Ohms Walsh 3 Woofer access surround replacement

[rocknroller]

Can across a pair of vintage Ohms Walsh 3 speakers. Externally super nice. Soundwise, tweeters very bright though not hearing much bass with the amp I had connected. I do need to check a second amp to be sure but I suspect the surrounds might be toast. For those that know Ohms Walsh speakers, the woofer is sealed in a metal cage. Before I attempt prying the bottom off to be able to see them, any suggestions with someone who's had experience with OHM's walsh cabinet to carefully remove the cage lid?? It seems that if I just start sticking screwdriver to pry the lid off it's just going to dent and mess up that cage.
Also in the event woofers surrounds are found to required, any experience in sourcing suitable replacements? I realize Ohms (or their support group) does repair work on these but at fees starting at $500 a unit, that's out of the question for me. I can replace the surrounds myself if they can be sourced appropriate for the size/type required.

 

[bhunter]

Ohm Walsh 3s do not have foam surrounds. Why do you think the surrounds are "toast"? BTW, they are excellent speakers. The can is easily removed by slicing the mastic with an X-Acto knife and then carefully prying the can from the back of the inverted driver. Also, the switches on the bottom sometimes need to be cleaned. Unfortunately, the access to the xover is through the top and is difficult to work with without removal. I'd vigorously move the switches and run some bass sweeps. The electrolytic caps ought all be replaced IMHO. Ohm crossovers are complicated and their removal and rebuilding is quite a bit of work. Good luck.

 

[rocknroller]

I said I "suspect" they are - simply based on the lack of bass volume coming out of the speaker. The switches are working well, though i agree it could be a crossover cap too. My plan tomorrow is to take the top off and directly feed the speaker (bypassing the crossover) to see how the bass sounds, then pop the lid if necessary to view what's going on on the cone. If they use cloth surrounds like some other vintage speakers, perhaps the cloth just needs to be resealed.

 

[a_retent]

As a walsh2 owner I know you don't need to "pry" off the cans (metal screening) to see the surrounds. There should be 4 screws that hold the entire speaker assembly to the cabinet. Remove the screws, lift speaker assembly and you should be able to view the entire surround from the bottom side, finess instead of brute force.

I'll say this again; If you need to have your Ohm speakers serviced by Ohm acoustics, call Ohm and speak with John Stroebeen, tell him you are an Audiokarma member and he will give you a discount.

 

[rocknroller]

As a walsh2 owner I know you don't need to "pry" off the cans (metal screening) to see the surrounds. There should be 4 screws that hold the entire speaker assembly to the cabinet. Remove the screws, lift speaker assembly and you should be able to view the entire surround from the bottom side, finess instead of brute force.

I'll say this again; If you need to have your Ohm speakers serviced by Ohm acoustics, call Ohm and speak with John Stroebeen, tell him you are an Audiokarma member and he will give you a discount.

I'm aware how to remove the entire can from the wooden cabinet base. I was speaking about the base of the can once it has been separated from the the cabinet. You probably aren't aware - The entire can is enclosed so you can't see or access the woofer without removing the base metal lid/screen. It maybe different on other ohm model, but on this one the metal screen is 100% around the woofer/tweeter. I had also done my search homework and found comments about the discount, though i don't expect it to get into a price range that is going to be practical for me.

 

[rocknroller]

This is the back of the can when removed. Another interesting things is I get about 8.4-8.7 ohms on the Black/blue connector combination, which is the tweeter, but the black/red woofer connection not showing any real reading, perhaps megaohms on my digital meter, yet I do hear audio of it. but It's lacking bass that i get from any externally connected free standing woofer I have lying around. the is the same with both cans. Not sure if there is an internal capacitor inside that can that is making the meter not read, or the voice coil is shot (yet still hear audio) but something is definitely strange.

 

[a_retent]

This is the back of the can when removed. Another interesting things is I get about 8.4-8.7 ohms on the Black/blue connector combination, which is the tweeter, but the black/red woofer connection not showing any real reading, perhaps megaohms on my digital meter.

Well damn, I stand corrected. I pulled a can on my walsh 2s aaaannndd it's the same thing. I completely refurbed my 2s a couple years back with my kid but he dealt with the cans, I did the xovers and the cabinets. He sent the cans to Ohm because they had ripped spyders, (he shined a flashlight thru the screen to see the damage), when they came back he mounted them on the cabs so I never really got to see them off the cabs until today. There is a thread on the whole rebuild titled "ohm walsh 2 recap", however it's under repair because of photobucket but should be fixed soon.

If you need to open the cans bhunters suggestion of using an xacto blade and cutting the mastic adhesive on the top can and gently prying off is perhaps your best bet.

As for your odd ohmmeter reading, mine does the same thing and a member posted to the ohm walsh 2 recap thread explained why that is, I can't remember the whole explanation....my hard drive is full.

Thanks for posting your pick.

 

[rocknroller]

Well damn, I stand corrected. I pulled a can on my walsh 2s aaaannndd it's the same thing. I completely refurbed my 2s a couple years back with my kid but he dealt with the cans, I did the xovers and the cabinets. He sent the cans to Ohm because they had ripped spyders, (he shined a flashlight thru the screen to see the damage), when they came back he mounted them on the cabs so I never really got to see them off the cabs until today. There is a thread on the whole rebuild titled "ohm walsh 2 recap", however it's under repair because of photobucket but should be fixed soon.

If you need to open the cans bhunters suggestion of using an xacto blade and cutting the mastic adhesive on the top can and gently prying off is perhaps your best bet.

As for your odd ohmmeter reading, mine does the same thing and a member posted to the ohm walsh 2 recap thread explained why that is, I can't remember the whole explanation....my hard drive is full.

Thanks for posting your pick.

Top of the can? From the horn end? not sure how i would access the woofer then...

 

[a_retent]

I found this thread about opening the cans on a pair of walsh 2s.
If you just wanted to inspect the surrounds I would believe this would be a most repairable way to do that. Plus it'll give you the opportunity to inspect the foam liner inside of the can for rot/decay and remove any possible debris. Looking at the way the screening is attached to the bottom/inside face of the can assembly I'm not sure if it would involve replacing the gasket or if the lip on the bottom screen is glued against the basket frame next to where the surround meets the frame. I'm sorry I just can't tell how that whole lower screen is attached and must admit to being too chickenshit to pulling my cans apart. We just shipped them off to Ohm because we knew they were damaged. I wish I could be of more help.

 

[rocknroller]

I found this thread about opening the cans on a pair of walsh 2s.
If you just wanted to inspect the surrounds I would believe this would be a most repairable way to do that. Plus it'll give you the opportunity to inspect the foam liner inside of the can for rot/decay and remove any possible debris. Looking at the way the screening is attached to the bottom/inside face of the can assembly I'm not sure if it would involve replacing the gasket or if the lip on the bottom screen is glued against the basket frame next to where the surround meets the frame. I'm sorry I just can't tell how that whole lower screen is attached and must admit to being too chickenshit to pulling my cans apart. We just shipped them off to Ohm because we knew they were damaged. I wish I could be of more help.

I saw that thread but in his initial post it looks like he was cutting the metal. Now reading it again, it appears, he might have just been cutting the glue off around it. Still not clear from his 1st post/5th pic how the woofer would be removed. it seems just to show/verify the foam rot in that pic. Perhaps the woofer just lifts off at that point.

 

[a_retent]

Mine looks as though the grill on the bottom/inside appears to be glued to the basket.

 

[rocknroller]

PROGRESS! Got the can lid off. Confirmed the surrounds are indeed cloth and not deteriorated foam. The reason for the crazy ohms measurement was because there are crossover caps inside (see pic). Two them in series specifically for the woofer. Confirmed the issue is with the caps. If I apply source direct to the speaker terminals - it's full and loud. Go through the connector and thus the two caps - weak sound. Now I just need to get these unsolder and hopefully there's some markings underneath the sheathing to identify what they are, or perhaps one of the threads someone has documented these if not. Either way, I need to get them replaced as that seems to be the cause.

 

[rocknroller]

Mine looks as though the grill on the bottom/inside appears to be glued to the basket.

Mine has a foam shield under the grill so you couldn't see the woofer.

 

[rocknroller]

Ah the plot thickens - Not the capacitor that is the problem. Turn out those red/green cover things are bulb fuses, inseries with each other and the first one in parallel with the 14uf cap, and the first one is blown. I suspect the same on the other can. So what's happening is the audio path can't go through the fuse, so it goes 100% through the 14uf capacitor on top instead, so instead of acting like a high pass filter like it was designed - it acts as a LOW pass filter , thus killing my lows! Now I just have to figure out what the value needs to be. Since the Capacitor is only rated at 50 volts, it obviously can't be that much. Not sure why there are two in series. Failsafe?

 

[mars_volta]

Email Ohm.

Walsh 3 should have cloth surrounds and not need new caps.

 

[nfafan]

Never could figure out why ANY mfg uses bulbs or fuses or dried monkey guts that are purposely installed in such a manner as to be inaccessible to mere mortals if replacement is needed. Just flat stoopid.

 

[rocknroller]

Any idea what values they might be?

 

[rocknroller]

Never could figure out why ANY mfg uses bulbs or fuses or dried monkey guts that are purposely installed in such a manner as to be inaccessible to mere mortals if replacement is needed. Just flat stoopid.

Seriously - I've replace several on Bass Guuitar cabinets (ampeg most notably). You have pull the whole crossover out, and unsolder from the board. PITA. A couple manufacturers made it it easier by having socket holders, but you still had to pull the crossover to get to it.

 

[rocknroller]

and just FYI I tried calling Olh all day long, multiple phone number and from multiple phones. Something wrong with their phone system or they didn't pay the bill. Most calls wouldn't connect or "could not be made at this time" and when a phone did eventually ring (2 out of 10 calls) it either got disconnected after several rings or no answer or even a machine to pick up. Weird. I did reach out to them on facebook too, but at this point everything I have mentioned/asked about there is irrelevant now. I just need to know about this fuse.

 

[a_retent]

Ah the plot thickens - Not the capacitor that is the problem. Turn out those red/green cover things are bulb fuses, inseries with each other and the first one in parallel with the 14uf cap, and the first one is blown. I suspect the same on the other can. So what's happening is the audio path can't go through the fuse, so it goes 100% through the 14uf capacitor on top instead, so instead of acting like a high pass filter like it was designed - it acts as a LOW pass filter , thus killing my lows! Now I just have to figure out what the value needs to be. Since the Capacitor is only rated at 50 volts, it obviously can't be that much. Not sure why there are two in series. Failsafe?

Nice detective work Sherlock,
I don't understand that whole parallel lytic/fuse with another fuse in series game. I would be tempted to get rid of the lytic cap and get a better cap like a Dayton, Jansen, SonicCap or any number of other better caps. I don't believe for this application the voltage plays a critical role so if you moved up to a 100 volt vs. 50 volt cap it shouldn't be a detriment but be sure to maintain the same μf rating. When I changed the caps on my W2 xover I went with Jansen blue 400 volt and they sound nice. I don't know how much benefit you would get from $$$ boutique caps so I kinda went down the middle of the road. Now you got me wondering what's in my cans.

Oh yeah, good nudie pic.