Harvestor
Addicted Member
I don't like the poly cones that OHM Acoustics used in the 90's as replacement for the original......But now what they do at OHM Acoustics is reuse the original baskets and magnet Assembly
Ohm Model L Questions
- Thread starter Chief Brody
- Start date
Harvestor
Addicted Member
ctjetta
It's not a perfect world
I can't speak for any reviews from the 2000's, can only guess they were just very happy with them. That being said the L's are a very close second to the C2's as my favorite ohm's. But, I can enjoy them without a subwoofer. That's just me.
Chief Brody
Member
Just wanted to post a quick update. Made a couple changes and sound improved. Sort of a bone head moment, but no more issues.
I ordered a set of custom oak speaker stands a few weeks ago, the tilted variety. They arrived the other day and after getting them positioned, the sound was better. Getting the L’s off the ground and angled more at me was a huge help! The bass improved a noticeable amount, but not drastically. I don’t think a subwoofer is necessary at this point.
Fast forward to yesterday where I was listening to music via Qobuz as I was trying to dig through the convoluted menu system of my AVR looking for tone controls of some kind. Spoiler alert: no luck.
What I did manage to do, however, is change the signal path (dunno the technical term) from “stereo” to “direct”.
I don’t completely understand the science behind it yet, but the sound improved again, this time, by a VERY noticeable margin. Bass response is now outstanding and the mids and highs are clearer and more alive. I was in shock. Still am, honestly. All this time, I just had to push a button. Subwoofer definitely not needed. At all.
That’s my bonehead moment. Glad it’s all squared away, now.
I ordered a set of custom oak speaker stands a few weeks ago, the tilted variety. They arrived the other day and after getting them positioned, the sound was better. Getting the L’s off the ground and angled more at me was a huge help! The bass improved a noticeable amount, but not drastically. I don’t think a subwoofer is necessary at this point.
Fast forward to yesterday where I was listening to music via Qobuz as I was trying to dig through the convoluted menu system of my AVR looking for tone controls of some kind. Spoiler alert: no luck.
What I did manage to do, however, is change the signal path (dunno the technical term) from “stereo” to “direct”.
I don’t completely understand the science behind it yet, but the sound improved again, this time, by a VERY noticeable margin. Bass response is now outstanding and the mids and highs are clearer and more alive. I was in shock. Still am, honestly. All this time, I just had to push a button. Subwoofer definitely not needed. At all.
That’s my bonehead moment. Glad it’s all squared away, now.
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Harvestor
Addicted Member
Friggin Beautiful Setup!
I like my OHM L's elevated also....
Chief Brody
Member
P
Thanks, sir! It really did help getting them off the floor. The wife suggested staining the stands to match the darker tone of the floor and furniture since they don’t match anything else and they stand out.
I’d be worried about trying to match them to the cabs.
Thanks, sir! It really did help getting them off the floor. The wife suggested staining the stands to match the darker tone of the floor and furniture since they don’t match anything else and they stand out.
I’d be worried about trying to match them to the cabs.
Harvestor
Addicted Member
Test the bottom...
I used red mahogany on my OHM model C2's
And then wiped it clean and then let them dry a couple of days and then used Howard's feed and wax and now I use Howard's orange oil...
All of my OHM Acoustics Speakers match the color tone yet I've only done three sets with the red mahogany trick... My other three sets are just oiled and original but they all look original and match anyway...
I suggest you try the minwax red mahogany and wiped off quickly on the bottoms of the Stand and see if you get a close match to the finish on the OHM L' s...
Or try the dark wood stain like your floor first tested on the bottom of the stand
Yk Thom
Active Member
Glad to hear you sorted this out. Not the first time I have heard a variation of this sort of thing. AVRs are quite complex and there are many different settings and such designed for room correction. It is very easy to miss the one you need. Enjoy! They look fantastic by the way.
Chief Brody
Member
..and another quick questions for anyone who has experience:
I recently purchase new speaker cable. OFC .. can't remember the gauge, but it's good. I want to say either 12g or 14g.
The connectors on the back of my AVR can either accept bare wire or banana plugs, and as y'all know, the Model L's only accept bare wire.
Have any of you "upgraded" the terminals on your Ohms? Is it difficult? I imagine soldering is involved, and of course, finding replacement terminals that are the appropriate size.
I just want to have a quality connection without having exposed copper at the termination points.
I recently purchase new speaker cable. OFC .. can't remember the gauge, but it's good. I want to say either 12g or 14g.
The connectors on the back of my AVR can either accept bare wire or banana plugs, and as y'all know, the Model L's only accept bare wire.
Have any of you "upgraded" the terminals on your Ohms? Is it difficult? I imagine soldering is involved, and of course, finding replacement terminals that are the appropriate size.
I just want to have a quality connection without having exposed copper at the termination points.
The "direct" button bypasses all DSP in the AVR. It should essentially turn your AVR into an analog 2-channel system. By default, DSP is enabled -- which means that if you have a phono analog input, or a high-end external DAC analog input to the AVR, those analog inputs still gets digitized by the AVR
, processed through DSP, and then converted back to analog as it is sent to the amps. For 2-channel stereo music, "direct" and "pure direct" modes very often sound better because it bypasses the digital conversion and DSP processing. That said, for rooms with very difficult acoustics, enabling DSP can sound better because it can correct for room issues. For the latter to be true, you need to run the sound setup process on the AVR (usually involves plugging a mic into the AVR and having it run and auto-setup sequence, often from several different places in the room).
If you've never run the auto setup process on the AVR -- then it probably is probably still tuned tuned for whatever speakers it had previously and would be really far off for the Ohms. If you want to give it a fair comparison, you could run the auto-setup for the Ohms, and then compare how direct and non-direct modes sound.
Chief Brody
Member
The L's binding posts are mounted to/built into a plastic(?) plate. I'm assuming I'd have to replace the whole piece with something that could fit, else I might be out of luck. I was hoping that I could just swap binding posts as you did.
Chief Brody
Member
The "direct" button bypasses all DSP in the AVR. It should essentially turn your AVR into an analog 2-channel system. By default, DSP is enabled -- which means that if you have a phono analog input, or a high-end external DAC analog input to the AVR, those analog inputs still gets digitized by the AVR
For 2-channel stereo music, "direct" and "pure direct" modes very often sound better because it bypasses the digital conversion and DSP processing. That said, for rooms with very difficult acoustics, enabling DSP can sound better because it can correct for room issues. For the latter to be true, you need to run the sound setup process on the AVR (usually involves plugging a mic into the AVR and having it run and auto-setup sequence, often from several different places in the room).
If you've never run the auto setup process on the AVR -- then it probably is probably still tuned tuned for whatever speakers it had previously and would be really far off for the Ohms. If you want to give it a fair comparison, you could run the auto-setup for the Ohms, and then compare how direct and non-direct modes sound.
Thanks! That's what I was trying to convey..the bypass of DSP, etc. I don't have a mic to give that a shot or else I would. But man, the way direct sounds right now.. more than sufficient.
You can probably pick up the original microphone for less than $20 on the popular auction site if you want to try it (be sure to get the exact mic that came with your DVR or the calibration will be off). I typically prefer "direct" over DSP regardless for 2-channel music, but I have one difficult room where DSP sounds better.
Chief Brody
Member
Gotcha. I'll check it out.
Harvestor
Addicted Member
Drill out the Rivets and use the rivet holes for the new binding posts after you widen the holes with a drill bit carefully
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Really enjoyed reading this thread, have owned several of the Ohm conventional speakers, Ohm I's, C2's and L's. The L's were my favorite bookshelf speakers, had John completely update them and they were awesome, he adds ferrofluid to the woofers to handle dynamics from cd's as well as his SBA. My all time favorites were the Ohm I's, also completely updated by John, they could fill a room with no problem and were almost omni directional. Always ran McIntosh gear with them so never harsh on the high end.
Bill S
Thread Killer
Its important to get any sound processing out of the signal path when using an AVR for music. I recently put my Yamaha RVX 870 into a rotation and it didn't sound right. Checked settings and I had accidently pressed a button which enabled DSP. One press later, all was good.
One way to check whether your old woofers might benefit from new surrounds is to pull them and look at them in front of a bright light. If you can see it, your foam has probably degraded and its time to replace it. Your woofers will still work as the foam is intact, it has just lost its firmness and ability to control the cone movement as it was intended. Sound will not be as punchy and tight.
One way to check whether your old woofers might benefit from new surrounds is to pull them and look at them in front of a bright light. If you can see it, your foam has probably degraded and its time to replace it. Your woofers will still work as the foam is intact, it has just lost its firmness and ability to control the cone movement as it was intended. Sound will not be as punchy and tight.