As the originator of the "Ohm Micro Walsh Talls Who's Actually Heard 'Em" thread a million posts ago, I thought I might chime in on this topic, even though I have moved on to other speakers.
I have no doubt that JS is a good guy. He was very generous with his time and attention on the phone with me while I had my MWT's and then my 100's. Ultimately the "pseudo omni" presentation was't what I wanted but I spent some very enjoyable time with my Ohms while I had them.
Both my MWT's and 100''s were gloss black. I'd call their finish "serviceable." That is to say, no major flaws but if you looked at them closely there may have been a tiny bubble or two in the painted finish. Perhaps the woodgrain is sharper looking but I was going for an inconspicuous, neutral look that had maximum "WAF." When they updated the design and rounded the corners (and the "hat" over the driver can) the speakers took on a more contemporary look, IMHO.
Some speaker manufacturers are all about exotic materials and tweaks (e.g., a new kind of internal wiring or crossover component or cabinet material is lauded as "groundbreaking" and yielding essential benefits. Or else, you need to use this kind of tube amp or that kind of speaker cable to get the most out of the speaker.
This kind of esoteric "tweakiness" is not the Ohm "ethos." John S regularly recommends, for example, NAD electronics to his customers. And if you open up the speakers and remove the cans (which I did at one point to try a driver replacement) what you see inside is some pedestrian looking fiber fill and plastic covered speaker wire, and a plastic jack that connects the driver to that wire. Hardly the stuff of Magico or YG (not that I could ever afford to own either of those). And who knows what the driver components in that can actually look like (not that it necessarily matters).
So what you're paying for is the Ohm sound, if you love it. And value wise, I think that they're a good proposition for the sound you get. But heirloom cabinetry is not part of the proposition.
