I must be living right ......

[SEAWOLF97]

Amasingly, I've been trading emails with the president of OHM today (try that with the prez of HK )

here are his tips...

Hi Tom,

Yes, going to much thicker wire like 12 gauge MonsterCable is a good idea. You will find the cabinet pretty full of tuflex. Keep it that way. Taking it all out and adding many extra braces between the other five sides of the cabinet can improve the sound. So can adding two more long bolts in the other two corners.

It is old Ohm customers that keep us in business.

Feel free to call me personally to discuss your needs and options.

Good Listening!

John Strohbeen
President
800-783-1553

[jim campbell]

is anyone else using that design with any success?

[Storm]

birch reminds me of kitchen(ette) cabinets in a cheap motel or trailer park. One grade above raw plywood.

And your reasoning that later down the road, the birch will be desirable ??? Because Not alot out there to choose from ????

Not a lot of Chevy Vegas out there to chose from either. They worth zilch. (Sorry Mr. Zilch)

maybe read up on jackgiff 's beautiful rosewood 4412's , maybe those Altecs can be rescued.

http://www.audioheritage.org/vbullet...light=rosewood

Well, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Why would I ruin the originality of them anyways by adding rosewood veneer?

To me, Birch is more of a modern wood - check out the trendy furniture stores - teak and birch are all the rage.

-Storm.

[SEAWOLF97]

To me, Birch is more of a modern wood - check out the trendy furniture stores - teak and birch are all the rage.
-Storm.

Yup, I agree. The cheap furnature from China is birch ...very trendy

Of all the domestic hardwoods, Birch would probably be the lowest in price. This is its most redeeming feature.

Birch's ease of use and reasonable price, have made it a great craftwood, for almost any woodworking project. It's used extensively for firewood and makes wonderful ornamental trees. It has been turned to make all the toy parts you need, tongue depressors, tooth picks, pulped for paper.
Yellow Birch: The Official Tree of Quebec, CAN
White Birch: The Official Tree of Saskatchewan,CAN
The Tree: Betula family
Birch trees grow abundantly in North America, with nine species in this family that are relatively well known, but over 50 species found around the world, including many ornamental and shrub bushes. Yellow(silver or swamp birch) and paper (sometimes referred as white or canoe) birch are the two most common trees in Northern Ontario, although sweet, river and gray birch have some commercial recognition in other parts of Canada and the United States.
"White" birch, as we know it, is not really a species but rather a combination of either paper and/or gray birch. Red Birch is not a species at all, but rather refers to the heart stock of the yellow birch. Almost all members of this family have a smooth resinous white bark, that peels, rolls or curls, in some fashion. Some types of birch bark peels up the tree, rather than the traditional "around the tree". The bark gets very thick and deeply ridged as the tree gets older. Birches are usually the first to establish in cleared land, but start to die once other trees move in and offer shade. The trees will average a height of 70' and a diameter of 2'.
Wood Description:
The appearance of the wood will vary between species, but generally, the sap wood is creamy white and the heart stock, golden brown. Paper birch is predominately sap wood, with small brown knotty hearts. The wood is mostly white but as it nears the core will show brown flame patterns, with white sap edges.. quite dramatic. Yellow birch on the other hand, tends to be a larger tree and exhibits a more consistent golden brown colour, with little creamy white sap wood. Often yellow birch shows a nice curl pattern. In commercial operations, unlike maple,it is rarely sorted for colour.
Birch dries with a fair amount of shrinkage. It loses almost 16% of its volume going from green to dry lumber and does like to warp and twist if enough weight is not applied to the green lumber as it air dries. It is not resistant to decay, fungal and insect attack. Spalting is very common. Of all the quality domestic hardwoods, Birch would probably be the lowest in price. This is its most redeeming feature.

Spalting is a by-product of the rotting process that is carried out by a vast array of stain, mold and decay fungi, that are found naturally on the forest floor. When the temperature and humidity are right, spalting can cause many different and beautiful patterns in rotting wood. The unusual colouration may be due to chemically induced reactions between the wood, fungi and insect deposits, often resulting in black, pink, grey and multicoloured streaked wood

[clmrt]

Well, at least now I know what a Walsh is, anyway.



Back to your irregularly scheduled 846U thread.

[SEAWOLF97]

Welll storm,

upon further reading, I guess Birch isn't the worst hard wood for speaker cabinets. Can you imagine BALSA ? maybe? ..Pound for pound it is stronger in some respects than pine, hickory, or even oak.
It is also used to make very light, stiff structures in model bridge tests, light wooden aeroplanes, table tennis blades, typically sandwiched between two pieces of thin plywood, and also is used in the Chevrolet Corvette bodies tub.

BALSA ALTECs ...now those would be rare and likely to appreciate.

[Storm]

I didn't know there was comedians on this forum.

Can we stop the bashing or is that what the Navy taught you, Seawolf? What a good use of America's tax dollars, I'd say!

Come on and stop the childish behavior and FINALLY become a man!



-Storm.

[Ian Mackenzie]

Interesting thread and a nice loudspeaker speaker.

I recall hearing the Walsh driver at Allen's Music in the 70's. They were great.

Has there ever been an attempt at a diy Walsh driver?

[John]

Well, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Why would I ruin the originality of them anyways by adding rosewood veneer?

To me, Birch is more of a modern wood - check out the trendy furniture stores - teak and birch are all the rage.

-Storm.

Birch being all the rage is a new trend I must of missed!!!

Teak has been over long time ago. Back in the 80,s there were a lot of wall units around but that trend died before you were born Storm

[Storm]

Birch being all the rage is a new trend I must of missed!!!

Teak has been over long time ago. Back in the 80,s there were a lot of wall units around but that trend died before you were born Storm

__________________________________________________ ________

Tell that to all of my customers on eBay for the past 5 years. I have consistently sold Danish Modern, Teak furniture to people all over the world, but especially here in the USA.

Danish Modern and teak is all the rage, along with contemporary - clean lines and light colors.

Please, if you get a chance - wander through a store like Copenhagen or Denmarket, then you will understand what I mean.

I know what you mean - I live in a 1960's house with walnut veneer walls. I hate them, but it sure would cost alot to re-do.



Seriously, though...I think my generation is done with dark colors and especially the walnut - yuck!

Just like a@#holes, everyones got an opinion - and I am very glad everyone gets a chance to voice them.

-Storm.

[SEAWOLF97]

Hmmmm..I'm starting to see a trend here, and poor storm is not in the majority.

I am deducting ( at the risk of storm attacking my manhood, again) that his mighty unfinished pine,,,err,,, birch Altecs were his very first speakers OR that he spent his life savings on them.....nothing like that first love , even if she was a bitch,,,errr,,,,birch.

Defend your purchase at all costs !!!!!! Babble on forever. We can't get enough of the 846 ewe's

[Storm]

Wow, Seawolf - I am so flattered at those comments.

Get off your high horse.

I am not defending my purchase, but embracing. Isn't that what you are doing on the OHM F thread? Come on, get a life other than making fun of others.

Yes, these were my first speakers and they will be my last. Not due to budget restraints, but I truly have found the speaker for me.

If you can't realize the simple fact that light colors and birch are in style, then you must be older than I thought.

Have an open mind - embrace things that you cannot understand.

And no, I am not blabbering. I am trying to give VOICE to these speakers and give them the justice and respect they deserve - trying to show people that JBLs are not the only answer.



Please, I don't mean to offend - only trying to reveal what I am trying to say.

Let's all be civil.

Thanks.

-Storm.

[John]

Hmmmm..I'm starting to see a trend here, and poor storm is not in the majority.

I am deducting ( at the risk of storm attacking my manhood, again) that his mighty unfinished pine,,,err,,, birch Altecs were his very first speakers OR that he spent his life savings on them.....nothing like that first love , even if she was a bitch,,,errr,,,,birch.

Talk about hitting the nail on the head!!!

[Storm]

[John]

Wow, Seawolf - I am so flattered at those comments.

Get off your high horse.

I am not defending my purchase, but embracing. Isn't that what you are doing on the OHM F thread? Come on, get a life other than making fun of others.

Yes, these were my first speakers and they will be my last. Not due to budget restraints, but I truly have found the speaker for me.

If you can't realize the simple fact that light colors and birch are in style, then you must be older than I thought.

Have an open mind - embrace things that you cannot understand.

And no, I am not blabbering. I am trying to give VOICE to these speakers and give them the justice and respect they deserve - trying to show people that JBLs are not the only answer.

-Storm.

Dude There just speakers!!!

I thought Justice and Respect was reserved for Humans

I am not a big gambler but I will go out on a limb here and place a bet that you will own a few more pairs, of speakers in your life???

Also colors change every year.

And when that cheap wood panneling went out of style first thing most people did was roll some paint over it, give it a shot.

I recommend JBL blue