Are Ohm-Walsh micros and 1000 series disrespected because of omni-directional design??

To Rich, you have made many of the same observation that I have about Ohm-Walsh.  I have to confess of never going to shows, but I am very surprised that they don't attempt to get a booth and " strut  their stuff". however,  electronic shows are usually the worst venue to demo a speaker and not the greatest environment to provide good sound

There is thread on AG that goes back to 2006 or 2008 that ask  "Has anyone heard the Walsh micros or Walsh Talls.  The first 20 respondes I read were very favorable about the sound they produced which surprisingly lauded transparency, bass response, top end smoothness.  In that mix, one member claimed he tried them and returned them, because he got tired of their "parlor tricks" For me ,that comment was a troubling indictment, and triggered some of my own reservations of ever considering them. I made the association that the sound was around the listener, was not distinct or detailed, and kind of amorphous or nonspecific in imaging or sound staging. In looking back at this negative perspective recently, I thought maybe  OW over the last 25 years has perfected the performance of their black basket driver which crowns the top of all their models.

I recall in the 1970's visiting a dealer who had a speaker made by a Swedish company,  Sonus Labs that was  a rectangular box about 16 inches high, and 25 inches long The two drivers were visible on a slanted baffle board, and the speaker was placed vertically with the baffle board and drivers facing the wall. I listened to them for a hour, and felt they produced very pleasant sound, not particularly dynamic, but the soundstage was wide and reasonably deep, and most importantly, they sounded accurate and detailed.  However, I was just getting into audio and did not want to take a chance on such an exotic design.  Keep in mind, the Bose 901, and the small box like speaker, Bose 501 were going much the same thing as the Sonus Labs model. 

I actually owned a pair of Bose 501, and loved their sound. with the added bonus of them having deep, taut bass. ( I must have played the Band's first album 50 times just to here the bass drum on the cut "Jemina Surrender"  and "the Great Divide"..  ....Thanks for the comments. 

To mapman, you are a prince among men. I greatly appreciate your offer, but I live in Los Angeles. I do have a bud who lives in Charlottsville, Virginia.  So if I should visit him, we will take his Jag for a spin to your place and at your discretion, of course.  

Could be that we all have just accepted and became accustomed to direct two channel sound.  I really don't like the idea of music surrounding me, and to declare it good and the best ever heard. Maybe the  Ohm  design team declared war on that older tradition and sincerely works  against the traditional execution of sound, and aspires to widen the experience of music in a home setting without making the music sound distant, washed out, amorphous, or non specific etc.

I wish Ohm followed the traditional merchandizing methods of showroom auditions, and in store purchasing.  This home trial is a good idea but seems more complicated than the simple showroom demos where you either purchase them or take the salesman's card and go home.  In the case of Micro Talls  speakers, I really don't want to tie up $2000 in an escrow account while trying to decide whether I like the speaker or not.   .    

To dbp24    Thank you correction; I had an intuition that was not their first album, but nevertheless, it was a great one, combining tuneful and emotive songs.  It is sad that Richard Manuel is gone by suicide; and Levon Helms from cancer.  Like Bowie and Glen Frey, they provide great music and lasting memories.

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finsup....Yes,, I am still in the building or should I say audio asylum (LOL)   You make a very important about the issue of  listening to the system or just enjoying the music. However, if what a listener  hears is edgy in the highs, jumbled in the midrange on crescendo's, and raucous rock finales, or an a noticeable. incoherentcy  of musical presentation across the board, then the listener may feel intuitively that it does not  satisfy his general expectation. Without having to employ cornball  cliques: you may not get that "peaceful easy feeling" from the music you worked to achieve.

This is NOT necessarily abdicating the music for some ideal of musical perfection by technological whizzerty . The "two" are tied and intertwined  too closely together. This does not mean every listening  session is a flop by not delivering that so called "peaceful easy feeling" because there are too many parameters that go into the a natural, or musical  presentation of the medium; that is, from electrical hash in the AC outlet, or a disgruntled partner who just does not like the look,  color,and shape of the speaker in the living room.

I think audiophiles or aspiring audiophiles who put in the hours of research, and trial and error auditioning realize listening to music requires a high degree of concentration so as to enter the flow of the music played, and the potential genius inherent in its structure. This focus is not some elitist pretension that many non audiophiles contend and accuse us;  but, for the record, casual listeners, or listening while you work, or listeners passing through the room on the way to the  kitchen or bathroom are at a deficit. I don't hear a thing when I listen casually or distracted, so I listen alone. No playing slap and tickle with the girlfriend,  or watching the last segment of Dr. Phil while Beethoven,or the Allman brothers are wailing away  at the peak of their musical creation. 

I think you point deserves a separate thread, and I am sure the divergence of opinion will be great and  at times caustic. Thanks for the comment!! 

Finsup,  Let me state for the record, I don't believe I misunderstood you that Ohm speakers don't let you "listen into the music". Actually from what you and Mapman and some others have said, it seems listeners are immersed in the music and can enjoy the music, and  also  analytically ponder

 Also for the record, I was basically describing "HOW I LISTEN", NOT HOW EVERYBODY SHOULD". I have no desire to pen a manifesto type guide to listening, that thunders.... "you must listen this way with this design of speakers or else"  

I am an analytical either by choice of genetics.  I trained as a historian, and to dig for the truth not what seems to be truth of events  However, I know I have always listened analytically, and also enjoyed the music, unless it really sounded sour, edgy, or "just not right"  (Please note this phrase "just sounds right" which should  be considered as part of  this exchange. it is a key idea).

I never have either pulled out my hair, or cried into my pillow,. or in my beer all night because of  a disappointing listening session.. 

Yes, I have gone through several speakers over the last 45 years, but made those changes not out of frustration, but curiosity as to what other speaker could deliver in terms of "NOTABLE or discernible" better sound and presentation. (of course within reasonable price range)  

If that is a sign of chronic audio nervosa, and ignoring the music played, then I may be guilty. (Please don't repo my current speakers, if officially charged by the membership  (LOL) 

However in the interim, I learned a great deal about sound, the physics of speaker design, and the structure of musical composition.  It is impossible (at least to me)  to listen to Bach's "Toccata and Fugue in D Minor) not to perceive the minor and major structural changes, and yet not appreciate the musical totality of this masterwork which I believe was created by Bach to test the organ at Thomaskirche Cathedral. 

 Get a copy  either a mint vinyl, or CD of:  "E.Power Biggs Play Bach at Thomaskirche"  It is impossible to just have this music wash over me.it is an also an outstanding recording.  Is  it possible to. listen to the Allman's " powerful tune  "In Memory of Elizabeth Reed" from their "Live at Fillmore East"  The changes that Duane Allman and Richard Betts made at such high velocity playing is remarkable.  I think this music and other masterworks of rock can be enjoyed as music and musical structure 

Lastly, I think you should launch a thread that addresses the first point you made in the previous reply.   Good Luck and Cheers!!