Is it recommended to use damping materials at the first reflection point? |
I'm very intrigued myself...however, unless I sell my current speakers, I'm not sure how long it's going to be before I can order Ohm Walsh...of course first I need to break the Mirages in and play around with the placement so that might take even a month....I'll use this thread to post my impressions of the Mirage and then later Ohm Walsh...a lot will depend naturally how they react with the room... |
I know, nothing like trying speakers in your own environment...I have a decent set up now, but playing with an idea of getting omni speakers, to produce bigger and deeper soundstage... |
I got a feeling myself that Ohms might be easier to place than Mirages... |
I briefly talked to him...I guess it will have to be trial and error, because of my open plan, it's hard to establish which model should work. I think they offer an upgrade program...if that's true, it would be better to start with 3000 and then if I need to, can upgrade to 4000....5000 would be the best choice, but I'm losing the best bang for the buck with them in case I found a lower price model that works in my room.
I put up my current Hyperion 968 for sale..terrific speaker, anybody who's looking for a speaker that does a lot of things well, might end up being quite pleased with them |
That's why I need to probably scratch Mirage off my list...just like other threads suggested, they do need space around them...I have sort of an open plan, so I probably won't overload my space with bass with either speaker, but I don't have 4 feet to bring them out into the room...and if I put them about 8 feet apart, they have about foot and a half from side walls...it also seems like I'm ok sitting 6-7 feet from Ohms whereas Mirages need at least 8-10 feet to sound their best...these are of course just my conclusions from reading this and other threads...they both seem to like decent power, amp maybe more on the cleaner side to balance out warmer nature of both Ohms and Mirages... |
Well, maybe one day I'll compare the two in my environment. Then I'll share my findings with everybody here on Audiogon... |
It will be interesting match up...just ordered Mirage 28...when I sell my current Hyperions 968, I'll get Ohm Walsh 3000 or 4000 and do the comparisons... |
I still have to figure out if there's any difference between Ohm 3000 and 4000 other than the ability to play deeper and louder...it looks like the quality of the midrage and upper frequencies might be exactly the same. It's just a matter of trying to see if 3000 will be enough to pressurize the room. Of course if it was closed in room, they would be easy to figure with the info that's available online. In case 3000 works perfect in my room, spending over 60% more for 5000 loses its appeal. |
Frazeur, are you saying 3000 is barely strong enough to energize your space or almost too much? |
Well, today I received a pair of Mirage 28's in rosewood. All I can say it that they are truly gorgeous. I know that's not exactly priority in this hobby, but it still is nice to have good looking speakers. I just started breaking them in, so for any kind of observations, I'm going to have to wait just a little bit...tbc |
I just wish I could make the break in period go faster...2 weeks return policy is not too long if you need to play them for 100 hours before making evaluations. Of course I could play them 24/7 Im just not sure if I want to put my cd player through an ordeal like that. We'll see what happens... |
I have this one cd with this one particular track that lasts about 5 minutes and goes from deepest tones to highest frequencies. Supposedly "cleans up" the entire system, removes static, whatever...I think it actually works... May not hurt to play that track over and over :-) |
If I had rca interconnects, I would use one of my dvd players...but now with xlr its a different story...I wouldnt even mind the break in, makes it all the more rewarding once the speakers open up, if it wasnt for the short return policy. It's pretty cool that the Ohm is offering such a long trial period...I can already tell that Mirages are a bit less efficient than my Hyperions, and might benefit from a high power amplifier, even though my integrated seem to do a decent job with them. |
Well, I'm continuing to play the heck out of them to break them in. I know the thread implies comparisons to Ohm which I've never heard, but I can maybe start to compare it with Hyperions 968 which are quite a hard act to follow in its price range. Like I mentioned, it's apparent that the Mirages need more power and are less sensitive. This makes the low level listening a little harder. Their frequency response is about the same as Hyperions, with spectrum going from low base to 20khz. They are both very easy to listen to, nothing bright or harsh like so many speakers out there. Unfortunately, so far, I can't say the size of their soundstage betters my Hyperions...I was looking for a more enveloping sound and I'm not experiencing that yet. Also I don't think they disappear any better than Hyperions and don't spookily suspend sounds in the middle of the room like Gallo's 3.1 that I used to have. Again, they are not fully broken in and placement plays a big role so there's still hope. They play better than when I first got them...even though they go as low as Hyperions, their mid bass seems to be boosted a bit which I for one like, though opinions vary on the subject....so far it's a toss up if they stay or not...tbc |
I took off the jumpers right away...I'm using one biwire and one regular speaker wire (MIT CVT Terminator)... |
Well folks, Mirage finally brought a smile to my face and i guess thats about the best compliment you can give a speaker (or equipment). Process of breaking in might be painful sometimes but all the more rewarding afterwards. The soundstage opened up, thanks to me moving them around too, and resolution has gotten considerably better. Boy, do these have bass? Hyperions were no slouch in that dept. and go as deep, but as far as sheer amount of bass, Mirages win. Detail retrieval is on the same level as Hyperions, though most of the images dont have as much precision as I reached with Hyperions, just like it is to be expected. I find them overall a very pleasant speaker to listen to. I'm sure they would benefit from a little more power, an amp with a cool nature might be a perfect fit for these. |
I just have to figure out how to fix the fact that the image is being pulled to the left side a bit due to the surrounding behind the speakers. One corner is a regular one, the other opens up the the staircase. Is there anybody out there who actually doesn't sit in the middle between the speakers? |
Actually, that's what I did, put a rug on a left side to limit the amount of reflective material that was pulling the sound to the left a bit...it helped...just like with any speaker, one needs to play around with a placement a bit, but probably even more so with these. I think they are a terrific value for 3K, and I don't see them leaving any time soon. I'd love to try one of the Luxman integrated amps with these, maybe 507u or even 509u, since they seem to be great with bass. There is certainly quite a bit of it, I toned it down just a bit with my amp, which allows me to do it. BTW, I did hear the top of the line Walsh too...and they didn't make me regret getting Mirages. Of course, different room and different equipment, so I give it a little benefit of a doubt. I think the Ohm's take the "live concert" sound to the next level, which I'm sure is great for some, but a bit too much for me. A lot of it depends on personal preference and choice of music. |
