Hooked on Analog

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 4 of 5

Used product for
Less than 1 month

Visitors rate this review
5.00 of 5, 1.00 votes

Price Paid:  $300.00 from Sound Hounds, Victor

Summary:
Bought these Mirage OM-14s (2-ways) used to replace my BIC Venturi Formula 6s (3-ways). I didn't have a large enough room in my house to handle the sensitivity of the BICs running off my Yamaha CR2020 receiver (the BICs are about 8db more sensitive than the OM-14s). True, the low (at a rating of 38Hz) is alot thinner than my BICs (10Hz) but I found that I could get a lot more bumpf by setting the bass/mid-range crossover on the Yamie at 500Hz rather than 125Hz. The OM-14s can also loose some brightness in high ceiling rooms so I set the mid-range/treble crossover to 2.5KHz (rather than 8) to get brighter response when using the treble knob. So, with a bit of tweaking I think I have overcome some of the weaknesses that other reviewers have pointed out. Yes, after only 1 day, I miss my Formula 6s. Never needed a sub-woofer for dance music or DVD sound effects with those babies. But, I've found the Mirages are a particularly beautiful jazz speaker (even trip-hop groove jazz crossover with alot of beefie synth bass lines). And with the tweaks in frequency crossover I've been able to crank enough bass out of them to make the walls of a 15x15 living room with vaulted ceiling (15 ft) vibrate with the volume on the Yamaha CR2020 no higher than 1.5 As far as I'm concerned it is as though the speaker "disappears", whereas you KNEW where the sound is coming from from the BICs. I loved my BICs but I think that as I get older & listen to more music that needs even & bright response over the entire frequency range (e.g., jazz, baroque classical) the OM-14s are truly sweet, even better I think than a pair of 3-way Vivid Reference towers I once owned (bass frequency rated at only 45Hz). And, BONUS, the Mirages were made in Canada ;-))) (We do speakers good, e.g., Acoustic Research)

Strengths:
Good & bright response across wide frequency range 38Hz - 20KHz Omnipolar design makes speaker virtually "disappear"

Weaknesses:
Low & high weakspots that require some tweaking from crossover settings and tone controls before bringing out the full splendor of the speakers

Similar Products Used:
BIC Venturi Formula 6s Vivid Reference 3-way towers

mad man

Overall Rating
 4 of 5

Value Rating
 4 of 5

Used product for
More than 1 year

Visitors rate this review
5.00 of 5, 1.00 votes

Price Paid:  $1000.00 from Live Wire Audio

Summary:
I originally bought these speakers as my main fronts. I was new to the HT game and didn't have a lot of cash to spend. But I can't complain about them. They are a great sounding speaker. They did however lack some bass. Eventually I scraped together some cash and slowly started to add to my system. I decieded to us the om-14's as rear speakers. They are perfect if not overkill. They match perfectly to the rest of my system plus my sub more than carries all the bass I need. Unfortunatly these speakers are obsolete. Unless you can find a used pair some place.

Strengths:
Great sound. Omni polar design perfect for HT.

Weaknesses:
Not alot of bass. Stupid sock mesh...can't see the drivers!

Price Paid:  $0.00

Summary:
First off I''d like to say that Omnipolar technology is just great! Well, I''ve had Bose 301IV for the last three years and thought they were good when i bought them(at that time i bought them for the name and didn''t know much about other brands). I got rid of them about 2 months ago. So I was on the market for speakers that sounded good and played loud. I listened to JBL, AR, B&W 600''s, Wharfdale, Pardigm Monitor 7''s and mirage FRx''s. JBL''s highs are too shrill (talk about ear fatigue! they attack your ear integrity), AR''s highs are too laid back that you have to adjust the treble on your amp significantly, B&W''s just didn''t make any sense(sound quality or price!), Wharfdales actually sounded good and had a good price but cheap looking build, Paradigm''s were the best in everything in this group and the FRx''s were just so so. Because of the FRx''s performance, I wasn''t too keen on trying another mirage again but a friend of mine that I was with said "what the heck! Were already here so why not just try it!". So we tried the OM-14''s. As soon as the music started playing, the hair on my arms stood! Highs were just right, imaging and sweet spot were good(can''t say too much about the lows though). Doesn''t have much bass but it''s nothing a sub won''t fix. These were the speakers we were looking for. The sound just filled the room! They weren''t even bi-wired yet and was playing from a receiver! Well, I took the floor models home and I''m truly amazed! I''ll never buy another brand of speakers for my music listening again(I''ll probably upgrade to OM-7''s in the near future though!). Great job mirage!

Strengths:
Good sonics, large sweetspot, well balanced sound.

Weaknesses:
Bass but with the mid/woofer size of 5½ it''s pretty decent.

Similar Products Used:
Bose, JBL, Wharfdale, AR, B&W, Paradigm and FRx series.

Summary:
for.the.price.very.good.

Strengths:
good.sound

Weaknesses:
no.so.far

Similar Products Used:
yamaha

Summary:
I´ve been looking for new speakers for the last year, but nothing felt right until I came across the OM-14s. They are easy and funny to listen to. They make you listen to the music and not the speakers.

These speakers really sing, and really deserves the five star rating

Strengths:
Great presence and easy going.

Weaknesses:
None, as I´ve noticed.

Similar Products Used:
AE 120SE, Audio Pro Black Diamond.