Ohm Walsh speakers in the 21st century


Back in the seventies I had a pair of Ohm Walsh 7’s. They were big and bold and could really fill a room with amazing sound. Now, I’m thinking about redoing my system and an old friend asked me about getting Walsh again.  Does anyone here have or at least heard the new line of Walsh Tall speakers? I’ve read they now have a tweeter in them and that they are dampened on the back.

Any input would be appreciated.

JD
128x128curiousjim

Showing 3 responses by uncleang

Walsh 4 owner here... since 1986!
Yes there has been 3 generations since mine but I believe that the #1 change is the vent (which is at the bottom of the cabinet venting into the floor in my model) now vents into a wood base which is also the cabinet platform.
My older model is sensitive as to what it vents into, i.e. hardwood floor, thick dense carpet, shag carped, etc. This has a major effect on bass quantity and quality.
Current models are therefor more acoustically predictable than mine.

The following is what hasn’t changed between my Walsh 4’s and the current Walsh 3000....

10" time coherent downward facing driver
1" soft dome super tweeter
1st order Butterworth crossover @ 8K Hz( 6 db per octave)
6 ohm impedance
Sub Bass Activator @ 60 Hz (basically a passive equalizer)
weight: 63 lbs.

JD, given the size and nature of your listening room You'll need to go with the Walsh 3000 (or larger) and a good robust amp, which they love.
JD,
The only difference between the 3000 and the 4000 is a 12" driver vs. 10" one. Naturally it can go a little deeper in the bass and louder too.

The Dynaco 400 is exactly what these speakers prefer.

As you may have noticed the OHM website is not big on handing out specs on their products (they weren’t 35 years ago either).
But to their credit they emphasize room size to pick the right speaker, which in all probability is the right way to pick your speakers.

You mentioned you had Walsh 7's in the 70's.  You are most likely referring to the Walsh F which was a true Walsh design (one driver and a true omnidirectional) unlike the modified Walsh designs that started in the early 80's (gen 2) which were considerably more efficient (but still fairly inefficient) that had the main driver + super tweeter arrangement. These, and all subsequent Walsh models, also featured damping material (which OHM calls 'Tufflex') applied to the rear of the main cone driver which attenuates rear sound propagation by -20 db.