Modern Shahinian Obelisk

Delapole - Don't be too scared of the metal drivers. I was quite surprised to read that the speakers I recently upgraded to (Ohm Walsh 2000s) use aluminum drivers. Although I didn't try to confirm this with the manufacturer, I would not have guessed it in million years. I had thought that the metal dome tweeter in my previous speakers was one reason for my lack of long-term satisfaction with them. However, I am becomming more convinced that, while the drivers themselves are important, a good speaker designer (like Shahinian) can design a good crossover, cabinet and voice the speakers to sound pretty much however they want. The drivers themselves can be limiting factors, but within their performance limits, the same drivers can be made to sound quite different by different designers. Just listen to a Dynaudio speaker, then listen to any number of other speakers that use the same drivers and you'll see what I mean.

In short, if you have confidence in and respect for the ability of Shahinian and have no reason to believe his approach to voicing has changed much, you should be happy with his more resent products.

Bond, are you over here too? Yes, I can confirm the 2000 main driver is aluminum coated. I believe the tweeter is a silk-dome though. Still, a little different than the older drivers.

I too have been wanting to try a pair of Shahinian's, probably from the Compass on up. I would probably stop at the Obelisk though as that would be the maximum that I could ever see myself spending on a pair of speakers!

I have heard the Arc and Obelisk before, but it has been a long time ago. I liked what they did then. Maybe someday, but my Ohm's are doing the business for me right now.

I agree with your take Bond on drivers. Good post! Enjoy the music! Tim

I guess I should be more open minded, it's just that the matals drivers that I have give a serious listen to were not my taste (Monitor Audio, NHT, B&W). I tend to fall in love with ribbons (maggies, apogees) and silk domes (vienna acoustics). I like a "softer" sound but not muted.... Maggies would be my mainstay if not for the WAF.

Well, Delapole, I hate to sound like a broken record, but you might want to audition a pair of Ohm Walsh speakers. I recently upgraded to them. Like yourself, I prefer good detail retreival without the harshness that some highly detailed speakers suffer from. The Ohms were ideal for me in this respect. Plenty of minute details without any harshness, unless the recording is simply unredeemable - you can't make a silk purse out of a pig's butt.
Although ribbons don't usually do it for me (usually too directional), I do share your taste in dynamic loudspeakers. The Ohms have a modest form factor, so usually pass the WAF test.
Frazeur1: Yup, I 'm all over da place!!!

I owned some Ohm Walsh speakers some time ago; I loved their sound but never like the estetic. Maybe with a custom veneer I could live with them. they just look "old" and 70's to my eyes. The more I toy with my current Duevel BLD's, the more I'm leaning away from a change.