Is anyone thinking about building Walsh drivers?

I bought a set of Ohm Fs back in 1975 or 76 and they were absolutely magical. Unfortunately, life required that I had to part with them a few years after that.

About 10 years ago, I wanted to recapture that sound and did the home trial of a set of Ohm 2000s. They were good, and I could have lived them them, but there was no magic. 

I understand why the current Ohm company doesn't make the drivers they way they used to, and also understand why Dale's speakers cost what they do. True Walsh drivers do have a magic of their own. 

Absolutely, misstl.

I got to hear a pair of F's eons ago, and was enthralled by what I heard and how.  I couldn't afford them, nor had a space that they could work their magic.  That, and they were huge and I was too 'mobile' at the time to move them about and risk heart-breaking damage...

I'm not against the current Ohm series; I've even suggested them to others who I felt might enjoy an omni, as they are 'good bang for the buck' and offer a return policy for those that ultimately don't care for them.  But,yeah...they really don't have 'that magic'....

I can't afford Dale's either.  Even less so, the German Physiks units that I'm somewhat basing my 'design philosophy' on, with some variations on the DDD units they offer.  I have my own thoughts on where to go with them, given my limitations...time, budget, available resources and techniques, all that.

But...even given that, they work.  Not flawlessly, to be honest and critical about it, but they approach 'the magic' to the point that I hardly listen to my 'typical' speakers anymore.  Even though I'm still a fan of the ESS AMT dipoles that I own as a reference to how 'clear' a driver should be and should sound, and how 'fast' they should respond.

At 65 my ears and the 'wetware' betwixt them aren't as sharp as they used to be.  As Clint once said, "A man's got to know his limitations."  *L*  But even given that, I'm still 'picky' and I can still hear enough to know 'the differences' that I seek.  But with every iteration, I get closer to what I'm 'hearing for' (as opposed to 'looking for' *G*).

I've been lucky.  I've gotten to communicate with current and former 'industry pros' that have not only been supportive of my efforts, but also have been or are in the trenches of Walsh related activities.  I have 'fans and admirers, and have been relentless enough that I now show up on page one of a Google search page and their image pages.  I suppose one could say I've become notorious in this quest...there are worst things to be regarded for being notorious about, however IMHO.....;)

I'm now, for good or ill, become the default 'expert' on the subject.

I'm the first to remind one of the 'other' definition of an 'ex-pert'...an unknown drip under pressure.  Perhaps a better 'fit', given the entity typing this...*L*  "Limitations", y'know...

But, still....I will carry on anon....and on and on.  Although my spouse doesn't fully understand Why I'm about this, she does like what she hears and appreciates to varying degrees my 'hobby'.  One can't ask for much more from that quarter, esp. when pointing out that I'm doing this on a relative 'shoestring budget' if related to other extremes of the 'hobby'.

I have my own opinions about that subject; I do 'tease' from time to time, but try to avoid 'ruffling others fur' about and over those 'extremes' needlessly.  We all have our preferences...

BTW....I'm back. *S* Hi, y'all. *S*

After 7 wks. in FL & 2 wks. of recoup', restoration, and relative 'nice, normal chaos' it's nice to be able to take a moment and see if anyone's still 'listening'. 

Anyhow...have picked up the parts and started doing some assembly on the V.4's. The CNC'd bases have been laid out and drilled, the tweets have been installed into theirs, and patterns are about to be created for the surrounds and assembly routines on the main cones. Tubing and hardware will begin to be cut after some 'fine tuning' of lengths...just to be sure, as 'stretchers' for that sort of thing are in short supply...

Have had 9 wks. to consider cone fabrication, still a major routine to get into. Rolling them is still a hands-on activity that demands time, patience, and a high degree of attention and care. I'm planning on doing a 'test crash dummy' or three to ensure I can create 4 final ones that exhibit a high degree of duplication and quality control.

Getting my head back into the quest has taken some 'goofing around' with side projects, just to 'warm up' the hands that will do the deed...

...and I'm just about There. *G*

Maybe ill build them next week?

ebm, well, you can 'do' a pair relatively quickly...if you don't do anything else, have the bits 'n pieces around, and have a fair amount of tools handy.

To do them 'well' will take awhile longer...take a look & listen at this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=10HjqHXpZtU&feature=youtu.be

Those are my V.3's, of which I made 4.  They have their 'warts', but the video doesn't do the sound justice.  A crappy mic in a typical camera just can't replace a set of ears within the space they create. (2 will give you the reason a Walsh radiator is legendary...4 will begin to freak you out.)

I'm working on 4 V.4's.  Better Everything.  Better drivers, tighter tolerances, a slightly different approach to how they're made.  They will look similar, but I'm hoping to post an improved video with better mics and perhaps stereo audio.

Maybe I can do them justice, instead of a mere 'proof' that there's a reason that listening to the backside of an odd-shaped cone can be pretty exciting and make one's entire music collection something worth revisiting. ;)

I've spent not much $, but an inordinate amount of time pursuing this.  While others spend megabucks on cables, I've spent peanuts to pursue something that caught my imagination decades ago, listening to the Ohm F's and A's.

There's never been anything quite like them.  So I decided to make my own Ohms...different, but Correct.  As they should be....;)