Ohm Walsh 2 recap

[jhaan92]

Thanks for the post - this has now become the definitive reference for rebuilding the Ohm Walsh2 speakers.
Now I'm going to have to think about what to do with mine (BTW, original owner).

Hey, no problem. If you have any questions, my dad would probably be the one to ask. I did the cap research and tossed in a fair number of ideas, but when it came to the leg work and the last minute inspirations, that was all him.

Perhaps this should be turned into a sticky....?

 

[speedle]

I vote for that! Excellent job, both of you. Those things look positively gorgeous now, I'm completely inspired.

 

[jwc2012]

Could you give some more information and details about swapping out the original spring loaded clips for the new terminals? What model terminals are the new ones? If that's an easy swap, that's something many Ohm Walsh owners, including me, may want to do.

What is Ohm doing to repair the drivers? Could they save the originals, or are you getting updated drivers?

 

[jhaan92]

Well, the binding posts came from Parts Express. The only drawback to replacing them is that they are riveted in, so there would have to be some careful drilling involved to get the rivets out. After that, it's up to you as to whether or not you want to re-rivet them onto the crossover board or use a screw with a nut...something like that. We chose to use rivets.

As for the drivers, I believe that they are replacing the low driver, as the spider was completely torn away from the cone on both speakers. Not 100% sure on how they are going about this, but according to the website, they say that for the money spent, the low driver is just replaced, so I would assume that is the case with mine. More than anything, I am curious to see if they will still use a cloth surround on the replacements or go to foam. Once these get put back together, it should be an interesting listen.

As for the part number: 260-302

Dad and I have always felt that spring loaded clips were not a great choice for any quality speaker. In fact, one of the clips on the Walsh's was broken when I got them, which I had already known it had been broken for pretty close to 20 years. With binding posts, they should hold up quite well, especially because the ones on the bottom of the cabinet will hardly ever be removed.



-Jason

 

[Redboy]

Wow! Nice work on those speakers, gentlemen! They look excellent!

Those things are good to go for another thirty years!

:thmbsp:

 

[Redikilowatt]

Fantastic job and beautiful results :thmbsp:

Now I am ashamed of my Ohm 2s

Roger

 

[jhaan92]

The cans are departing from Ohm first thing tomorrow morning. Should have them completely put back together and in service within a week.

Talked with Strohbeen at Ohm this afternoon and he gave me the rundown. They damn near got flooded from Sandy (literally inches from pouring in through the door), so they were just a touch behind schedule. He completed his listening test and break-in this morning, and gave them a clean bill of health. Good news for me-in fact, so good, it deserves bananas! 10 to be exact!



He was also rather interested in what we did, and was a little impressed at Dad's brilliant idea of using pocket screws to secure the supports to the cabinet. Not very often you can surprise the person who DESIGNED them (now Dad, don't go and get all high and mighty on us now, eh? )

Full details to come after they have been set up!



-Jason

 

[jhaan92]

Wow! Nice work on those speakers, gentlemen! They look excellent!

Those things are good to go for another thirty years!

:thmbsp:

I certainly hope so. Not nearly as custom as your turntable I've seen at Cobblefest, but I am still impressed at Dad's level of quality when approaching this task.

It wasn't easy. These speakers languished in boxes in storage for almost 15 years until I got them. I knew if I didn't bite the bullet ASAP, they would have sat for a few more.

Next up, a set of ADS L710's, but i think those can wait for a bit....I think I just want to sit back and enjoy the music for awhile.

 

[Ohighway]

How the heck did you get the drill in there to drive the pocket screws?

Trade secret.

That was really helpful.

 

[jhaan92]

Just a small drill actually.

 

[a_retent]

That was really helpful.

I knew this was going to happen...

Jason did not install the cross bracing therefore he wouldn't necessarily know the process, so here's the answer to the question that Gary asked in a previous post:

Because of the close quarters inside of the cabinet everything had to be angled through the top 8" opening and then positioned inside. once the bottom brace was pre-positioned I found a drill would fit inside the cabinet but I couldn't line up to install the pocket hole screws. I tried a couple different things and found the combination of my 18 volt Ridgid impact driver (no affil.) and a long #2 Irwin (no affil.) square drive bit cut to an appropriate length and inserted into the chuck after the impact driver was placed upside down inside of the cabinet provided me with enough room to get the bit to set into the head of the pocket screw. As you can see by looking at the previous photos the cabinets get narrower at the top so adjustments had to be made as I progressed with the installation of the rest of the braces in cabinet #1. The process was repeated on second cabinet with fewer complications.

I hope this now sufficiently answers the question.

 

[Ohighway]

Because of the close quarters inside of the cabinet everything had to be angled through the top 8" opening and then positioned inside. once the bottom brace was pre-positioned I found a drill would fit inside the cabinet but I couldn't line up to install the pocket hole screws. I tried a couple different things and found the combination of my 18 volt Ridgid impact driver (no affil.) and a long #2 Irwin (no affil.) square drive bit cut to an appropriate length and inserted into the chuck .............................

I hope this now sufficiently answers the question.

That was very helpful. :yes: Thank you.

 

[Ohighway]

We are also planning on building a set of bases for these speakers as well, which will be permanently mounted to the feet of the Walsh cabinets, and will be finished in black laminate. Dad (and Mom) bought these speakers not too long before they got married (she got them when they split), and he told me that if placed on a carpeted surface, that the bases give the Walsh's a chance to actually get the bottom end frequencies out past the cabinet before being absorbed by the carpeting.

I have found that whoever built these for Ohm certainly cut some corners, and I feel that these speakers were certainly made for a profit, but, as interesting as this is, they sound much nicer than their construction would indicate.

Those bases will also provide the added benefit of keeping the original cabinet work up a little higher, and the edges further away from getting kicked by shoes. These and other floor standers tend to take a beating at the lower edges. Anything that can raise them helps keep the cabinets from getting damaged.

I have a love/hate relationship with these Ohm speakers. Yes they managed to squeeze more than the sum of their parts out of them. However one can only wonder, how much better would they have been if they would have used better drivers? (For the price they charged when new they could have an still made a profit) Also, the whole 'bury the drivers in a can with goo adhesive' is ridiculous. Any normal person would just use a couple gaskets and fasteners, making access easier. Ditto the crossover buried at the bottom. But it's obvious, they purposely made these as hard to access and repair as they possibly could. Something I cannot respect.

Thanks for posting all the pictures. :thmbsp:

 

[jhaan92]

The Ohm's have departed the factory, and are scheduled to arrive via UPS on November 28th....then the fun begins.



-Jason

 

[jwc2012]

Congratulations! Can't wait for the full post-refurb review!

Did Ohm put in new main drivers? Any other repairs and/or adjustments? I'm about to send them my 2XO cans to repair some UPS caused carnage. Was there an Audiokarma member discount?

Those cabinets look beautiful. Original finish? (One virtue of 15 years I a box.) Those pocket screws were a great idea--but if I ever tried it they'd no doubt have me cursing non-stop for hours . . . and hours . . . and hours . . .

 

[jhaan92]

I'm not sure-I'll have to check the cans out when they get back to me. As for an AK discount, yes, there is one. Just call Ohm and talk to John Strohbeen (who will most likely be the one who answers the phone), and tell him what you would like Ohm to repair, and what your discount would be as a member of Audiokarma.

 

[doucanoe]

Just getting caught up here on my relaxing Turkey day.

Hey, excellent work guys! I look forward to hearing them at some point. I've always liked the lions share of the Ohm's of that era I have heard.

Speaking of close quarter pocket screw work, I was enthusiastically checking out one of these at work the other day.

Probably wouldn't get a ton of use out of it but it sure would come in handy from time to time.

RC

 

[bre's dad]

I've bookmarked this thread as I would like to recap my OW2's someday. Have a set of Thiel CS2's on the top of the rebuild list right now.

 

[jhaan92]

I've never had the pleasure of listening to a set of Thiels. If you have any additional questions, feel free to send myself or a_retent a PM and we would be more than happy to help.

 

[jhaan92]

Original finish?

Yes and no. It is the original veneer, but from what I was told, when they were new out of the box, the finish looked like bare wood, so Dad coated them with Aulwood. By the time I got them, they looked kinda dingy, and didn't keep up with how clean the rest of the speaker looked, so we simply washed the cabinets and re-treated them with Aulwood.

I also hand washed the grills to give them a fresh look as well. Just hose em with the sprayer in your kitchen sink with warm to hot water, and then CAREFULLY dry them off. After you dried them off as best as you can, let them air dry overnight before putting them back on. Looked like new when I was done.



-Jason