I dunno about "Audiphile" but Mirage makes some higher end models that many enjoy in that range.
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You mean truly 360 degree dispersion speakers? Not many of those below the $8k range. But, they are a few quasi-omni directional speakers with supposed good performance. Decware(pic) has the RL-1.5 Radial Speaker - 92dB, 37Hz ~ 22kHz, 4 ~ 100 watts, Max SPL 110dB, $1,295. The RL-1.5 uses a 12" driver in omni-driectional mounting and a semi-directional tweeter. Check Decware's forum for some owner testimonials. Of course, Ohm is the most famous for quasi-directional speakers. They haven't produced a true omni-directional speaker since their model "A" & "F" series a while ago. |
The best way to tell is, for $100 buy a full set of five, the Mirage omni's. Go to Parts Express and type in 'Spherex. where you will find a close out. Google the Spherex and you will find some hi-end reviews of these units. I have the original Sppherex xbox system. Unbelievable! You could also only buy two for $40. How can you lose? |
I'll vote for the Duevel Planets. I heard them with Manley amps and preamp and that combination sounded like a much more expensive system than it was. It was engaging to listen to and had surprising bass for the size of the speaker plus the Planet has a modern art type appearance that would be easy to integrate into many home environments. |
Here's a Duevel Planets review on SonicFlare, if anyone is interested. |
Well, if you want to consider "grandaddys", you might look for a pair of Sonabs designed by Stig Carlsson. He first developed omni radiation speakers in the 1950s in an attempt to replicate the sound produced in the concert hall. They have not been imported for a couple of decades but different models show up used from time to time. Here is a link to their history - http://www.carlssonplanet.com/history.php?PHPSESSID=10571310094a7e07d0cbf02dd8bb9f14 |
GlenW: I'd like to add in to that list the German Physiks: The DDD is a real point source omni driver. Further - it is the only single-element point source omni driver I know of that's commercially available. One of the coolest models they have is the Unicorn - a Carbon Fiber DDD mounted atop a specially designed bass horn that can deliver all frequencies from below 40Hz through 24kHz from a single, omni point source. (Disclaimer: I distribute German Physiks in the USA. Still - they are unreasonably wonderful loudspeakers no matter how you slice it). Chris |
Chris, Do you sell the DDD driver as a separate unit, or only as part of a finished system? What is the price of the Unicorn with either version of the DDD? Looks like the carbon fiber driver is claimed to offer an improvement in both efficiency (slight) and bass exension (significant) at the same time without an increase in box size. Normally when we keep the box size the same we have to trade off bass extension against efficiency. Could you comment? Thanks, Duke dealer/manufacturer |
Linkwitz Pluto. The mid-bass is in a damped transmission line with a 40dB return loss (Like a B&W Nautilus)with cylindrical enclosure that may be as stiff as 4" concrete. The tweeter is unusually beefy allowing for a low cross over that means its nearly in the same spot acoustically as the mid-woofer. They're actively bi-amplified with cross-overs built using 1% resistors and 2% capacitors. Tweeter availability is currently a problem. $3K assembled from Wood Artistry. $800 to build from parts |