Price Paid:  $0.00

Summary:
Bipolar design creates a huge soundstage that must be experienced to appreciate what these speakers can do. Acoustical imaging is on par with conventional designs. Bass goes deep and and can do justice to organ notes. Midrange is decent but not the last word in resolution. High frequencies are silky smooth with no harshness.....these tweeters sing. Overall if I were to describe the sound I would say that the Mirage 990's are very musical and soulful. One can feel the emotion in the music......really sweet sounding speakers.

Strengths:
Soundstage and ambiance created by the bipolar design.

Weaknesses:
Midrange although not bad could be improved.

Price Paid:  $480.00 from Dealer accomodation

Summary:
I bought these when they were first introduced at dealer accomodation pricing because I was the store manager of a Hi Fi shop that was a Mirage dealer. I bought them because after extensive listening, I determined that I actually liked them more than the next model up the line, the M7SI, and they have a narrower footprint. That made them more ideal for my listening room. Also, they sounded better than, by a wide margin, the similarly priced options from the other lines I was carrying at the time, i.e. Boston Acoustics, Polk Audio, Phase Technology, Definitive Technology, B&O and Soundwave. Definitely audiophile quality for those on a budget. They are very forgiving with regards to the amplification used with them. I use either a Forte' Audio Model 6(200WPC solid-state class A/AB) or an AVA Super 70+(40WPC tube rebuild of the Dynaco Stereo 70 by Van Alstine). As long as the amp is of good quality(no receivers need apply!) it'll drive the M-990s fine.

Strengths:
Tight bass. Fluid midrange. Clear highs without being brittle.

Weaknesses:
A lot of placement experimentation required to achieve best results

Price Paid:  $1000.00 from Phonograph

Summary:
I have owned these speakers for six years, and enjoyed them the entire time. The midrange is not quite audiophile quality, but the rest of the stage is all there. The best setup is about three feet or more away from the wall with nothing between them. The lisener should be in freestanding space also. I am not crazy about bipolar speakers but they throw up an incredable soundstage. If your equiptment is up to par they are a real delight.

Strengths:
Wide soundstage,deep bass great imaging.

Weaknesses:
Few, but midrange is a bit thin

Similar Products Used:
Adcon, acurus, nad.

Summary:
I used these for several years with a Carver integrated amp rated at 90wpc. I always thought they sounded great, but last year when I upgraded to an Adcom 5500 (200wpc @ 8 ohm, about 275wpc @ 6 ohms) I was amazed at how much better they sounded. The amount of bass that these speakers can cleanly reproduce is amazing given the size of the woofers. When I worked for Tweeter during college, I auditioned a set of MIT speaker cables with these, and the image cleaned up considerably. I think these Mirages are good enough to take advantage of true quality components, but at the same time I think if you have some crap in your system these will let you know. My only gripe is the cheesy oak vinyl covering, but considering I got them for about $500 US in 1994 I won't complain :)

Strengths:
Great sound, image well, lots of bass

Weaknesses:
require a strong amp for the best sound and lots of space

Summary:
I bought these used for $600 Canadian a pair a couple of years ago from someone using them with a Technics receiver that couldn't power anything under 8ohms impedance. WHen I heard them for about a minute at a time before his stereo died, I was sold. My receiver at the time was quite a bit more robust than his 15 pound technics toy.

Bipolar setup gives a very wide soundstage.. Somewhat bright but I tend to like them like that.

Strengths:
Sound, build quality, bi-wire,ampeable

Weaknesses:
Hmmm.. Big and Heavy. Women don't tend to like speakers taking up this much room :-)

Similar Products Used:
Paradigm Export BP