$3000.00 to spend, looking for ideas (1 Viewer)

[SanfordL]

I am looking to update my speakers including the sub. Now, I am fairly firmly set on waiting for a SVS PC+, as long as the price remains nice and assuming they don't give me one in the great give-away (I think I can, I think I can...)
I imagine that this will leave me with around $2200.00 assuming the redisigned tubes are available mid to late 2002. (Any word as to when the new and improved PC+'s will be available?) Regardless, I am looking for some recommendations on high quality speaker's to audition. I am a big fan of the MB Quart's I have in my car, and would like that same kind of range (not really, but at least 16 - 28khz if possible including the SVS for the bottom end.) I have looked at the Mirages, (at least the specs and company hype) but don't know anyone who has them in their home. The system that seems to fit the bill for my budget are 2 x OM9C's, 1 x OMC2, & 2 x OMR2GB's. Any information folks can give me on the Mirage's pressence and general tonal sound would be excellent. As well, if anyone has any other speakers to recommend, I am all ears.

 

[Russell _T]

A Diva by Swans 6.1 package shipped hits your budget right on the money. Nothing else on the market can touch them anywhere near the price. You can see the Divas at www.AV123.com.
Russ

 

[Bob_A]

What %HT/music will this system be used for? How big is the room, and do you have any major placement restrictions? What amplification will you be using?
Mirage makes excellent speakers.
www.miragespeakers.com

 

[SanfordL]

Alright, now I checked out the site, and the speakers do look great, but then again, I care more about the sound than the aesthetics. Don't get me wrong, I do have a wife, but with the HT stuff, this is all my call, so are there any tech. reviews of these speakers available from a recognized source? I read the hometheaterhifi one, but that's not for the 6.1's, which seem about in the price range.

So, how do they handle the sweeps? Do they disappear in the room when listening, or are they very point of reference in sound? I want speakers that are going to disappear into my room and envelope me in the sound. That's what I like about the Mirages. It's also what I love about the Martin Logan's, but I haven't made my first million yet. Let me know when you have a second if you can. Thanks for the information.

 

[SanfordL]

Hey Bob, sorry, I suppose I did leave off some of the important stuff.

Amp: Kenwood KR-990D 105watt x 2 front + center, 70watt x2 rear

Room is quirky shaped, but basically it's 14' from the seating area to the front wall, and aproximately 18-20 feet long. House is built with a standard 8' ceiling over a crawl space. Needless to say, it's wider than long, but otherwise the TV blocks the window, and that wouldn't work. Approximately 14 feet from TV wall side, their is a wall which comes up and seperates a small (2-3 foot) portion of the room off. Ceiling, and walls are all drywalled. The ceiling has the textured paint, but oh well, that's a bigger mess than I am willing to undertake to improve the sound.

Let me know what you think. It is 5:00 here, so I'm jetting.

 

[Sean M]

I just bought the OM9's and I will be picking up the OMC2 on Thursday. Probably 2-4 weeks later I'll get the OMR2's. I must say that I really, really like these speakers. I won't be able to say that I love them until I get them all together in my house and break them in, but's probably a lock that I will.

Your goals are the same as mine, to get the speakers to disappear in the room and the Mirage's do this wonderfully. The soundstage from the OM9's has great lateral dispersion and depth and I almost never feel as though the sound is coming from the speakers. The omni-directional claim by the company is true. I can stand between my speakers, or face one directly from the sides and it sounds as if there is a set of drivers facing me. In addition, even far off axis, the soundfield doesn't collapse and sound unnatural. I am looking forward to this same effect from the OMC2, as I find that the Virtuel is will be replacing is far too directional for my taste. Sound is definately coming from the speaker in that case, and it sounds like a speaker.

Tonally, these are warm speakers, not harsh or bright. This is highlighted by the Marantz SR-8000 that I'm driving them with. The titanium tweeter with cloth surround is a great combination, as everything remains crisp without grating.

I also have an odd shaped room. The theater area is 18'long by 13' wide at the front, 10' wide at the back, and the entire left side opens up into the rest of the basement. These speakers are forgiving of odd shaped rooms, but they need some room to breath. 24"-36" from the back wall and a different, but similar distance from the side walls are neccessary for ideal placement.

You may want to dig up a Diva owner near you to see if you can get a demo, just to be thorough. I considered those speaker before deciding on Mirage.

 

[Russell _T]

Sanford,

Sorry, I should have given you some more info. The AVS Forum has most of the Diva posts. On the first page of the Audio Forum is the "Unofficial Diva by Swans" thread and the first post on that thread will give you links to the Diva FAQ page, all 2000 posts and the professional reviews.

Russ