Ohm Speakers, thoughts?

I think this will be my last comment on this thread.

I've always desired a pair of Ohm F's or A's in proper working condition. My only reservation would be the common assertion that they were not made to be played at very high decibel levels, which is a requirement for me. Apparently there are still a few around today that have been built or rebuilt properly that I could acquire if I was really determined.

My solution for a reasonable cost to meet my requirements was a pair of Ohm f5s, the best drivers Ohm sells today, that can play really loud and clear with the right amplifiers, mounted in refurbished and modified Ohm F cabinets.

So the bottom half of these speakers at least look the same as the original legendary Ohm Fs that I never got to hear. And some who have heard both believe they sound very similar even though 30 years apart in design, which makes me feel even better.

To me they represent a fine combination of the best of the old and the new.

Cheers!

Please undertsand once again everyone that I am in no way bashing Ohm Acoustics products. In fact, I have a long love affair with them and they are the ones that did start this thing in the begining. They hooked me in 1971 and I have been hooked ever since.

In Honesty, the only other speakers I have ever heard that turned my head for a moment was the Apogee line of full range ribbon drivers and their new predecessor. But here again, not worth $50K.

John Strohbeen has done very well with his current line of products and they are quite affordable. They have even borrowed upon some of the sonic merits of the original Walsh ideas. But, none the less, they are still piston drivers. Albeit, the woofer has been made to behave like a bad transmission line, which is exactly what the original Walsh idea was. That is not a bad thing, just another avenue.

The true transmission line drive exists only in a trucated version designed by German Physiks or Ikonoklast. The latter utilizing the Walsh tweeter design and the G.P. design resembeling more of the Old Ohm G product. But IMHO, not worth $21,900 for the cheapest model.

By the way, there is a new kid on the block nipping at Ohm's heals with an new entry in the omni market very similar to the current Ohm products made by Rountree Acoustics. (Not Roundtree) It's called the Omnimon. Covered in Stereophile mag this month. Also online.

Regarding the Walcott speakers.. just another piston driver firing into an omniball for dispersion. Not a walsh driver or anything similar.

I have been a speaker engineer and desingner for most of my life and I have made all manner of speakers including exotic plama drivers. But to my dismay, the worst design of all, the piston driver has for wahtever reason prolifferated. It is a bad idea that just won't go away and hence my steadfast approach to the Walsh design.

Anyway, my whole point is to make people aware that this style of speaker is available again, hopefully with some improvements. For those whom loved this sound and its capabilities I hope I can fill your needs. For others, perhaps in time. If not, this is a big world and to each his own. I guess I view buying a set of speakers much like finding a wife. Finding a good match is never easy, but always worth the effort.

That is why we all share our love of this hobby and persue being audiophiles. The love of music.

As always, good listening.
Dale

Thanks for the info, Dale.

I've had steadily growing interest in the Walsh speakers for a few years now as a result of the serious room acoustics/placement problems I've had with varying pistonic speakers. I'm just tired of the hassle. And when things are finely set up properly, I really hate being confined to, and the only one to enjoy, the "sweet spot".

A few questions about your "A" & "F" TLS speakers:
Fequency response & impedence of your improved models?
What is the safe max power handling?
What kind of safe SPL output are they capable of?
Recommended types of amps and power output?
Any minimum room size requirements for best sound?
What is the sonic difference between your "A" & "F"?
And finally, what is the price for the two models?

Quick question for Dale. I owned a pair of Ohm F speakers back in the mid-1970s and absolutely loved them. As noted earlier in this thread, I auditioned a pair of 200s a few years back and though good, just didn't have the magic I remembered.

Unfortunately my current listening room would be unable to handle the large footprint of a F-sized TLS. Are you contemplating any smaller models based on this driver design?

I missed my chance to buy the Ohm speakers back in the 70s, but have always been interested (in an engineer's way) in the principles involved with the driver. I always knew that it was made up of several cones of differing material, but the complexity described by Dale is daunting. My concern would be performance changes over time and use as all the various tweeks age. Slits with sealant frighten me.