Ohm Speakers, thoughts?

Line, no, I was speaking of the first Ohm Walsh series ever built, the Walsh A. These were the ONLY iteration that Professor Walsh has his hands in. I was told he was at work, bringing forth a few prototypes to work out a few final kinks, when he passed away.

Ohm never fully understood what it was that Dr. Walsh was trying to build. And, from what I have heard from people who understand what it's supposed to be, they still do not. As such, see the comments has Sean made, and those in my previous post. Let's just say that it doesn't work, as implemented. But, if one understands the design, and in the right hands, ala Bill Legall, who can get them corrected, they are certainly fabulous. Knowing what is wrong with the stock loudspeakers makes me think there isn't a pair I'd be interested in as they are.

I owned a pair of Ohm F's for a couple of years and loved them. I sold them thinking I would be able to pick up a pair of the new and improved ones down the road. Ha! Man was I wrong. Why can't someone or company deconstruct and then commercially manufacture the F's again. Regreted selling them but based on what I leaned from Sean several years ago, it would have been a moot point since they may have died of natural caused based on the explaination above.

Longing for F's again
L

Trelja: While i briefly discussed some of the basic mod's that Bill suggested over the phone quite a while back, i'm hoping that he has somewhat "documented" this latest adventure in rebuilding / re-designing Ohm's version of the Walsh drivers. While i can understand his not wanting to perform this type of task for customers due to the amount of time / labour involved, i'm hoping that he will be willing to share his knowledge and experience so that others might benefit from it.

Other than that, i'm glad to see that you enjoyed this listening experience as much as you did. If one goes back and reads some of my comments about these speakers, i think that you'll find that i hinted at how great they could be. Even in stock and mildly modified form, they do some things that no other driver / speaker system that i've ever heard offers. Since Bill has found a way to correct the mass majority of drawbacks that have been noted about this driver / speaker system, primarily by re-designing the motor / suspension system, i've no doubt that it would be a force to be reckoned with. Even with the simple modifications that i've done to mine, i was already "in love" with them for many different reasons.

Line: What sounds "best" to someone is strictly a matter of personal opinion. As such, what you, I or anyone else prefers is up to the individual.

In terms of comparing the Ohm A's and F's to the newer "Walsh series", let's do some math.

The A's and F's use a point source omni-directional Walsh driver to cover the full range. There is no crossover involved due to using only one driver, so the amplifier is directly connected to the driver. Since there is no crossover to divide the signal and / or multiple points of radiation from different sources, this means that the sound that one hears is both time and phase coherent. At least, as far as the speaker is concerned.

The cabinets were sealed, which increases damping, reduces the rate of roll-off below the point of resonance and keeps all of the bass radiated in phase with higher frequencies. Using a sealed and stuffed design, this system will have one moderate bass peak at resonance.

As far as the drawbacks go, due to their original design and less than adequate driver assembly / construction, these speakers are quite in-efficient and suffer from dynamic compression. This is besides the fact that they are low impedance, making amplifier selection quite difficult at best.

As to the newer Ohm "Walsh series", they do not use a Walsh driver at all, but in fact, use two conventional drivers per cabinet aimed in different directions, causing phase / time delays. The radiation pattern of this design is not omni-directional, nor is it consistent. Due to the manner that the two drivers are implimented, there is a vast difference in radiation characteristics as frequency varies.

Due to using multiple drivers, a crossover is required. The crossover introduces time and phase anomalies into the signal. Due to the multitude of parts placed between the amplifier and the drivers, signal losses are incurred and further time and phase shifts take place. The newer "Walsh series" are vented cabinets, which introduce faster roll-off rates below resonance, reduce damping characteristics, introduce phase shifts and doubles the resonant peaks within the bass region.

The "Walsh series" are a far more benign load in terms of impedance, making them easier to drive. They are also more efficient, making it much easier to select an amplifier. They will also play louder than the A's and F's in stock form, making them more suitable for a wider range of music.

Technically speaking, there really isn't much of a comparison to speak of. These are completely different designs using completely different technologies with completely different presentations from completely different approaches. Which one you, i or anyone else prefers is, once again, a matter of personal preference. As i've said many times before, one should buy and use what they enjoy, regardless of what anybody else thinks. Nobody has to listen to or even like their system except for themselves. Regardless of how "accurate" or "high fidelity" the system is, when all is said and done, it's about enjoying the music. Sean
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I'm glad you've once again joined the conversation, Sean!

I spoke to Bill in regards to you at the time you were contacting him about your F's. He said you were a true gentleman, and quite enthusiastic and knowledgeable - which I concurred with wholeheartedly.

Your suggestion of documenting the modifications and tweaks of the Ohm Walsh driver is something that should definitely get done - thank you. A close friend of Bill and I, Vinh Vu, owner of Gingko Audio, has always told me he was going to record Bill just saying what he always does (tremendous kernals of loudspeaker and modding knowledge) all day long, and put these words up on a website. I'm thinking that we need to make that happen, the Walsh driver stuff being one of these features, definitely.

As I read through this thread this past week, I appreciated your input in regards to your Ohm Walsh F. All I can say is that you are right on the money. Your statement of them going down to 5 Hz is something I can more than vouch for. As I said, I have NEVER had the contents of my intestines just taken and shaken by any other loudspeaker. To be truthful, it can sometimes be a bit scary, as it literally feels as if you could lose control of your bowels - I have read somewhere this happens with a 4 Hz signal. I took one of my buddies who owns a speaker company over one day, and when one of these bass notes hit, he was just like, "!!!!***WTF***!!!! Oh my God, was that just what you told me about?!?" When Bill's mods get implemented, and they are able to run on just a few watts, "No, they are NOT inefficient, they're tremendously EEEEEEEEEEEEFFICIENT." - Bill Legall; it's as awe inspiring, yet natural a sounding speaker that probably has ever been produced.

ohm is still one of the classic lines