Ohm Walsh F Hope of Resurrection

I do not have answers as to whether the goo was ferrofluid, but that is likely the best explanation. So, perhaps we'll see if when I use them it takes 300wpc to get them to wake up, and 301 wpc to blow them up! 

Well, good luck! Nothing to lose and who knows maybe they can still deliver something that is hard to find otherwise.

I can tell you that the Walsh CLS design can take pretty much anything you throw at it with very little compression or risk of damage, so John Strohbeen definitely knows what he is doing there. Lessons learned over the years it seems from that article, starting with attempts to salvage original Ohm Fs.

I’ve been running various models hard for almost 40 years now, never a problem. Seems like the mastered application of ferrofluid is a factor for that.

IT’s still always best to avoid clipping at all costs... reserve power and the ability to handle it is your insurance policy for that with most good quality speakers in good working order.

In the interest of getting the most possible out of my Ohm Walsh F5s, I’ve been running them with 500 w/ch (into 8ohm doubling to 1000 into 4) BEl Canto monoblocks for a number of years now with outstanding results. I bought them planning to throw the kitchen sink at the biggest Ohms in order to max out what they can do. Those amps can drive almost anything to their max and also work well with other smaller speakers I own or have owned with them like my smaller Ohm 2s, kef ls50s, Dynaudio Contour monitors and others, but the Ohms are champs at going loud and clear off however much power you want to throw at them. Meanwhile they do as well as most with lower power amps, but its when you throw the kitchen sink at them that they truly distinguish themselves from the competition and shine. Similar to mbl and GP in that regard as well from what I read.

mapman, some nice guidance, and yes, I plan on adequate clean power. I have no desire to abuse gear; all my years I have never blown out a driver, even when I built my own "cabinets" for my coaxial car speakers that sat in the hatchback area aeons ago. I'm more into quality with quantity as opposed to quantity and more quantity.  

I never take speakers to the point of clipping; I greatly value my hearing and do not wish to introduce the potential for hearing damage. So, these will be handled well, not abusively. 

I will look forward to trying the Pass Labs XA200.8 Monos with them. I suspect they will be quite attractive sounding with those amps. 

Yep agree, can’t sacrifice quality, but when it comes to symphony orchestras, big bands, and the like, it takes more than average muscle as well to deliver the goods at home in a manner that at least somewhat resembles what one would hear live. Especially with modest sized full range speakers. Just have to be sure to take care of the ears along the way as well. Too much too often is not a good thing no matter how exhilarating it might be otherwise..

Douglas,
              You could talk to Dave Cox of Puckerbrush Audio in Norway Maine.  Dave is a Ohm speaker collector and has worked on a number of Ohm f's over the years. He is a friend and has worked on such speakers as a couple of JBL Paragons for me with great results. I had a pair of F's a number of years back and they definitely have a certain magic to them. I must say that I heard Dale's speakers at Axpona and they were out of this world!
Best of luck,
Bob