Ohm Model 1 - Value?

Ross6860

AK Subscriber
Subscriber
Always wanted to try a pair of Ohm speakers.

There'a a pair of Model 1 about three hours away. Any idea of a fair price? They don't show up very often, or any Ohm speakers for that matter.

I know they take a good deal of power, but I have an amp rated at 300 wpc into 4 ohms, so I think I'm OK.

Any impressions on the sound? I've read some of the threads. It sounds like you either like them, or don't. Not a lot of middle ground. So far I like the larger 80s Infinity, Klipsch "Heritage",and Yamaha NS series of speakers.
 
There is no model 1! What your referring to is model I (eye). They are the next best model below Ohm F's. Imagine CV bass with great midrange and highs. At 300wpc thrown at them there is ZERO breakup. The most robust midrange driver I have seen. Similar in size to Allisons. Probably the best hifi party speaker out there. A la ESS Rock Monitors...I wouldnt sell mine for less than 500.00!!!
 
Thanks for the clarification...

How are they at more modest volume levels? I'm mostly past the "party volume" stage, mostly;) I still occasionally like to crank 'em up, but more into clarity and detail at moderate volume. Worth the effort or should I look elsewhere?

I could use some HT mains, but don't think they would work for that.

My room is small (12 x 14 or so) but one 12' wall is open to the rest of the basement and I can pull the speakers out at least 4' from the rear wall.

I should get a dB meter, just for GP. My pre-amp going to my ATI 1502 never goes over 50% volume, probably 33% with my Klipsch Chorus II, for what that's worth. Typically, not even that high.

He's reduced the price to $500, but indicated trades may be OK. No idea what he may be looking for, but I sent a list of what I would part with.
 
Another fly landed in the ointment.

A pair of Thiel CS 3.6 is also available, and much closer.
 
There is no model 1! What your referring to is model I (eye). They are the next best model below Ohm F's. Imagine CV bass with great midrange and highs. At 300wpc thrown at them there is ZERO breakup. The most robust midrange driver I have seen. Similar in size to Allisons. Probably the best hifi party speaker out there. A la ESS Rock Monitors...I wouldnt sell mine for less than 500.00!!!
I paid $900.00 for mine in April 2018....
I've been looking for a pair like mine for 20+ years. .
My ohm model I are 99.99999% like showroom New...
They ( in my opinion ) are the Best Ohm Acoustics Speakers ever made because the F is so very delicate in it's design...
IMG_20180914_134135241.jpg
My I ( eyes ) and H's and C2's
 
wpd37e7562_05_06.jpg
wpb405ce2b_05_06.jpg
wp51e17bda_05_06.jpg
IMG_5488.JPG
Last image ( pic ) not mine but nice..

The Ohm I is a 4- way system with a built-in sub-woofer in each cabinet. Designed in the late 1970s (before most people had heard of sub-woofers!), it held Ohm’s record for highest output head room until the development of the Walsh F-5015 in 2013. The speaker can handle 1500 watts on most systems! In addition to the 12” sub-woofer, there is a vented 8” woofer/ mid-range that operates from 100 Hz to 1700 Hz. This driver is mounted on the top of the cabinet and has 360 degree dispersion. Also on top of the cabinet is a 1.5” low tweeter and a 1” high tweeter. On the front of the cabinet is another 1” high tweeter to extend the treble.

The Ohm I features a bi-amplifiable design, with separate inputs for the subwoofer channel and all the rest of the drivers. This feature can be overridden by means of a toggle switch on the input plate to make all the drivers work on one amplifier. The Ohm I has no active speakers. In order to use the bi-amping feature, it is necessary to have an external electronic crossover, which exists in most home theater system receivers. However, since many such systems only allow a single output for the subwoofer channel, and a pair of Ohm I’s requires two, Ohm makes subwoofer amplifiers available for purchase for a pair of Ohm I’s that split the signal from a single subwoofer output into two, in order to plug into both speakers.


https://ohmspeaker.com/legacy-products/i/



CLICK ON THE LINKS
 
Last edited:
https://ohmspeaker.com/news/a-king-of-the-classic-box-speakers-from-audios-golden-age/

Ohm Speakers
A King of the Classic Box Speakers From Audio’s Golden Age.
John Strohbeen Monday, February 6, 2017
Articles


Well, boys and girls, once upon a time there was the “Dark Age of Audio.” Music in the home was reproduced by things called Victrolas, Gramophones and other names, all had a turntable spinning at somewhere around 78 rpm – the speed was never all that accurate and it didn’t matter all that much because the music was recorded to be played at something close to that speed. The records were mostly 10 and 12-inch discs referred to as “shellac,” but, of course, they were not really made from shellac.

They were, however, fragile. A symphony required a group of two-sided discs – break one and the entire piece of music was gone. A needle that was, in fact, pretty much like a needle and fastened in place by a screw traversed the grooves in this shellac record. Listeners kept a supply of needles near the record player and replaced them periodically.

In the late 1940s, the advent of the stereo LP, or Long Playing record, changed everything and brought light to the musical world.

6104-3.468x0-is.jpg

Enter the Golden Age

The Golden Age of Audio was ushered in with AR’s acoustic suspension speakers producing good bass from small boxes. They were driven by the new high-powered (up to 75 watt) tube amplifiers playing stereo LPs. The Golden Age faded with the introduction of CDs, DVDs and ended with ‘Home Theater in a Box’ and MP-3s thru earbuds. During the Golden Age speakers also made progress. Most became optimally-vented speakers producing more and deeper bass from smaller drivers and boxes. The Japanese produced monster AM-FM receivers with hundreds of watts. This was the peak of the Disco Era and Reggae Invasion. “Loud is Beautiful” was even one speaker manufacturer’s (Cerwin-Vega) motto. Although many exotic designs and materials were used in speakers during this period (like Walsh drivers, Heil AMT drivers, planar magnets, and electrostatics) the box speaker designs dominated the sales. The Ohm I (the letter – not the number) pushed the limits of box technology.

The Ohm I’s cabinet was a compact, floor standing design of a little over 15” square near the bottom tapering to 13” square at the top (34” above the floor). This allowed it occupy about the same space as a full-sized bookshelf speaker mounted on the appropriate stand. It was quite small for its tremendous output ability.

i_biampable.475x0-is.jpg


Most of the cabinet was devoted to the 12” vented subwoofer driver. Subwoofers were all passive in those days or required external electronic crossovers and separate power amplifiers. In fact, we introduced the Ohm I to the consumer market before most people had even heard of a subwoofer. We designed ours to have the option to work with an external powered crossover, or, by means of a switch, to run in parallel with the rest of the system off of the output of a regular 2-channel stereo amp. The 5” diameter vent could produce more bass than any 18” acoustic suspension woofer of the day. With the 32 Hz low frequency cut-off we were aiming for, the vent had to be only 9” long. We designed the woofer to have a natural roll off about 90 Hz so no low-pass crossover was required. The subwoofer driver was connected directly to the amplifier to get the best control and maximum output.

The top part of the cabinet included the woofer, low tweeter and two super-tweeters. This section was also vented to get extra output from the 8” woofer. The vent tuning and high-pass crossover allowed the subwoofer and woofer to mate nearly perfectly from any listening position. This eliminated the placement problems that still plague subwoofer/mains today. The crossover from the woofer to the tweeter is always a problem because the dispersion of the woofer is much narrower at the crossover point than the dispersion of the tweeter. We solved this dilemma by putting them both on top of the cabinet and enjoying and identical 360-degree horizontal dispersion from both (and the subwoofer, too). Because the dispersion at the high end of the super-tweeters also narrows, we installed one on top of the cabinet to mate with the low-tweeter and one on the front to provide the metallic ‘tinkle’ of cymbals, triangles and other metallic percussion instruments. The system was rated for amplifiers up to 1000 watts per channel – about as big as you could get at the time. The Ohm I could really rock!

i_top.356x0-is.jpg


The Ohm I Does Its Thing…Loudly and Well
When we presented them in a sound-proof room at the 1978 Consumer Electronics Show (CES), the Ohm I demonstration was even louder than the Cerwin-Vega room according to a reviewer walking the show with a Sound Pressure Level (SPL) meter hanging around his neck. A popular demo at our factory was removing the grill, using a bridged Crown DC-300 on each Ohm I and blowing out candles (with smoke-rings) from fifteen feet across the room on the cannon shots in the Telarc 1812 Overture!

Over the years we have developed upgrades for the Ohm Is that can allow them to play deeper and be more reliable (they were not happy with distorting amplifiers – period). They were a great value when introduced and they’re still a bargain when you find used ones available. We can fix or upgrade everything (except the cabinets) so you can restore to the throne “The King of the Classics” and enjoy your music both LOUD and accurately reproduced – and, of course, live happily ever after
 
How do they perform at more modest volumes?

"Loud" doesn't happen all that often. Occasionally, but most listening is somewhat more sedate, and in a relatively small space.
 
IMG_20180125_004340993.jpg my 7.2 Cerwin Vega land..

Believe me..I know what Loudspeakers are ...

My OHM's Are FAR SUPERIOR !
NOTHING Compares to the I's ( eyes )
 
How do they perform at more modest volumes?

"Loud" doesn't happen all that often. Occasionally, but most listening is somewhat more sedate, and in a relatively small space.
Freaking Amazing. .beautifully . .
If you follow any of my posts late at night you will see that I listen while my wife is asleep in the Next Room with the fan on to my vintage setup with the ohm speakers and I really enjoy classical music late in the evening especially just because how awesome these sound
 
Um....Wow!

I appreciate the info. If they're still available I'll try and jump on them.

BTW - What's the movie poster (at least I think it's a movie poster) on the left of your chair?
 
Always wanted to try a pair of Ohm speakers.

There'a a pair of Model 1 about three hours away. Any idea of a fair price? They don't show up very often, or any Ohm speakers for that matter.

I know they take a good deal of power, but I have an amp rated at 300 wpc into 4 ohms, so I think I'm OK.

Any impressions on the sound? I've read some of the threads. It sounds like you either like them, or don't. Not a lot of middle ground. So far I like the larger 80s Infinity, Klipsch "Heritage",and Yamaha NS series of speakers.
So what did you do?
 
Back
Top Bottom