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Ohm F remodel options

So, someone has offered me their Ohm F’s- all original parts with no modifications. The cabinets are rosewood, and really look like they’re about 34 years old.

The drivers are in horrible condition. The Right speaker has the surround disintegrated and is virtually un-playable. The Left is in slightly better shape, but reveals its age.

I have no idea what kind of room they will be in a year from now. The current room is too small, and in a 900-sq ft house it is a non-starter. We have no room to even store them at the moment. I would take possession of them the day that we move to Virginia, probably in April.

There seem to be quite a few options.

1) Send them to Ohm for an upgrade. But, an upgrade to what? The 2000 driver seems to be a safe bet, assuming they will be in a medium-to-small room next year. Sending them in for a full 5000 upgrade is possible, but the expense will delay the project for about a year.

2) Have Ohm send the drivers of choice and do it myself. Good option unless I go up to the 4000 or 5000 driver. I’m not that good with woodworking, and would be concerned about screwing them up.

3) Go for the gusto and send to Dale Harder and crew to be updated with their modern Walsh driver. But that expense will really delay the project.

What would you do if given Ohm F’s?
parasound63
parasound63 OP
162 posts
 
A new player has emerged to possibley work on the F's. Erik Wayne, nephew of Bill @Millersound has expressed interest in the project. He's in New Jersey, and a reasonable distance for me to drive to once I'm in Virginia.

I think I would like to avoid shipping if possible...

As far as being a noble venture, for me restoring the F is a logical course. There aren't that many in working condition.

-P
mapman's avatar
mapman
21,830 posts
 
"but I wonder what Licoln Walsh would have designed if he had access to todays technology or just lessons learned"

On paper at least, the evidence would seem to suggest that Dale Harder's technical vision is closest of the variations out there to that of Lincoln Walsh's, a single full range Walsh driver, along with the pros/cons that go along with that.

German Physics and OHM are both more focused on making the design more durable and reliable IMHO.

GP is more focused on using Walsh technology from the top frequencies on down and punting on the low end so that the driver is less inclined to destroy itself and hence more robust and marketable from a support perspective. Theirs is also more a "cost is no object" marketing approach.

OHM is also more focused on all but the top frequencies, also in the interest of making the design more robust and reliable at high output levels and hence more reliable as a solution for the masses. OHMs marketing scheme is more blue colar: find ways to make the technology more affordable for the masses.

Dale Harder has apparently improved on the robustness of the Walsh driver implementation from OHMs early attempts (the F and A) but my impression is that it is still more an issue with his design than the others.
parasound63 OP
162 posts
 
Bump-

I FINALLY hooked up the F's tonight, and they work and sound fine. Down the road I may have some work done, especially re-foaming at the very least. The dust covers are horrible looking, and the cabinets could use refinishing.

In the meantime, I have a working pair of F's in pretty good condition...
mapman's avatar
mapman
21,830 posts
 
Lucky guy!

Those things are the easiest to fix, though my understanding is the refoam needs to be done by someone familair with the Fs.

IS the foam getting brittle or damaged or just not clean? There may be ways to clean and perhaps even lubricate it without replacing if not, depending.
ohm_om
1 posts
 
As the original owner of a pair of Fs, The foam surrounds in mine have finally given up the ghost.   They have started to crack and separate.  The foam lining of the speaker cones remains supple and intact. 

I found this thread and wanted to ask if Parasound63 (or anyone else) has more recent info on successfully repairing  Fs, and keeping them original, and/or getting them upgraded (and feedback from doing so).
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