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

Ohm sells direct only these days and relies mostly on word of mouth for sales.   I doubt there are any financial connections between ohm and other entities in the business other than their overseas distributors.  Hence the lack of attention and all that goes with that with many well known brands.   With no financial connections or dependencies not much reason for others to give any attention.  Money and connection talk in business.  Just like in politics.  The disrespect I have observed is rare but has been from others with competing products carrying big price tags usually.  The usual stuff. 

Sunnyjim. you are welcome any time in the central Maryland area to visit and hear my ohms. I have f5 series 3, 100series 3, and my old refurbed Ohm Ls.  Also a few other brands running as well for comparisons. 

Could be that we all have just accepted and became accustomed to direct two channel sound.

Yep.

I really don’t like the idea of music surrounding me, and to declare it good and the best ever heard.

They don’t surround you any more than any other speaker omni or otherwise which is practically never. If it happens ever it would probably be due to room acoustics. I’ve never heard it.

They are not really different from others that can have a large soundstage and good "holographic" imaging where sound is detached from speakers when set up right. You do have to listen to the music in the soundstage however, seemingly not the speakers. The presentation is just more convincingly live sounding than usual to me. Focus on listening to the speakers and you miss out on everything.

In general. I’ll go out on a limb and say omnis or even very wide dispersion speakers (like the OHMs) deliver a different presentation than speakers that are more directional and beam the sound more. They are two totally different presentations in many ways.

In general I think omnis including OHM are better at delivering a sound that seems more like a live performance despite being a recording. The large sweet spot and coherency of the soundstage from different listening positions is most indicative of this unique aspect and similar to what one would hear live.   OHMs use of the wide range Walsh style driver to cover all frequencies up to 7khz or so is OHMs most unique feature compared to others.    It delivers outstanding coherency to most of the music heard (vocals and midrange in particular) in comparison to most others with crossovers in this range.  That along with the big and coherent sound stage from most any listening position is what makes the OHMS uniquely convincing IMHO.

Whereas more directional designs deliver more of the traditional two channel stereo recorded experience.

Having had my OHMs and more traditional alternatives set up for comparison in various rooms in my house, I always find the OHMs more convincing and involving musically overall even though the specific differences in the presentation are subtle and things more similar than different overall in most ways. Its just more lifelike!

I also agree that people either will take to the sound and never be satisified otherwise again or not. The difference can be subtle but significant! Others can come close but its not easy.

Other than that, in the end the other main advantage is the large sweet spot which either benefits peoples listening habits or not. If you are content being lodged into a small sweet spot to listen all the time, or coherency of soundstage from many locations does not matter to you, there are many more good choices out there than otherwise..

Lance lock I'd like that.  I'll contact you on agon email.  

Coincidentally I landed back on ohm again after many years. I too have an l shaped room that was hard to get right.  

I'm actually glad OHM does not do shows and explicitly target the high end audio market.  I like their blue collar keep the overhead and prices for good sound as low as can be business model.    Most high end audio companies tend to lean the exact opposite way.

"Reviews of omnis frequently mention that "you won’t get pinpoint imaging" as you would with mini-monitors or whatnot, but overwhelmingly, you don’t get pinpoint imaging in live performances either unless the ensemble is small and you’re sitting fairly close. "

Good point.

With the OHMs set up right imaging is about as good as one would expect at a live performance. That’s part of what makes the sound more lifelike and convincing to me. More like a live performance even if a highly mixed recording.   If recorded live and well with simple miking, then bingo, you are there.   Many Mapleshade and Dorian recordings in particular are recorded this way.  Some others as well but only a small minority.

http://ohmspeaker.com/about/#history

History of of ohm including 80s distribution woes and move to direct only sales at the above link.  

What the ohms are not is bright in any way which sometimes can be perceived as more detailed.  

How owe detailed they are depends largely on what they are fed and how set up in the room.  

I do do not find them wanting in detail compared to say my Dynaudios which are more renowned for that.   Or using good headphones as a reference for listening most directly to the recording.  THey are definitely less bright.  Which is truly more detailed depends.  For all practical purposes I find it to be a moot point in the end.   Which is better in regards to detail is mostly a question of what one is listening for.   Assuming both are being fed a clean detailed signal to start with.