I have the whole Mirage OM line. I should say the OM-odds...not the OM-6, 8,10 (earlier version). I also have the C-2 center and R-2 surrounds.

Personally, I like them if that isn't obvious. Although, I like the mid-range better in the OM-9, a little larger driver...I don't know why the drivers in the 5 and 7 are different from the rest of the line. I have the 5's as my mains. Until I got Ian's B-283, I was having a little difficulty with the laid back quality of the midrange and found it harder to engage in the music...now, it's a lot easier, and far more pleasing. I'm thinking I would like to hear my set-up powered by tubes.

It is a excellent HT set-up (excellent soundstage), and I feel the OM-5's are good enough for stereo. However, I want to do some tweaking, probably a better CD player or get it modded.

I find the OM line very clean sounding, good high end detail, and definitely laid back. No ear fatigue with these. I like the open spaciousness these speakers create. It is a more in the room and present feel, versus listening to music in the studio. Craftsmanship wise...could have done a better job laminating the speakers. Some of the adhesive has let go on the side front edges.

As far as the new line....with the OMD-28s, supposedly Mirage corrected the complaints of the last series with these. I've read a lot of good things about these, although 7.5K for the pair, OY!

As far, as advising on newer used Mirages...depends on what they're for....two channel or HT? What are your tastes? Do you like spot-on imaging? If so, not a good fit. Do you like a wider soundstage, open "live" sound and feel, these are great for that.

I do also have the Omnisats (my first Mirages), which I think really need the right set up. I would stay away from these personally, unless someone is trying to put a HT set up in a really small room. They are great for ambient sound environment in the living areas, kitchen, etc. Great for evening gatherings. Right now they are powered by a Sony Digital receiver which I think is compounding (an also) laid back midrange.

If you get a chance, listen to the OM-5 (for lager rooms) or OM-7. You might be pleasantly surprised. Don't let the Omnipolar jargon fool you into thinking they are gimmicky. I can place my nose at one side of the tower (speaker) and hear the music in perfect stereo. With the OM-5 you do not need a subwoofer. You can find them used for about a $1k. Also, despite it's size the OM-9 (6" woofer) it a crafty speaker. If you have low frequency reinforcement, these have a really good sound.

First time fielding a Mirage question...they do not get a lot of attention. I will be curious to see how the OMD-28s are received, however, are priced out of majority of consumer range.

What application is your upgrade (for lack of better word) for?

AK

Hi AK. No, there's no upgrade planned. I posted this topic for general discussion as I had seen no mention of Mirage here at ST. I am VERY happy with my 25 year old 550's and have not heard a Mirage since that came close. Admittedly, it's been four or five years since I auditioned any and, at that time, they were not a nice thing to listen to. But as you correctly pointed out, they were all x.n systems which leave me cold, no matter who the manufacturer. I am very definitely a "2.0" kind f guy

There certainly was an issue of build quality for some time there in the late 90's and early 00's and this lead my favourite haunt - http://www.todds.com.au - to drop Mirage altogether. I don't know if it's a side effect of Klipch buying them out or it's just a sign of the times but let's face it, to really get market share now days, you have to produce lots of HT stuff and I think that is done at the expense of the poor old purists (like us here at ST).

Still, it's interesting to read what you say about yours and it's also good to see at least one other ST member with Mirage.

PS: the 550's cost me over $4000AU in 1984 which, at the time, was a big outlay for me. Now I look back on that purchase and think what a bargain it was for something that I am so happy with and that has lasted so long. The only other things that have lasted like that are my Thorens turntable (about FIFTY YEARS OLD!) and my Luxman amp. I doubt very much that my new Yamaha amp will still be in faultless service twenty-five years from now

$4000AU in 1984!



Please!!

Not going to do them justice... replete with ultra high-tech metal grilles I have temporarily fitted to protect the driver and tweeter (Temporarily?... just how long does it take before kids stop wanting to poke and prod drivers with their grubby little mitts?)

marcz, when you going to open up your own high-end audio business?, we seem to have walked the same path in a lot of things

I've had the Mirage 750's forever and while I do now have better speakers, I have never really found anything good enough to replace them up until I started Grant Fidelity, at which point I've been involved in the sound of our new speakers, which I design to sound the way I want!!, usually by crossover and tuning. Guess what I use as my reference and sanity check, the Mirage 750's !!! The series we both own are from the original Mirage design team with the 750's being their last model prior to being purchased bt API. Mirage still makes great speakers, not quite as good or as consistant as the origianl design team did which is expected when small gets swallowed by big.

AKdrama, nice to see your posts again, our Calgary Rock Shop dealer (guitars, bass. lessons, recording studio etc) has the OM9's in their showroom run off one our tube amps, sounds amazing how the OM9's fill a huge space. It has a rock flooring too. If you ever do decide to go to tubes, don't forget your B-283's can be used as a trade-in for one of our amps at the price you paid. (B-283 = hook, line and sinker Also many who have gone to tube amplification on their HT systems have ended up dropping the whole surround thing and just running the fronts. The soundstaging and imaging for HT is plenty for movies from two speakers when run from a tube amp. WAF !!

back to marcz, JBL Studio Monitors. I've had most of them up to 12" woofers, in various studio room sizes from too small to just the right size and have a love hate relationship with them, love to track and set up a mix with them, but hate doing playback with them. I was at the point where I cringed at the thought of ever hearing them again until I heard some 4311's last year run thru one of our tube amps and now I just simply want to line up and shoot all the idiots in the industry that taught me I have to use SS amplification in the studio. 20 years of un-needed ear fatigue and pain and crummy mixes !!

Behringer, bought out by Long and MqQuade (Canadian music manufacturer and store chain, Yorkville is another of their brands) quite a while back. I was nearly hired as a designer for them, but went in another direction. They have done a great job of getting affordable studio gear into the 'home studio' market and I know what is behind their designs for speakers and amplification. The chief designer is part of the Long family and rivals anyone in the home audio industry. They are years ahead of most for getting things made properly in China. If your thinking Bryston ever, check out Yorkville, they had/have quite the competition going here in Canada for amplification and guess who sells the most

Back to the Mirage's. I will never sell my 750's, they are that good and I've heard or owned a lot of speakers. When released, the 750's were rated as the best imaging speaker on the planet. If you are looking for some excellent vintage speakers for a few hundred bucks, look no further than the 500 or 700 series from Mirage. Then hook them up to a tube amp and invite your friends over that have their multi-thousand dollar systems and rub it in

Cheers and thanks for the post marcz.

Ian

Yes Ian, the thought has crossed my mind many times but I've never been a risk taker, quite comfortable in my government job. Mind you, there isn't a hi-fi shop in my town and the closest real hi-fi shop is over 60 miles away! Problem is people around here seem to happy enough with department store crap. There used to be a fantastic hi-fi shop here for about thirty years but when he retired, it closed. It was a mecca for hi-fi nuts like me twenty-plus years ago.

I truly envy you though!

It's just occurred to me that I have quite a few Behringer items... the monitors, a little mixer, "compander", Super Fuzz distortion pedal, C1 condensor mic and I'm sure there's something else. It's disturbing to say the least that the $100 Behringer mic sounds just as good for vocals as the $2000 Rode that I also have... and it doesn't have the huge brick of a power supply the Rode has

That's an interesting tale about your connection and I am quite interested in their history now. I have always thought of them as cheap and cheerful chinese tat but I am really quite impressed with the gear I have now. Not so quick to discount them as a contender for small/home/digital studio now and I have been pretty gob-smacked when I have tried out their various guitar pedals. And they're SOOOO CHEAP!

You're so right about the Mirages... sure there are better out there but they're hard to find and at what cost? I love the way these things sound and I guess every time I audition something else, I am just 'uncomfortable' with the sound. I can't believe how cheaply you can find 550's, 650's 750's over there (US/Canada) now. After reading your post, I had a quick look and found a pair of 750's that just sold in Toronto for under $300! I'd snap up another pair if I could find them here but I suspect people with them in this country paid an arm and a leg for them like I did and maybe love them as much as I do too.

I guess my next step (after fixing this bloody Thorens) will be to start looking at a tube amp to go between the Thorens and the Mirages... my life will be complete (well it will be when the kids are old enough that I can remove the damned metal grilles that can't be helping the sound right now)



EDIT: don't get too excited Ian, the way the exchange rate is right now on the Aussie dollar, I won't be doing much tube amp shopping for a while. It was great last year when it hit 99¢ US but now we are at about 64¢