bergie67

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
3 Months to 1 year

Visitors rate this review
2.33 of 5, 3.00 votes

Price Paid:  $400.00 from Private Owner

Summary:
I compared these with the old standard type speakers from a time when size and weight didn't matter. They stood up very well, and ironically outperformed the bass response. The old speakers have horn mids and highs and a 12" woofer. The Mirage produced crisp highs and excellent punch on the low end. The old ones outperformed in the mid tones as I suspected since the Mirage are essentially two way speakers; however, since all speaker arrangements now include a center channel speaker, the mids are picked up there. I hated to see the old 80lb speakers go, but the Mirage are very nice to look at, and as part of a 5.1 surround give a much better overall sound than the old ones. If I used these without the compliments of the center channel and subwoofer, it would be a tough decision, but with the subwoofer and center channel, the overall sound is outstanding. Dave Matthews would be proud.

My current configuration uses a JVC 9010VBK 5.1 receiver with the Mirage in front, a JBL Northridge EC35 center channel, JBL E250P subwoofer, and Polk Audio RT25's in the rear. The Fast and Furious racing scene brings a new element to watching movies with this system.

Highly recommended if spending under $1,000 on front speakers in surround system. If you are purchasing for use without surround, go for the FRX-9. Otherwise, don't spend the additional bucks.

Strengths:
Very, very clean sound production; surprisingly well supported bass; nice looking; high quality construction.

Weaknesses:
None really except could benefit from better mid tone production without a center channel speaker. If using with a surround sound, not to worry. If alone, you may wish to pick up the FRX-nine.

Similar Products Used:
JBL Northridge E80

izzkidioto

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
1 to 3 months

Price Paid:  $250.00 from eBay

Summary:
These speakers are absolutely fabulous. Lots of headroom with Rotel 870 as well as massive soundstage. Clarity is well defined in upper frequencies and surprisingly low frequency response for a 6.5" driver. Well designed speaker, as Mirage is known for. Small rooms may require some toe in, but that is room acoustics. The spikes do wonders for the lower response.

Strengths:
Upper range is beautiful, women sound enchanting. Nice lower end.

Weaknesses:
Needs sub to liven them up, just for the lower end.

Similar Products Used:
Counterpoint, ADS

Price Paid:  $690.00 from creative audio

Summary:
tight tuneful bass.clean,clear midrange.exellent highs to 22,000hz.beautiful cherry finish.fit and finish flawless!typical api quality!

Strengths:
everything!

Weaknesses:
for 690.00 cdn,are you kidding!!

Similar Products Used:
paradigm,camber,jbl,realitic.

Price Paid:  $300.00 from private dealer

Summary:
I purchased this speaker for only $300 from a dealer that had only used them as a floor display model. For the money, these speakers can't be beat. I listened around a lot to speakers in the same price range (Paradigm, B&W, Energy, Klipsch, etc.) and the Mirage consistently stood out due to their smoothness and how laid-back they sounded. The soundstage is just wonderful, and the bass is pretty decent too. Once they were broken in, they sounded just gorgeous. I've had these speakers for a few months now, and they still put a smile on my face. When you put these mains with the OM-C3 center and the Frx-rears, it makes a seamless envelope of sound that is fantastic for all purposes. Add the Adire Audio Rava sub, and wow! what a system For budget entry-level main speakers, these are very hard to beat. Oh, and in response to the reviewer below, of course the $1500 Paradigms are better - they're $1500! Mirage has $1500 speakers also that are much better than the Frx-7's. But for $300, these Mirage's are damn near impossible to beat. My system: Toshiba 50H82 (television) Marantz SR-5200 (receiver) Mirage Frx-7 (mains) Mirage OM-C3 (center) Mirage Frx-rears (rear) Adire Audio Rava (sub)

Strengths:
Excellent soundstage, very clear and detailed sound. Laid back and smooth. Price.

Weaknesses:
None that I've found yet.

Similar Products Used:
Paradigm, B&W, etc.

Price Paid:  $569.00 from not

Summary:
Please ignore all other reviews and heed my advice.I saw these on sale for $569.00 and after reading all the reviews was almost ready to buy them unheard.Boy ,am I glad I didn't.After listening to them for 30 mins., I asked the salesman to bring me in a close price equivalent of another speaker.He brought in a Paradigm tower which ran $150.00 more.No comparison. The Mirages sounded like pea-soup(tons of clutter) when put against these others.(I AM NOT A PRO-PARADIGM SALESMAN)He then asked me what I was looking for in these speakers and informed him that my highs were taken care of in my wonderful, great value axioms, and I intended on adding a sub soon, so I really needed something that excelled in the mids range. Hello Paradigm Monitor 60's.We hooked these up and my jaw dropped to the floor. Smooooooooth like butter baby ! As well, with a decent amp (not the ones in your receiver), these things kick out beautiful rich bass.I dont think I'll even need a sub. The kicker..... They are $1500 CDN. This is double of what I was planning on. I figured then to go to the next step(just to see) and had him haul in a $4000 pair of JM Labs. Beautiful sound but guess what. Any layman can hear the overwhelming sound differene from the Mirages $569 to the Paradigms $1500 and talk themselves into the paradigms, but the difference when you go above this is so inconsequential, you really have to either be really anal or stinking rich to justify the sound quality difference given the price. I guess there are two morals to my long winded story. 1.Dont believe everything you read (listen for yourself) 2.There is no need to go crazy, but save up until you can afford a decent speaker as opposed to making do with something you really wont be happy with in the long run. Again, I know everyone hears a little different , but I feel all the glowing positive reviews on this speaker are realy unjustified. Maybe they are all from Mirage or just people trying to convince themselves that they made a good decision.

Strengths:
Price I guess

Weaknesses:
Quality,sound. READ THE REVIEW !