Marty,
The thing to me that distinguishes the OHMs from many other designs at their particular price point per room size IS their ability to open up and shake the rafters at more realistic listening volumes with little or no fatigue (with proper amplification).
The Walsh CLS driver and all that goes with it is the key to its unique abilities in this area.
They also are competitive in terms of dynamics, detail, imaging etc. in most key aspects of good sound at lower volumes, and of course still have the distinctive, lifelike sound of an omni design, but there are many other speaker designs at various comparable price points that do detail, imaging and other things well also using a more conventional design. Rebbe's Totem Arros are a great example. They do most things except go loud and shake the rafters as well as most anything in a suitably sized room.
Most speaks that can do what the OHM Walshes do at realistic SPLs in their target room size tend to cost a lot more. That is where a lot of the unique value comes in.
Of course, most would also acknowledge that they are champs in regards to size of soundstage, which is also key for enabling the speaks to work all their other forms of magic in terms of air, imaging, dynamics, etc.
These are "muscle speaks" that also have the ability to deliver delicate lines with finesse and detail due to their unique design (the Walsh driver). That's what makes them unique and different from say Quad eletrostats or even other good dynamic designs at similar price points.
The thing to me that distinguishes the OHMs from many other designs at their particular price point per room size IS their ability to open up and shake the rafters at more realistic listening volumes with little or no fatigue (with proper amplification).
The Walsh CLS driver and all that goes with it is the key to its unique abilities in this area.
They also are competitive in terms of dynamics, detail, imaging etc. in most key aspects of good sound at lower volumes, and of course still have the distinctive, lifelike sound of an omni design, but there are many other speaker designs at various comparable price points that do detail, imaging and other things well also using a more conventional design. Rebbe's Totem Arros are a great example. They do most things except go loud and shake the rafters as well as most anything in a suitably sized room.
Most speaks that can do what the OHM Walshes do at realistic SPLs in their target room size tend to cost a lot more. That is where a lot of the unique value comes in.
Of course, most would also acknowledge that they are champs in regards to size of soundstage, which is also key for enabling the speaks to work all their other forms of magic in terms of air, imaging, dynamics, etc.
These are "muscle speaks" that also have the ability to deliver delicate lines with finesse and detail due to their unique design (the Walsh driver). That's what makes them unique and different from say Quad eletrostats or even other good dynamic designs at similar price points.