Modern Shahinian Obelisk

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.

I have the latest Diapasons with metal domes. Prior to that I had the older version (non metal) Brand new they sounded really bad compared with the older version. After a LONG break in period I concluded the new drivers sounded better. I then sold the old pair when I was convinced the new speakers sounded better. Shahinian just released the Obelisk 2. I'm sure it sounds awesome.

A reasonably priced, very nice looking omni is available from Decware. It appears that the design is a knock-off of Ohm, but I've never heard the speaker so I can't comment on SQ. I think it's available for in-home audition/money back, so if you like the Ohms, except for their appearance, it might be worth checking out the Decware.

Marty