Current Mirage OM series vs. Msi series speakers?

Setup according to room boundaries as well as room treatments ie. carpet or bare floors, open concept or traditional box room along with associated equipment have everything to do with final voicing in regards to all systems, the Mirage OM6 not withstanding!

Now with that being said, the Mirage OM6 is a terrific speaker revealing changes and upgrades in associated equipment from Onkyo receivers, Adcom separates then on to my current system yet all the positive attributes to this speaker just keep improving right along with the emotional involvement in playing back favorite recordings.

When driving this speaker with my Onkyo txds747 receiver it sounded very satisfying in the fact that I had not sacrificed much monetary outlay, I had sound but not what I had heard the reviewers refer to, so I decided to upgrade the amplifier to Adcoms GFA7000 thx five channel through the Onkyos preouts for much improved sonics, primary differences were less hash in the treble along with slightly better mid range vocal and instrumental tones.

Was content for awhile then decided to go for the holy grail. While reading a professional reviewers comments on the Plinius SA100MK3 and its many comparisons to tubed amplifiers in terms of the beautiful mid range and extended highs while pointing out how - "the mid range to lower treble jump the fence and come forward in the stage"- a good desired counteractive trait to the recessed area in my Mirage OM6s, not to mention the pure class A benefit being perhaps ideal with the friendlier impedance and sensitivity, throw in a couple Bag End Infra subs with response down to 8htz. Add a couple Plinius SA102s {purchased new} in fully balanced dual differential mono, some Transparent Bi cables along with Ultra interconnects from sources, Siltech SQ28 xlr from my Plinius M8 to my 102s. WOW.... A system that just disappears as sounds truly are laid out in a wide, deep transparent window with terrific harmonic textures, great dynamics, the volume becoming a device that now allows the stage to bloom at a certain level independent to each recording and its associated venue. While I also had an opportunity to purchase the Mirage M3si as the Dealer I purchased my speakers from had them in another room Ive never had any regrets in purchasing my Om6s.

While some may think my setup is overkill once I tried the Plinius SA102 xlr dual mono setting there was no going back and its tremendous in stereo they just provide so much more resolution in mono. To make a comparison Ive heard Magneplanners underpowered and the sound of my Mirages with lesser ancillaries was similar, sounding vague or opaque in comparison to the Plinius amplification. Plinius just makes these speakers come alive and mate to the Mirage voicing superbly.

A overachieving, and sadly, overlooked performer that deserves the best partnering equipment along with placement in measured open space from room boundaries {they need wall reflections} to obtain the wonderful picture these transducers can paint. When all these parameters are met you'll find a rare gem in the audio world that offer up sound that's priceless, some things you cant put a price on and this speaker allowed me to get off the merry-go-round. NUFF SAID.

MY SYSTEM TODAY...

HOMETHEATRE/2 CHANNEL INT.
Speakers
Mirage OM6s front left/right
Mirage MC2 center channel
Mirage OM10s surrounds
Mirage BPS400 .1 SUB
Bag End 18 Infra subs 2 in stereo from pre

Amplification
Plinius SA102s in dual mono one silver and one black
Plinius M8 Preamplifier, wonderful piece
Plinius P8 strapped for center channel
Plinius SA100 mk3 for surrounds

Sources
Kora Hermes 24/192 DAC W/ nos pearl cryos Mullard cv2492/e88cc
Sony ce222es sacd
Sony cdpcx 400 jukeboxes -2- with Monarchy 24/96 DIP Great combo
Pioneer 59 avi dvd/ Toshiba SD3109 w/hdcd important to me
Magnum Dynalab 102 Triode tuner with 1964 nos Mullards platinum matched pair / ST2 antenna

Cabling
Transparent Super Bicables on mains
Plus bi cables on center and surrounds
Transparent ultra interconnects from sources
Siltech SQ28xlr from pre to main amps
Glass toslink
Transparent aes ebu digital
Transparent super power cord on dac and amplifiers

Monitor
Pioneer 730 HDMI CRT 64 inch

Racks
Lovan classic series flanking monitor
Adona Amplifier stands silver base with white marble for silver 102/100mk3, Black base with blue pearl granite for black 102

Tweaks
Current design p8 plus line conditioner
Dedicated outlets
Cardas logo caps
Cable Elevators

Processor
Waiting on Classes next with HDMI hookup.... HT Receiver till then.

Enjoy... Regards /// Tim W...

I actually agree more with Dtebbutt here. I used to sell the Older mirage MSI series 3's and such, and overall prefered the OM6's personally.
None of these speakers really exhibits an accrate soundstage, nore ultimate detail. Yet they are musicall satisfying to many, and offenie to none I feel. Overall I thought they were listenable, and forgiving, and the OM6's plenty dynamic, with more amp options.
I liked the OM6's for what they are. Of the old Msi series, the 3's were my favorite, if I had to chose, yes. Still, I felt they didn't offer anything up on the OM6's properly tuned and setup.
And like Dtebbutt said, they need to be adjusted and setup, as most poeple will have the bass set too high!...which is typical.
Personally, if I had to take either the 3si's or the OM6's, and money wasn't a factor, I'd grab the OM6's.
You may have heard them set up "not so well", I don't know.

I know Im late on this but some thoughts....Ian Paisley in the Widescreen review of the Om 5s indicated that he would have preferred to place the bass drivers on the OM 5s on the sides as per the OM 6 but for ease of consumer placement reasons put them on the front..the om1s ($25000 maybe never to be released flagships) went back to his prefered side placement for vibration lessening virtues.The Om 6 was a widely and highly reviewed musical speaker (stereophile class B like the 3si per TJ Norton)(there was not one less than enthusiastic review on them other than from casual consumer reviews)...the 6s were also frequently set up poorly by dealers keen to market it on the home theater front with lots of "slam" and hence many criticisms of their bass heavy balance.They have the line input flexibility which at the flick of a switch make them "explosion" experts but I, like Norton, have found them extraordinarily musical when placed and setup properly....I think the 3si are great and when I bought these they were still current and I did a lot of side by side at the dealers(they were the same price) and we all agreed that the om 6s were every bit as satisfying musically while not requiring anything like the amp grunt (and cost accordingly) of the 3s...cant comment on the 1si as have never heard them properly .. (obviously the 3si are vastly better than the om 9s as they should be)...with all due respect

Soupbone217: The OM-6 produced a huge and very diffuse soundstage. Imaging was very poor and the bass did not integrate well with the top drivers (the bass drivers were on the sides). The OM-6 was also much shorter than the M3si and M1si speakers so the soundstage was not as realistic. It sounds as though these issues have been addressed with the new OM-5 and OM-7 speakers. To me the OM-6 was made with home theater use in mind and not two channel audio.

Hey Mcdh1, What didn't you like about the OM-6? I'v been debating between the two but I'll never get a chance to compare them. The one I buy is the only speaker I'll hear. I posted this question a few months ago but didn't get much feedback. Thanks Tom

IF you like your Mirage sound, don't bother...stay with the M series. Only area of improvement might be bi-amping your speakers. good luck

Mchd1

I think keeping the M3si is a good choice. I thought the M3si's sounded better than even the M1's to be honest...could have been the room or amps though. Both were very good speakers IMO and I'm sure can compete with most any speaker in a large room with lots of power.

Dave

Thanks for your input Joe. I think I will keep my Msi series speakers (M3si front, M7si rear, and MCsi center) for now. Doesn't sound like the money I would have to spend to change my system would be well spent. Worse yet, I might end up regretting it.

I currently have both the M5SI and the OM-9. Personally, I prefer the MSI to the OM series. I believe the Mseries are more detailed and produce better more accurate bass. They are both built equally well. The OM series seems to image well close to the wall or pulled away from the wall. The Msi series needs to have breathing room. The Msi need alot more power than the OM series to perform at their best. I use the MSI with my tube rig and the OM9 with my solid state h/t rig. I definately prefer the Msi series for music... are the OM a step down, no, but they are different. Dont forget the retail of the OM series isnt close to the pricing of the M1 or M5si the M1si were around 6k and the M5 around 3? I paid 1200.00 for my OM9s not a bad value!
Associated gear:
OM9s:
Krell kav 300 cd
BK ref 20 processor
Aragon Pallidums balanced monoblocks
Transparent Ultra Reference XL interconnects
M5SI:
Classe cdp.3
Audio Research LS-7
Sonic Frontiers SFS 80
Discovery nos interconnects
---------
Happy listening!
Joe
Custom Audio LLC