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So, anybody ever get physical with an Ohm Walsh?

ericj

ericj

Well-Known Member
I am the recent recipient of a pair of Ohm Walsh 3's in good condition. And i won't tell you what i paid for them, lest you hate me forever.

Of course, as we all know here, 'good condition' for a 20-25 year old speaker means that it probably needs a bit of a re-cap on the crossover and could stand to have it's then-trendy spring clips replaced with sturdy functional binding posts.

Or maybe a crossover-ectomy, tracing out of the original schematic, deletion of the tone and 'aspect' controls, and a new crossover with no controls and everything but the original inductors replaced. 'cause inductors don't age.

I used the "contact us" form at ohm's website to ask if they could clue me in on how to remove the original crossover without breaking it.

They basically told me to buy the upgrade. Nuts to that.

I'm not gonna rebuild a crossover at arm's length at the bottom of a transmission line.

Anybody ever get, you know, reckless with one of these cabinets, maybe could tell me what mistakes they made and how stuff is attached?

While we're on the subject, I know another person here who's wondering how to open the can without damaging the driver. So he can replace the blown tweeter in his walsh 3 his own self.

We've got theories, but it would be great if someone could offer some experience.
 
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I've opened a Walsh 2 can before. From what I remember, you can just pry it apart with a pair of pliers around the perimeter of the base of the can - it was actually very simple, and not at all the difficult process that the company makes it out to be. It will look ugly, but luckily the metal cans can be bent right back into shape and re-glued when you're done. Once you open up the can, it looks much like any other normal speaker system. The really weird ones are the true Walsh models (like the A or F), but those don't have a can that needs opening.
 
The theory we're working on is that the upper part of the can attaches to the flange of the basket purely by means of that black mastic or whatever it is. Are we correct in that?

If that's the case, a prying implement similar in diameter to the holes in the can should be able to lift it up without causing much damage.
 
In the Ohm Walsh 2, yes, that was the case. I'd assume it's the same with the Walsh 3, but I don't have any specific experience with that one.

When you pry it up you will have to bend some of the metal basket to pry it up, but you can bend it back into shape pretty easily.
 
excellent, thanks for the info.

now if only we could find someone who got inspired to attack the crossover in an old walsh . . .
 
Hey man! I tried to go forward with some Ohm 3XO's and gave up. I got the cans open and all, but I refoamed the treble drivers, and boy did they need it, but I couldn't get the suckers to sound good. So I sent them off to Ohm, and now they sound great. I took some pictures along the way, and if you searched the site for ohm 3xo you will probably find the thread. Anyway, good luck with yours. They are well worth fixing up. They kicked a set of JBL L112's out to the garage. That's how I heard it, anyway.
 
If i attack the tweeters, they're damn sure gonna come away from the altercation with something better than a plastic semidome.

Anyway, pulling the crossover board is what I'm really curious about.
 
Yes. For example, since the xover board is hotglued to a rectangular cutout on the bottom of the cabinet, do you get a rubber mallet and just bash it inward a bit at a time going around the perimeter, or do you make a kind of rectangular drift that applies pressure around the perimeter at once and then bash it in, or what?

Has anyone done this? Enquiring minds wanna know.
 
Rubber mallet?!

In this house we use dead-blow hammers.

I wonder if it truly is hot glue, is it hot glue that will respond well to being warmed. Perhaps by setting the canless cabinet upside-down and pointing a hair dryer down the bass port. Which should eventually make it pretty toasty in there.

Maybe we can avoid the violence and just have the board give up and fall into the cabinet after 20 minutes or so.
 
I've never gotten physical with my 2's and if sound quality means as much to you as it does to me...

Save the cash necessary to upgrade them or sell them to someone that respects them enough to go with Ohm replacement parts only. The Walsh series wasn't really meant to be tinkered with and doing so will probably only make them sound much worse, or pretty much like everything else out there.
 
The cost of the upgrade is unrealistic vs. just waiting around to find a later model walsh and buying that used.

As for the mystery of their perfection, I do not believe in magic. I believe in being careful and scientific and not meddling in irreversible ways with things i don't understand, but there's nothing in that speaker that can't be sussed out by a careful and contemplative tinkerer.
 
Or screwed up by an arrogant owner that thinks he knows better than the folks that built and designed the speaker in the first place.

It's true that speakers are built from basic components that each and every one of us could buy from a store but if we were really that good we would all own successful speaker companies now wouldn't we?

The Walsh2 upgrade makes a huge difference. I'm saving for mine as I write this. Just because we all try to pretend to know **** about speaker dynamics (and some folks here actually design and build speakers) we really don't. In my humble opinion, I feel it best to leave the true expertise to the experts. Just because I have ears and a brain does not mean I can build a superior speaker. I believe I will let the folks at Ohm decide how my Walsh2 is supposed to sound.
 
Yes, but, how much do you pay for your walsh 2 upgrade - all told - including shipping.

Lets be honest here. The upgrade for the 2 costs $850 plus the return of your old walsh 2 parts. You're into it at least $1k including the original purchase of the walsh 2 and shipping things around.

What would a pair of working Walsh 5's cost on ebay?

No. Upgrading is completely, thoroughly, and utterly out of the question. Never gonna happen. There is no way in this world or the next that i'm going to drop $1500 + assorted considerations on an S4-Mk2 upgrade for my Walsh 3's.

All I'm really proposing here is that the factory tweeter is rubbish, and mounted in a rubbish cardboard baffle.

And that the crossover could use a recap.

And that Ohm Acoustics is fibbing when they say the crossover point for the tweeter is up around 10khz. If i could trace out the crossover i could answer this one quite easily.

What on earth do you think I'm planning, anyway? Just how am i going to screw these up? It's not as though I'm planning to replace the surrounds on the main drivers or anything because that all appears to work.
 
Good speakers cost money. Look at my profile. I've spent a few bucks on my setup.

Dude, you just want to get away with some cheap, self built, knockoff Ohms. Enjoy.

Upgrading to the factory replacements for my Ohm2's are far from a rip-off in my humble opinion. I've actually corresponded with John Strohbeen (quite heatedly, I might add) and I now trust his take on his speakers. The weirdest thing about this forum is that a few chumps think that everything should be a bargain when it comes to great sound. I say knock yourself out but don't be surprised if my investmant sounds head and shoulders above your junk.
 
KlipschFan61 said:
Good speakers cost money. Look at my profile. I've spent a few bucks on my setup.
Click to expand...

Really? My walsh 3's cost $50. For the pair. My ADS L810's cost $24 for the pair + $40 for a replacement tweeter. And that was in the dark ages when ADS tweeters were not thick on the ground on ebay.

KlipschFan61 said:
Dude, you just want to get away with some cheap, self built, knockoff Ohms. Enjoy.
Click to expand...

Where the heck did that come from.

It's not like I'm building a new enclosure and buying a woofer on ebay to pretend i have a walsh.

I just have some distortion in the 6-7khz range on one side.
 
"Or screwed up by an arrogant owner that thinks he knows better than the folks that built and designed the speaker in the first place."

Arrogant is bragging about how much you spent on your
system,
and assuming someone else you don't know
isn't capable of repairing a mechanical/electrical device.

Seems people forget about "All Audio,No Attiude" too often lately........
 
I hope you can fix them up, Ericj. Like I said, it was beyond my abilities, and mine were well worth the cost of the Ohm repair. But, I really like your phrase "contemplative tinkerer." Good writing!
 
Captain Scary said:
Arrogant is bragging about how much you spent on your
system,
and assuming someone else you don't know
isn't capable of repairing a mechanical/electrical device.

Seems people forget about "All Audio,No Attiude" too often lately........
Click to expand...

Point taken. I just happen to believe that the Ohm Walsh series works pretty well as built from the factory although, and this is a pretty big "although", I wish someone would come out with a kit to rebuild the drivers that didn't cost an arm and a leg.
 
Regarding Ohm Walsh's...

Folks, I've been considering buying a set of Ohm Walsh's ("seen but not heard," as they're on eBay...) as an adjunct to my Carver Amazing Silver MklV's...but I need your sage advice.

They'd be the 'rear channel,' sitting either side of my couch...replacing a set of Maggie SMG's I hope to sell, and taking up MUCH less space. Having said that, what do the Ohms sound like compared to my Carvers? Would they indeed make an ideal 'rear channel' set, or should I stick with something along the lines of a smaller hybrid speaker, like an Eminent Technologies LFT16 on stands?

If I get the Ohms, what would I need to check on them, and how without tearing them up? Finally, since some of you have mentioned sending them to Ohm for refurb, how much would I then be looking at?

I'm a-gunning for a price of under $900 for the purchase and refurb, but I can take one step at a time...I've got other gear I could sell to make up the difference, if indeed it's worth it. (The Carvers, well, they kicked my beloved Pioneer HPM 1100's to the garage....)

Thanks in advance,
Chuck
 
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