Need an amp with a 'turbo' top end


I have a pair of speakers (modded Walsh Ohm Fs) that I love but they need a little extra 'life' blasted into their upper mids and top end. They are very detailed but not very extended and lack a bit of top end punch. Horns are a bit muted and don't give that 'blast' when they blow. I was wondering if anyone had any suggestions on an amp that would add a bit of this to the sound.

Thanks,
-Donn
donnwags
I doubt that a brighter amp would help, but then again, this is a pure guess, particularly because you never mentioned the amp you are currently using.

I would consider adding a supertweeter, something like the Elac, which has an omnidirectional dispersion pattern that would fit with the Ohm speaker.

The other alternative would be to get either an equalizer or a linestage with some form of tone control.
Try one of the class D amps, they did wonders for my old and lazy Mirage M3s, really brought them to life.
Yes, asuming the speaks are in good working order, you do need a decent quality "brute" of an amp due to inefficiency and difficult load, if you do not already have one.

A high power Class D digital switching amp (250 or 500 W/ch into 8 ohm doubling into 4 ohms) would be most cost effective. This is the route I pursued with the newer large Ohms.

I use a 100W/ch Musical Fidelity A3CR (not class D but doubles into 4 ohms) with good results with the newer Ohm Walsh 5 drivers, but the F is even less efficient, so that may not cut it for you if you want to go loud.

However my understanding is that Fs suck power but canalso be damaged easily if overdriven, so be careful.

The F's, are an original and classic work of engineering. There is nothing else in the world quite like them. If your Fs are in good shape, you have a very unique work in your possession. I'd keep them and get the right electronics in place to drive them properly. If not, they will be difficult but perhaps not impossible to get repaired back to original specs or better.

You might consider having Ohm upgrade them to newer series 3 drivers if you just want to go for a more modern design that is less finicky and easier to just enjoy. I believe this can be done with F's for as little as ~ $1000 or less for smaller 100 series 3 drivers or as much as a few grand for the larger 300 or 5 series 3 drivers. Which drivers exactly to get would be determine dlargely by your room size. I have had good results with both smaller 100 and larger 5 series 3 drivers in a moderately larger size room.

Realize though that the newer series 3 drivers are technically superior than the Fs in terms of specifications (including efficiency, ability to go loud, and top end extension), but are a two way design with a different omni-directional dispersion pattern, so they are not quite the same as original Fs.

I am not sure yet what I am going to do but I am taking all of your advice into consideration.

-Donn