Refresh Ohm Walsh 4s or Walsh 5000 upgrade?

Thanks again for the input.  I’m placing the order for the super Walsh 4.5000 upgrade today.

Final update for anyone interested in my break in experience.  Another month and a half in, the bass has tightened up.  I now have the bass set for medium sized room, and the subs will probably go to my children.  When I think of listening to music now, the memory and anticipation has a physical element to it.

Thanks, mapman .  Good to hear.  I’ll put the upgrade on my old 4 cabinets that are in good shape.  That will keep the cost down.  Never had a desire to see if the grass was greener on the other side or replace the 4s until the one acted up, so the cost seems like a bargain to me.

Thanks, mapman .  Good to hear.  I’ll put the upgrade on my old 4 cabinets that are in good shape.  That will keep the cost down.  Never had a desire to see if the grass was greener on the other side or replace the 4s until the one acted up, so the cost seems like a bargain to me.

I've talked to John at Ohm a couple times.  The 5000 is pretty much a drop-in upgrade to the 4s with new anchor bolts.  Removing the crossover will take some work, but I'd have to take them out to send back for crossover repair anyway.  The instruction manual is on their website on the Ohm Walsh4 legacy products page.  I sure don't want to ship entire speakers from Seattle to New York.  I have long arms and he said that was most important.  I do have woodworking skills and plenty of wood working tools and good chisels.  Apparently there's also one block also glued to a wall inside the cabinet.  I'm going to ask if he'll give me that black and pink Ohm t-shirt if I return the crossovers to him unbroken.

The level adjustments are key to me.  My 4s have them, and they are helpful as the two speakers are pretty much in the corners of a very long narrow room.  The left wall is 40 feet of mostly windows, and the other side has furniture and opens up to a hallway and then a kitchen.  I had the treble down on the right speaker aimed at the window wall, and the treble up on the other.  I'm especially looking forward to a midrange adjustment.

Thanks for the encouragement.  I was able to tell my wife someone on the forum said it's a no-brainer. 

And saves everyone the hassle of shipping cabinets!  Having never done that, and having an active imagination, I was ready for a horror show.

As I was about to give my credit card #, and looking out the window,  a bald eagle glided past about 20 feet away.  They are around here, but rarely that close to a house.  I don’t think Ohm has a raptor logo, but a couple weeks ago I got a Rogue integrated amp.  Kinda close.  An omen?

I wanted to post an update, because so often I read an older thread and never learn how it turned out.  The 4-5000 upgrade speakers arrived.  Apparently the hold up was the supply of metal they use for the cans.  It took couple hours to get the old crossovers out, new binding posts installed, and speakers on the old Ohm Walsh 4 cabinets and ready to go.  I’ve been listening and average of 3-4 hours a day for about a week.

The difference from my old 4’s is huge, and the sound is just more of everything.  Gobs of base, which is still settling in.  I turned of my subs. These speakers actually go lower than the REL T5’s.  I have a large but narrow room with the speakers at the narrow end and pretty much in the corners, and I’ve got the base set for small room.  I’ll let them continue breaking in for a while before tweaking the various adjustments or placement.

an interesting note - they sound much louder at lower dB levels on my NIOSH sound level app than the 4’s.  The music is just denser, but certainly not muddy. I’ve played every War album I have twice.  All that percussion, horns, and bass just gets the whole room rockin.  Highs are airy and clear.  The bell or whatever it is on Mars Hotel, Unbroken Chain floats around the room near the ceiling.  I hear the air on every note  sung or blown.

couldn’t be more impressed or pleased with the improved performance 

Steve