Visiting one of Tokyo’s oldest jazz kissas with filmmaker Nick Dwyer… Last November, I spent an evening visiting listening bars with my friend Nick Dwyer, a New Zealand-born, […]
Ohm Acoustics Loudspeakers: The Budget Audiophiler
Brooklyn-based Ohm Acoustics have been manufacturing loudspeakers for almost 48 years. A deep dive by the Budget Audiophiler.
There is a wonderful scene in Bosch when after a long day on the job, Detective Bosch returns home to his glass house on the hill overlooking Los Angeles and puts on a jazz record. Harry (played by Titus Welliver) stares out onto the sprawling city below and sits down to lose himself in the music coming out of his Ohm Acoustics Walsh loudspeakers. I may not have such a striking view of the City of Angels every night, but Harry and I share the same loudspeakers. Ohm loudspeakers that have been manufactured in Brooklyn for almost 50 years.
“Tell me what I spend so much time dealing with you? – Harry Bosch
No loudspeaker is perfect, and the Ohm loudspeakers are not without their faults, but it is their intrinsic ability to emotionally move me with music that makes them impossible to replace.
The Ohm Walsh are only one chapter in my journey with the brand, but the one that I am fortunate enough to return to every single day.
How did I get here?
My love for Ohm loudspeakers began with a simple phone call. I had purchased a used pair of Ohm Fs knowing that they would require some level of repair. The Brooklyn-based loudspeaker manufacturer still supports its legacy loudspeakers; even those manufactured and sold 40 years ago. How many high-end brands do that?
The man on the other end of the line was Ohm President, John Strohbeen. I don’t expect to speak with Jeff Bezos or Steve Cook, if I have a problem with an Amazon purchase or Apple product, but having your questions answered by the person in-charge inspires confidence.
Harry Weisfeld, former CEO of VPI Industries, was renown for spending hours on the phone with customers helping them with their questions, so it’s good to know that this practice is still alive in the world of consumer electronics.
I told him about my recent purchase and his bold reply was, “congratulations for purchasing one of the finest speakers ever made.” He detailed the different options for upgrading the loudspeaker, but unfortunately Ohm no longer services the 18” titanium and aluminium Walsh driver. I would have to look elsewhere if I wanted to keep the original driver.
Ohm Acoustics was founded in 1971 by Marty Gersten, former Chief Engineer at Rectilinear, and four other partners using the exclusive patents held by Lincoln Walsh; the inventor of the “Coherent Wave Transmission Line Driver.” The Walsh Driver as it is more commonly known. Rectilinear declined to license the Walsh patent and Gersten made a deal with Strohbeen who wanted to sell the new Ohm Acoustics loudspeakers in his stores.
John Strohbeen became president of Ohm Acoustics in 1978; Strohbeen’s career in hi-fi began in his dorm room at MIT where he started Tech HiFi in 1964; one of the first high-end stereo stores where you could purchase Japanese audio equipment.
The Ohm A/F was their first creation and is still regarded as one of the best loudspeakers ever made. Perhaps not as famous in some circles as the Quad ESLs, but a very unique and innovative design that has plenty of admirers.
This article originally appeared at ecoustics.com and an intro has been published here with permission.
Read the full article: https://www.ecoustics.com/articles/ohm-acoustics-loudspeakers/
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