Mirage OM-9's and OMNI CB (1 Viewer)

[Lee M T]

It's been a while since I been around these parts.

Would the OM-9's and the Omni CB center channel blend well? They both use identical tweeters and woofers, and both are omnipolar, but of course they use two different configurations to achieve that. My room is small, so I suspect my center channel won't really have to strain to keep up. But should the tonal balance remain fairly consistent? $700 for a pair of OM-9's is just insane. I got my Omni 60's for $300 for the pair last Thanksgiving.

Anyhow, if I went with the 9's I would move my Omni 60's to the rear.

If you're wondering, the Om-9's were sold out, but they were getting more in. So I bought the OM-9's and a pair of Omni 60's and I will cancel the ones I don't want. So, I could go with OM-9's in the front and Omni 60's in the rear or Omni 60's in the front and rear.

Thanks,
Lee

 

[Benihana]

the om-9 will blend well with the Omni CC center channel. Same PTH tweeter driver, so they will be voice matched. I am in need of a Mirage center channel, and the OMC-2 is somewhat rare and hard to find, how good is the OMNI CC speaker? I was thinking about picking one up for a demo.

 

[Lee M T]

Thanks for the help.

I love my Omni center channel. I've heard that it can have some problems when sitting off center, but I cannot vouch for that. My room is small so my room blows off at minimal volumes. It sounds good all over. I can move anywhere in my room and I seem to still be in the middle of the action.

I mainly use my theater for gaming and when playing a game the sound is completely imerssive. I've been playing Metal Gear Solid 3 lately, and when in the jungle the serenity of the birds chirping, the rain splashing, the rivers flowing is just spectacular. The subtlety is silky smooth through my Mirage's. But when danger lurks and the music kicks in high gear, my speakers rear back and kick me in my pants. Though it seems transparent, like the speakers aren't even there. It's great. The dialogue has been excellently delivered in the game with great voice actors and the Mirage's, especially the center channel seem to have no problems presenting it to me.

 

[Kevin C Brown]

I think they will blend OK. I use Omni 60's in back with OM-7's and an OM-C2 up front, and front to back works fine for me. Better than I thought it would actually. So I imagine that 9's and the Omni CC up front will work fine too.

 

[Muhammed]

The difference between the Omni 60s and the OM-9s is that the 60s sound somewhat brighter. If you listen to a lot of 2-channel music, then the OM-9s would probably be the better choice, i've listened to both, and find the 9s to be warmer, the bass is little fuller, and the mid-range also seems richer. Just my opinion though, I think either should blend relatively well with the Omni-CC.

Do you know if Tweeter had the OM-9s in Black on sale too, or just the Cherry? You may also want to take a look at the Omni-260s for fronts, and 60s for rears.

 

[Lee M T]

Thanks guys! It sounds like either way I should be happy.

Tweeter had the following Mirage gear on sale:

50% off of:

Omni 60 (Black Only)
Omni 260 (Cherry and Black)
OM - 9 (Cherry Only)

I would not have hesitated on the Omni 260's for $499/pair, but I had to work 16 hours on the day after Thanksgiving, so I missed out on those. Sold out in the entire state of Texas. The OM-9's were gone too, but the computer shows 14 coming in. If they don't come in, then I still have those Omni 60's to fall back on. I mainly use my system for gaming, so just having Omni 60's all around won't be bad at all. But those OM-9's are sexy! I think I like cherry the best. And there isn't too much cherry on them that will throw off my color coordination. hehe

 

[Muhammed]

I actually picked up the OM-9s, i've wanted a pair for a while, so jumped at the opportunity to get them at a good price.

I mostly listen to 2-channel music, and watch movies, but i'm not as picky about the HT setup (so long as it's reasonbly good). For gaming I think the Omni 60s would be fine, the main difference I could tell between the 60s and the OM-9s was bass (with Sub off) and a fuller midrange on the OM-9s, I think that made the OM-9s sound less bright.

I'm pretty sure the Omni 260s were on sale for a LONG time, so they're probably all gone by now.

I'm also in Texas, and really wanted the OM-9s in black, but ended up taking the cherry (couldn't justify $600 more for black). They also said there are 14 pairs coming in, but that isn't all that much, 1 or 2 pairs at most per store (since it's for all of Texas).

You could always get the Omni 60s, try them out, and if the OM-9s come in within 30 days (I think that's the return policy) you can buy the OM-9s, try them both, and return the ones you don't want (although lugging the OM-9s home wasn't easy).

 

[Kevin C Brown]

Congrats! The OM-9's are excellent speakers.

A lot of people dismiss bipolar/omnipolar speakers based on theory alone. But I'm convinced that if more people would actually try them rather than just talk about them, there'd be a lot more happy people in the world.

 

[Muhammed]

Does anyone know if the front grilles on the OM-9s come off? I tried taking them off, and didn't want to pull too hard, the back one came off without any issues.

Lee what part of Texas are you in? If you still want the OM-9s, call around, the black ones are on sale now too, although there are lots of demos and not that many sealed in the box. So if you want to give them a try this might be a good time.

Kevin i've been a Mirage fan for ages (even before the OmniPolar speakers), and I think i'm a little biased towards them, but love the way the speakers sound. Please let me know if you know how to take the front grilles off.

 

[Kevin C Brown]

There is way, but I don't remember how. When I had my 9's, I did take both grills off to look at the drivers on both sides. Maybe email Mirage...

Previous to the Mirages, I had a Vandersteen setup, and before that Definitive Technology. Just something about the more expansive soundfield, and larger sweet spot that I like as well.

 

[Benihana]

I just picked up a new OM-C3 center channel. Should be here in a week.

 

[Muhammed]

Thanks Kevin ... I did manage to get them off, I just had to pull a little harder (I didn't want to break them).

They'll need some time to break in, but so far I like the sound a lot more than the Omni 60s (my personal preference)

 

[Muhammed]

Benihana, how much HT watching do you do? I've heard that the Omni-CC is a better choice than the OM-C3. I don't want to knock your decision though, since i'm running the OM-C3 myself.

I'm mainly into music, and in my current setup the OM-C3 sounds great, although it's not OmniPolar. Either way, i'm sure you'll be happy with it, the OM-C2 is supposedly much nicer, but also much pricier, and hard to find.

 

[Benihana]

actually, i just purchased all my new home theater products so i'm hoping to watch quite a bit to warrant how much money i've spent on all of this stuff. So far i've bought:

TV: Phillips HDTV 30" Widescreen 30PW862H
Receiver: Pioneer VSX-1014TX-K
DVD Player: Denon DVD-1910
Center Channel: Mirage OM-C3 to voice match my Mirage M-3si
Surrounds: 4 Wharfedale Wh-2 for sides and back surrounds

On the pioneer, I will have outboard amps running my mains, so the amps will have more headroom for the center/surround speakers.

 

[Muhammed]

Some people may admonish you for having a different brand of surround speakers (they aren't voice matched etc.)

I'm running a similar setup to yours, Mirage up front with an OM-C3 as the center, and I currently have missions in the rear. The rear's aren't voice matched of course, but I pay more attention to the 2-channel stereo setup, the HT is an added bonus.

I've never heard the M3-si's but have heard bookshelves from the same time frame, and they sounded wonderful. So i'm sure those will sound even better.

 

[Benihana]

yeah, the surrounds arent voice matched, but i'm like you, 2 channel priority with a HT bonus . I've actually had a different HT before, and i' had different rears than fronts, and i could never tell a difference, maybe cuz i didn't care at the time. But i couldn't warrant spending so much on the OMR2 rears, something like $300+, and I actually wanted the OMC2, but too expensive, I think the OMC3 will be good for me, my room is only 12 x 14 .

 

[Kevin C Brown]

I personally think that having the exact same speaker all around is overrated:

1) You do not "hear" the same behind you as in front of you. Mostly due to how your ears are shaped in relation to your head.

2) The physical location of each speaker is different anyway. So each speaker will sound differently due to that too.

3) The goal of any product, is to as closely as possible, to perfectly represent the source signal. Now obviously speakers (and the room) have the most influence on sound, but if you buy all your speakers from reputable quality manufacturers, they all will sound "good" nonetheless.

I have a few more reasons that I can't think of at the moment. Having identical speakers all around *is* a nice goal. Having speakers all from the same manufacturer is a nice goal too. But having quality speakers all around whether from the same manufacturer or not, can actually get you a better system if you know what you're doing. Some companies simply do not do center speakers well. Some don't do surrounds well either. Mix and match can work better.

 

[Benihana]

exactly, some manufacturers make better surrounds than others, and some centers better than others, and they are sometimes cheaper. I was thinking about picking up a center from Energy since they are basically made by the Mirage owners, and sometimes use the same parts.

 

[Kevin C Brown]

I agree. To a large degree, I view all the speakers under the API umbrella as sonically equivalent (or very close). I sometimes think about swapping the three Mirages up front for Energy Veritas speakers, and keep the Omni 60's in the back. But I really like the Mirages. And personally, I'm not sure that I'd like the Energy Veritas center more than the OM-C2.

 

[Muhammed]

Let me know if you ever try that out Kevin, I was toying with going to the Veritas series a while ago, and got a great deal on the OM-9s (which I was admiring for some time, I just an excuse to pull the trigger!).

Do you prefer the Omni 60s over the OM-9s?

I've been toying with the idea of getting the Athena's for the rear (the AS-R1), I know they won't be voice matched to the Mirage, and the build quality won't be as good (ASAIK most of the Athena line is made in the far east, while Mirage and Energy are made in Canada). But just something i've considered.

For me, if i've set a certain budget, i'd rather splurge on the fronts, get a decent center, and then get something acceptable for the rears, instead of getting the same model all around.