Omnidirectional speakers. The future?

John, I'll give your VMPS 40's a listen if you'll give my Shahinians a chance. A few of my audio heroes love the Dali Megalines which might share some similarities with the speakers you sell. You don't happen to be in the Chicago area?

Sean- I think Richard Shahinian would have constructed a pulsating sphere type loudspeaker if he had the technology. I agree that the greatest problem with current omni drivers are the lack of high spl ability and limited dynamic range. Shahinian chose to deal with this shortcoming by using conventional dynamic drivers arranged so as to mimic the sphere. I have not detected the lobing problems you mentioned. I don't understand why you think the Bose 901's are as much omnis as the Shahinians. Doesn't the 901 radiate sound forward and back only?
Eldartford- I don't think of musical instuments as being a point source for sound. A vibrating guitar string has sound waves emminating from the entire length. At any given point along the string, the sound would radiate in all directions from that point wouldn't it. Richard said he adopted the theories of Stuart Hegeman. Does anyone know exactly what those are? I would like to read more about this if I could.
Jrd351- agreed

Thanks Sean. I learned some more about Hegeman on the Asylum "Shahinians Anyone" thread. Shahinians Arc has identical shape as the original Hegeman loudspeaker. Shahinian states that Hegeman and others were his inspiration. Admirably, Shahinian does not take credit for much of his inspiration. He is proud of assimilating the knowledge of some nearly ignored geniuses. Although not a true omni, I like his design because it allows for extreme dyamics and deep bass. The most prevalent complaint I've heard is with respect to blurring of the image with overly diffuse sound. I also expeienced this until deadening the rear and side walls so as to absorb the early reflections. After treatment, the imaging/ instrument placement became better than anything i've heard from a box.

Duke, I really enjoy your discussions on reverberant fields. I especially like the listen from the next room test. It's funny that you mentioned that. I was just poking around on the net and found some info on a fellow who had reviewed the Hegeman loudspeaker (one of if not the earliest omni). Apparently rather than post the frequency response of the loudspeaker, he described how the woman in his apartment building complained about the person playing the piano late at night. It was a recording of Sir Elton John.
I'm convinced that the reverberant field is very very important also. There are those who espouse the importance of flat frequency response. I personally do not consider the frequency response to be more important than reverberant field. (Yes this is a subjective observation) I have heard several loudspeakers with flatter response than my omni emmulators that did not sound as real.
As you mentioned, all the designs have trade offs. When someone finally designs a loudpeaker with the clarity of an electrostat and the dynamics of a cone speaker and gets the reverberant field correct, I'll be there with my check book ready to buy and invest.
Maybe someday our loudpeakers will be balloons filled with excitable molecules that expand and contract as directed by remote lasers. Ok I'll stop now before I go any farther off the deep end.

Opalchip,
Come listen to my Shahinian Diapasons. Then you might change your mind. I think of sound like light. Direct light in the eyes is irritating. Reflected and diffused light is pleasant. The word distortion does not come to mind when listening to the Shahinians. The word real does.

If reflections are distortion then you must think the ideal listening room is an anechoic chamber. I can assure you that it is not. The most experienced acoustic engineers use both diffusion and absorption in room design.

If being a serious audiophile requires that I dispose of my omnis then I don't want to be one. Summitav and I live on different planets. My planet and my speakers are more or less round. Real musical instruments have "wide dispersion" and "spray" music all over the room. Isn't it possible that a speaker that mimics this might come closer to the real thing? I understand that some prefer the anechoic monitor experience. But I'll bet a dollar thata majority of listeners would prefer the sound of a good pair of omnis over a monitor setup.
Amar Bose really was on to something. Most "audiophiles" laugh about him and discount his work. I think they are making a big mistake.
As Summitav says, it is a preference thing. I just hope that more people make it a point to hear both types before they spend big bucks on a system.

Opalchip,
Not once in your discourse, albeit cohesive, have I perceived any experience on your behalf of omni or pseudo omni loudspeakers. Might you find it in your realm of acceptance, the off chance that the culmination of your scientific understanding could be eclipsed by real experience?
Many with respected opinions (not me) have chimed in on your post. I suspect because they find you intelligent enough to consider their opinions. Listen to some real live music, then listen to some MBL's, German Physiks, Ohms, Shahinians, Quads etc. If you don't like them, fine we'll agree to disagree. Until then, please remain agnostic.

Audiokinesis- Duke, As always your explanations are insightful and appreceiated. I'm glad you brought up the headphone point. I really think it validates your argument.
Since adding RPG Skyline diffusors at the first reflection point from my speakers, the sound has improved drastically. My experience then is that the sound improves when it is "sprayed" about.

Billhound,
1200 s.f. is absolutely huge. about as big as my whole house. I'm listening to my Shahinian Diapasons in a 12x15 room with 9 ft ceilings and they sound great- wicked bass node however. I know Richard Shahinian has his Diapasons set up in a very large room with high ceilings- kind of a factory type setting from what i have been told. By all accounts his setup sounds spectacular.
They must sound pretty darn good outside as well. A fellow by the name of Carl Salerno who used to sell Shahinians near Kenosha Wisconsin had a pair playing outside of his home on Lake Michigan. The neighbors stopped by thinking he had live musicians in his back yard.
The Diapasons have massive power handling. something like 800 watts I believe. These things really can approach the energy created by a live band.
As far as the reflective walls and floors go, I would suspect this room could have problems. Rooms that are too highly reflective can be a pain. In my experience, if peoples voices become muddled due to all the reflections, then your speakers are going to have problems also.

Billhound, I see you have taken the time to consider both sides of the omni vs. conventional loudspeakers. If I had never heard a properly executed set of omnis I think I would have been convinced by the arguments of Opalchip and Summitav. Their logic makes a lot of sense.
Duke makes a lot of sense also. If delayed reflections help us perceive the music to be more realistic, then omnis have a leg up in the way they intentionally send music in various routes that will no doubt delay arrival time at the ear.
I found Shahinians in a strange way. About 15 years ago I set out to buy the best stereo money could buy. It was a goal that I had kept my sites on through college and I was bound and determined to do it. At the time, the Wilson Watt Puppies were all the rave. I found a shop in Niles (Chicago suburb) called Rosine Audio and arranged an audition. The speakers sounded great. (All Spectral electronics didn't hurt the sound either.
The next day I was talking to one of Larry Rosines sales people and I asked him what speakers he likes to listen to when the customers are gone. He immediately said Shahinian. He had the Shahinioan Arcs avaiable but no Diapasons. I eventually got to hear the Diapasons. I can tell you with no amount uf uncertainty that they walked all over the Wilsons.
In my Quest, I listened to a lot of expensive speakers. The huge B&W 800's, large Thiel 7's, Martin Logan Statements, Avantegarde Uno, Duo and Trio, Magnepan MG20's, Pipe Dreams, ProAcs, Dynaudio, Meadowlark, Joseph Audio, Soundlab Electrostats and Quads. The Soundlabs, Quads and the Shahinians were the best of the bunch. As you can see, I ended up with the Shahinians.
With the Omnis I am free to move about the room. The music sounds great anywhere you sit or stand. The idea of sitting with my head in a vice to obtain perfect alignment all the while surrounded by an acoustically dead anechoic chamber so as to obtain the theoretical ideal of zero reflections doesn't appeal to me at all. I recall in listening to the Wilsons a very analytical experience. The speakers were revealing all the flaws in the recording yet not capturing the essence of the music. I'm not trying to offend those who enjoy the analytical experience. It's just not for me. The sound of the omnis is so real that it is just stunning at times. Never do these reflections conjer up thoughts of distortion. Only real live music.
It doesn't surprise me that Shahinians sound good outside. In a lot of ways, they are like four conventional box speakers placed back to back. In a non reflective environment, a majority of what is heard wil be the direct sound from the portion of the speaker pointing at you.
It's too bad Shahinian doesn't have any active dealers in the US. Like billhound, most people aren't going to purchase a speaker without hearing it first. Shahinians' European distributor goes to a lot of shows and has made the Shahinians immensely popular in Europe. For those willing to take a little risk, I suggest buying the Shahinian Obelisks used for $2000 or less. In that price range, you could unload them without getting hurt if you decided they weren't your cup of tea.