OHM Walsh F driver rebuilds

[JerryLove]

I found a buyer up in VA

 

[Broadsword]

I recently came into a pair of Ohm Walsh F speakers. The surrounds are rotted, and it looks like the drivers have been driven sans-surround (there is wrinkling and some small tears in the titunium upper portion). Also, the spider is pretty droopy.

OK. So the driver assembly needs to be replaced. The problem is that when I go to the OHM site, they stopped making these drivers when the last craftsman retired. The suggest replacing them with drivers from their newer series.

Some have said that the new drivers are not "walsh" drivers. Certainly the cost doesn't stack up, nor some of the design specifics:

There is a single Ohm F driver right now on ebay, bidding starts at $299.

I just took possession of my own Ohm F's this morning. They work! Just need some attention to the surrounds and packing in the cabinets.

We're moving to Quantico, VA and will put them through a good work-out once we're unpacked in May.

So you're the guy that beat me to it on craigslist. How'd you do that? I was sure I would be first in

I had a pair of F's that I traded in for a pair of rosewood walsh 5's back in 1990. I haven't modded or upgraded them since, and haven't really found the need. This was both a step up, and a step down. Having lived with both for an exteded period I feel I can qualify the differences between the two. The 5's definitely are capable of more output and power handling, but the lost some immediacy to gain that. If you are playing all Wagner all the time, the 5's are the ticket. But put on Ella Fitzgerald's Birthday Concert and F's poke the 5's in the eye. Don't get me wrong, the 5's are great speakers. But I think in that quest for bulletproofness, they lost a little of that "you are there" experience that shines with the f's.

I would echo Scotts comments above and would add the following: I have had some interaction via email with Dale Harder and he is indeed the real deal. He's responsive and it is clear he really does know these drivers inside and out. He hasn't just recreated the driver but re-engineered it. Short of buying new drivers from Dale, your best bet is to have your F's restored by him. If I come into another pair, that is what I will do.

I may revisit that poking in the eye statement once I have reconfigured my system. Currently I am running my sources into a MX110 tuner/preamp and an Aragon 4004MKII. I am going to switch to a DEQX 2.6P and a MC240 for the super-tweeter and the 4004MKII for the walsh driver. I'm curious to see if I will see a big improvement with the DEQX's speaker and room correction bypassing the crossover - which is a complicated beast in the 5's.

All the best with your quest, and let us know how it turns out.

-Tim

I also came across someone who says that he manufactures walsh driver... better because of things like better spiders, but I cannot tell to what extent he's a skilled builder, and to what extent a snake-oil salesman:
http://hhr-exoticspeakers.com/HHRhome.htm

So the questions running through my head include:
Should I prefer an original-type driver like HHR is building; or is the newer driver as good / better?

What is the end result worth in terms of sound. I got the units very cheap, but it doesn't look like any repair option will be. What is the best money-to-return?

 

[Broadsword]

I've learned to be quick. There's an eBay seller around here, not only beat me to a Denon rosewood turntable (I would have just put that on eBay anyway) but (and I'm more mad because it's my fault) beat me to a pair of fully-intact B&W CM7s *and* center for $250.

Worse: I think I know who sold them and I'm the one that nudged him into it.

Bloody hell

There are not multiple options from Dale. You send in the entire speaker, you get a new driver and upgraded speaker.

I tried to talk him into just replacing the top half, but he wasn't receptive. I may be able to work on him though as rebracing the cabinet isn't a terribly difficult thing to do and should save considerable money, and the cabinet itself is in great shape.

I'm also hoping to talk him out of some of the less useful portions of his upgrades (silver wire and saulder) to see if I can shave considerably from the $4500 (plus shipping) price tag.

The thing is: as far as I can tell he's the only way to get a genuine Walsh-stype driver. Ohm no longer makes them (the newer units you a more conventional driver design).

Thank you all for your kind words of support