Ohm walsh 2 Cans opened

Katalyst

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I found a set of OW2 speakers at a local used record store. The foam has deteriorated on the cans. A buzzing in one had me fearing the worst. Turns out to be the foam debris on the woofer. I searched here on the forum.Many said to use various chemicals to dissolve the glue. After the years the glue on these had dried up. I cut the glue around the grill first using my "McGruder" knife. I made a tool out of an old nut pick to pry each hole above and around the lip. Popped off without chemicals. Buzzing gone and sound very good. Further restoration as time allows.
 

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Contrary to a lot of opinion, they are easy to open IMHO. Now, getting to the crossover is a real pain. They're somewhat ugly with the can removed, but they do indeed sound good. The Walsh series all have excellent imaging, timbre, and midrange. The main driver covers a wide range. IIRC, on my Walsh 3s the crossover is at 8500Hz.

I removed the felt on the outside of the cans and then remounted the cans with 3M VHB foam tape. Obviously, you could also use various adhesives to remount the cans.

BTW, There is a well documented rebuild thread here on AK.
 
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I used a knife and a screwdriver to scrape off goo and remove the cans on my Ohm Walsh 5. I was more comfortable doing it that way than getting chemicals near the driver.
 
Great thread! These pics could have been taken of my OW2s. From what you have discovered - is it tru they have cloth surrounds vs. fam surrounds?
Thanks!
 
Thanks for the responses. Yes the surrounds are cloth. There is a code on the woofer SW-9006 and below that L13TNB. The fuse bulbs were coated with a black substance that had crumbled off.
That's the one. It was better before Photobucket destroyed all the links to the pictures. How do you like your Walsh 2s?
a_retent was kind enough to send me the raw pictures from the other thread. Vacuumed the debris out and temped on the cans. Switches on the bottom work. The high switch is very noticeable. The low switch is more subtle. I am powering them with a Realistic sta 2100d . Imaging is good. These are the mythical disappearing speakers.
 

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Many owners of these add sub woofers. The crossover is designed to limit bass below what the driver can deliver. http://ohmspeaker.com/news/sba-what-is-sub-bass-and-how-do-you-activate-it/ The last octave is missing by design. If I add a sub the crossover frequency would be 40hz to 50hz . Members in other threads have asked the static ohmage of the drivers. Mine are woofer red lead= 7.5 ohm. Tweeter blue lead= 5.7 ohm. Measurement with the fuse bulbs included. The fusebulbs are paired in series. Two per driver. These will light up now that the paint has been removed. The engineering in these is fascinating to me.
 

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Assuming that you do not add back in any type of foam sheeting to replace the old, disintegrated stuff - please advise how these sound without it. TIA!
 
Many owners of these add sub woofers. The crossover is designed to limit bass below what the driver can deliver. http://ohmspeaker.com/news/sba-what-is-sub-bass-and-how-do-you-activate-it/ The last octave is missing by design. If I add a sub the crossover frequency would be 40hz to 50hz . Members in other threads have asked the static ohmage of the drivers. Mine are woofer red lead= 7.5 ohm. Tweeter blue lead= 5.7 ohm. Measurement with the fuse bulbs included. The fusebulbs are paired in series. Two per driver. These will light up now that the paint has been removed. The engineering in these is fascinating to me.

I run my Walsh 3s with my distributed bass system comprised of 4 sealed subwoofers crossed at 50-70Hz. It's the same system I use with my Magnepans and Quads. Bela Fleck's "Flight Of The Cosmic Hippo" and Jennifer Warnes' "Way Down Deep" are good test tracks for low bass. Enjoy listening to your speakers.
 
Assuming that you do not add back in any type of foam sheeting to replace the old, disintegrated stuff - please advise how these sound without it. TIA!
Tried some foam and the sound was muffled. I will have to find a more appropriate type of foam. Any suggestions? For now the foam is at the top of cans only. The top cans were painted but not sealed onto the drivers. These are worth the effort very nice. Listened to Joni Mitchel and James Taylor together on youtube recorded by the BBC. Dulcimer and vocals clearly heard.
 

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The foam is installed on the inside of the cans. Lows set on increase. Highs on mid setting. Room arranged for better placement. Really enjoying these. View attachment 1064894

They are indeed a speaker that does a lot well. My Walsh 3s continue to surprised me.

BTW, are those Acousti-Craft speakers next to your Walsh 2s? What are they loaded with? My grandfather had a similar pair complete with a matching console.
 
For now the foam is at the top of cans only. .

Were it me I would have left them like this.

IMO the foam in the sides of the can is there merely to hide the internals ( Ohm seems to want these to remain a bit of a mystery to folks thereby discouraging DIY repairs )

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I can't agree more about Ohm wanting not to reveal anything to outside world and wants to do all work in house. I had a set of Ohm L larger bookies and asked for a schematic for the x-over and they said their x-overs do not deteriorate and only need a SBA to enhance sound at a considerable cost. My speakers were re foamed when I got them.The guy who did it couldn't replace the dust caps w/ the Ohm logo on them. I mailed Ohm for said dust caps and was told they do not sell just caps to the public and would have to ship entire drivers in to them for replacement. Not a chance. I flipped them and theyIMG_4397[1].jpg went in 3 days on C/L. I was going to ask about lining can foam but already answered that it just camo for the can and not for acoustics... Do you have the hoods to those or going gratuitous audio porn style ? Thanks. Lew....
 
Tried some foam and the sound was muffled. I will have to find a more appropriate type of foam. Any suggestions? For now the foam is at the top of cans only. The top cans were painted but not sealed onto the drivers. These are worth the effort very nice. Listened to Joni Mitchel and James Taylor together on youtube recorded by the BBC. Dulcimer and vocals clearly heard.

On mine, the foam was very thin and porous, it was/is disintegrating, and I have simply been vacuuming out the dry-rotted dust at this point.

I would guess that you could buy sheets of this thin foam at a craft store. I do not intend to replace it, once I pry off the steel-cage covers and clean the rest of it out.
 
I do not have the top hat grills. The foam will keep dust out and look better. The foam may hide the drivers. That is fine by me. Inner workings of things would surprise many people. The engineers are not looking for the aesthetic. The function is the goal.
 
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