Anyone audition these speakers, pretty sad I can't find any to audition as I live less than 20 miles from their plant. One dealer told me that Mirage were going downmarket, I don't know if this means they will go "mass production" on there lower series and maybe phase out the flagship OMD-15/28 or not ? Vanns and Crutchfield (US not Cdn Crtchfld) have discontinued them as far as I know. Supposed to have a great soundfield on these speakers for music and movies.

I was interested in Mirage when I was first considering which speakers to buy for my home theater. I bought an older, lower-end pair of floorstanders off of eBay (can't remember the model, and I gave them away) just to get a taste of their sound, and I had the Spherex Xbox 5.1 Surround Sound System which uses the same omnipolar dispersion design (though with paper drivers instead of titanium). I do like the idea of 360 degree dispersion for a more natural sound, but I can't say whether they achieved it or not with my limited experience with these lower-end speakers. I would love to hear their top-of-the-line models against my Axioms, for sure. The larger sweet spot is a nice benefit.

Tks CV, most of the dealers in my area only seem to carry the lower lines of Mirage. I too, would be interested as to how they compare to the M80s. I'm pretty sure the M80s will play louder than the 15's although I'm more interested in clarity and soundstage than outright power.

My understanding of omnipolars is that they are particular about in room setup. They need lots of room, particularly from the side walls, to sound good.

Supposedly, when properly set up good omnipolars can sound amazing.

Do the Linkwitz Lab Orions fall into the same category? They have rear-facing tweeters and the placement concerns sound similar. If they can't exactly be termed omnipolars, they at least seem to borrow the basic concept of wide dispersion and taking advantage of room reflection. I'd still love to hear a pair of those.

Yep, they do. Thats a cool site.

Hi Adrian,

Comparing omnidirectional speakers and forward-radiating designs is almost an apples/oranges comparison. The problem with using omnidirectional speakers in the front and center channels for movie soundtracks is that you lose the precise imaging and soundstaging. I especially dislike an omnidirectional design for the center, which results in a murky, non-specific dialog presentation that may be indistinct.

Mirage omni-polar main speakers can produce a very large, generous and quite seductive soundstage for music, and that may be very appealing. However what you give up is the precise imaging that a good forward-radiating speaker like the M80 can present.

Overall, in the past, Mirage speakers have been quite good but they don't have the same linearity as the Axioms. They have some noticeable colorations in the midrange.

Klipsch now owns Mirage (along with its sister brands Energy and Athena Technology) and I heard that all production had been moved to China.

Regards,
Alan

Thanks Alan, I had read a couple of reviews on the Mirage centre channel (OMD-C1) and had some concerns about it "getting lost". Perhaps in 2 channel the 15's work better. I'm not sure omnidir. speakers would work for me, as they require reflected sound (my room is basically a rectangle with two corners open to other rooms/hall, which wouldn't allow this). Too bad about Klipsch taking them over, I don't think this is positive for Mirage, Energy or Athena. Some dealers have told me that Mirage is going down market, I don't know if they meant cheaper/volume or not, but that's kinda how I understood it.

Speaking of omnidirectional speakers, check these out...

[url=www.duevel.com][/url]