's so consistent! It seems people keep them, get additional pairs, trade up, have them upgraded by Ohm. I must say now I'm more curious than ever about these Ohm speakers. Thanks again, hopefully I can go listen to them tomorrow and bring them home if they sound good. If that happens (I haven't heard back from him yet if tomorrow works), I'll report back with initial impressions.

nelsress · Mar 20, 2015

Ohm Walsh 2

When auditioning these I didn't hear it but when I got them home there was a buzzing in the one speaker. I spoke to John Strohbeen at Ohm Acoustics who told me to remove the cans and ship them to them. He said there was a 95% chance it was the drivers and 5% the crossovers but as these were in fairly constant use, he didn't think it was the crossover. They sounded pretty good except for the buzzing though.

Anyway, I sent them to Ohm on Monday and yesterday John called me and said the drivers were fine but the foam inside the cans was totally deteriorated and the buzzing could well have been that debris vibrating on the driver. So for the $40 diagnosis charge he checked them out, replaced the foam inside the cans and even painted the cans. They were on the porch today when I got home right after lunch! Great service and integrity.

That's all great but the most amazing part is how these damn things sound. I fully expected the ESS AMT 1B's to absolutely trounce these Walsh 2's with their tiny drivers. Not only didn't that happen, I'm having a hard time determining which I like better. I'm totally shocked. The top end with the Heil AMT's is superior to be sure but the Ohm's highs are very respectable. The bass on the Ohms are comparable with the ESS woofer, which I believe is half the size of the ESS woofer. The ESS speakers are more detailed but the Ohms are more balanced and musical-more listenable (ear friendly?), which I definitely did NOT expect.

This wasn't even a fair fight in my mind, I just got the Ohms as I'd heard about them for so many years and never had the chance to hear any and the price was right so I went for it. I'm glad I did. Even if they don't beat out the AMT 1B's in my main system, I think they've found a home.

Now I've only listened to two CD's in this A-B comparison (Tom Waits Heart of Saturday Night and Dire Straits Brothers in Arms)so there's lots more to do but these are my initial impressions. More to come and I haven't even thought about moving the monster Infinity RS IIIB's in the house to further confuse the issue! I figured I'd wait to see which one of these two wins and pit the winner up against the Infinities.

Nick Danger · Mar 20, 2015

nelsress said:

When auditioning these I didn't hear it but when I got them home there was a buzzing in the one speaker. I spoke to John Strohbeen at Ohm Acoustics who told me to remove the cans and ship them to them. He said there was a 95% chance it was the drivers and 5% the crossovers but as these were in fairly constant use, he didn't think it was the crossover. They sounded pretty good except for the buzzing though.

Anyway, I sent them to Ohm on Monday and yesterday John called me and said the drivers were fine but the foam inside the cans was totally deteriorated and the buzzing could well have been that debris vibrating on the driver. So for the $40 diagnosis charge he checked them out, replaced the foam inside the cans and even painted the cans. They were on the porch today when I got home right after lunch! Great service and integrity.

That's all great but the most amazing part is how these damn things sound. I fully expected the ESS AMT 1B's to absolutely trounce these Walsh 2's with their tiny drivers. Not only didn't that happen, I'm having a hard time determining which I like better. I'm totally shocked. The top end with the Heil AMT's is superior to be sure but the Ohm's highs are very respectable. The bass on the Ohms are comparable with the ESS woofer, which I believe is half the size of the ESS woofer. The ESS speakers are more detailed but the Ohms are more balanced and musical-more listenable (ear friendly?), which I definitely did NOT expect.

This wasn't even a fair fight in my mind, I just got the Ohms as I'd heard about them for so many years and never had the chance to hear any and the price was right so I went for it. I'm glad I did. Even if they don't beat out the AMT 1B's in my main system, I think they've found a home.

Now I've only listened to two CD's in this A-B comparison (Tom Waits Heart of Saturday Night and Dire Straits Brothers in Arms)so there's lots more to do but these are my initial impressions. More to come and I haven't even thought about moving the monster Infinity RS IIIB's in the house to further confuse the issue! I figured I'd wait to see which one of these two wins and pit the winner up against the Infinities.

You are flush with some good speakers, nelsress. I have a pair of AMT 1C's(adore' em) at the house and would love to audition a pair of the Ohms as well. I seem to gravitate towards omnidirectional and dipole speakers myself. More musical than the AMT's....WOW! High praise in my book, fo sho.

Are the Ohms picky about room placement? The ESS in my listening area like to be as far out in the room as I cam get them. End up sitting pretty close, but am rewarded with excellent soundstage, especially on a good recording- the speakers simply disappear.

nelsress · Mar 20, 2015

Nick Danger said:

Hi Nick, I've never had omnidirectional speakers before. The Ohms are not picky about placement, in fact they're designed to be against the wall, according to John at Ohm. I have the AMT's away from the walls but maybe only a foot so that could be part of my problem. Unfortunately the way the room (and the marriage!!) is, they can't really be out into the room much further.

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