Mirage Loudspeakers OM-10 Floorstanding Speakers
Mirage Loudspeakers OM-10 Floorstanding Speakers
USER REVIEWS
[Sep 27, 2020]
Pandaman617
Strength:
For a now 19+ year old speaker, if they were treated properly you’ll find they sound and look as good as the day they came from Canada. If you have 2-3ft from your front wall and 2-4ft from your side walls in your listening area that’s a good starting point in terms of placement. However for a very small square room you may lose some of the omnipolar reflected sound these speakers rely on to perform at their best. I’ve read through all of the reviews on here and while they’re quite old you can pick up a mint condition pair of these off eBay, Audiogon or US Audio Mart for an average of $300-$600. They retailed for $1,400 I believe. I paid $200 for my pair and they are in 10/10 condition, so if possible try and negotiate down to the $300-$400 region. If you look at the used speaker market these days there are quite a few high end offerings that can be had in the $300-$600 region. However, in terms of engineering (Ian Paisley and Andrew Welker are both extremely brilliant individuals who are also devoted audiophiles) they were created by a group of engineers who are enthusiasts themselves, the cabinets don’t draw attention to themselves and I do like having the acoustically transparent sock on them as it adds to the neutral demeanor. The 6.5” woofers and 1” pure titanium hybrid tweeter don’t use paper surrounds or any of that low end nonsense so you’re highly unlikely to find a pair with damaged surrounds, although I would still check. You can roll the top of the sock down by removing the top plastic cap and than untying the string. You do not need a 200 watt RMS Monoblock or 200WPC power amp to run these efficiently. Using REW and a Parts Express USB Omnimic I recorded my pair running reference levels with the expected frequency cut off point of 28hz on both a Denon x3300w which in 7 channel mode is only outputting around 80-85 watts per channel, an Adcom 545 which makes slightly more power and than a pair of Dayton Audio APA150 monoblocks which put out 150 WPC, I also tested them with a 40 WPC DIY tube amp I built and measured the same in room results. Currently I have the tweeters running off my main L & R outputs on my Denon and the woofers running off a Fisher CA-885 via preamp outputs and the Fisher’s Aux 1 video PB input. It does produce 200 WPC’s which makes it ideal for driving low frequency output, however even running it with the factory shorting bars installed yielded very similar results; passive bi-amping which Weakness:
If you can find these in good shape certainly buy them. The most I was prepared to pay was $500 shipped. Mirage speakers demand a premium as what exists is all there is, I paid $3,500 for two pairs of OMD-15’s, a pair of OMD-25’s, two pairs of OMD-5’s and an OMD-C2. There are people listing just the OMD-28’s for $2,000 so you have to do your research and really look around at the various audio stirs and peer to peer merchant websites. Price Paid: 200
Purchased: Used
Model Year: 2001
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[Apr 23, 2006]
maz43
AudioPhile
Strength:
open and deep sound stage, good with low output valve/tube amps great sound for the money.
Weakness:
need matching properly to avoid sounding slow and congested Decided to give these another go and I am pleased I did, it seems they are sensitive to the equipment they are connect to. Managed to get a great price on ebay, My system is Alphason Sonata, Zeta, Monster Alpha Genesis 2000 table, VAC standard pre and Audio Innovations first audio valve power amp , Conrad Johnson DF1 cd player. I have several other pre and power amps but this is my preferred system. Exchanging the First Audio with the Conrad Johnson MF80 the OM10's didn't sound to great but with the First Audio I prefer them to my OM12's so the OM12's will have to go. These speakers can throw up an amazing open sound, crisp but sweet treble good voicing and solid deep base. The secret to getting a great sound with these speakers is to match them up with suitable electronics. If you can get a pair for a good price buy them you will not regret it. Similar Products Used: Mirage OM12, Castle Harlech, Alphason Amphion, Snell J 11, Kef Ref 104/11. |
[Sep 02, 2005]
circuithead
Audio Enthusiast
Strength:
Low is very tight and strong mids surprisingly good high's still bright no hollowness to these pups nice bi-wirable binding posts bi-polar is cool and sounds really good watching movies in DD 5.1 and listening in stero mode (wider soundstage/sweet spot)
Weakness:
For under 4 bills none They won't compete with the big dogs, but like anything else it's all about the cash Ok these are my mains. They can handle up to 200 watts. They can be bi-wired. they fire in the rear and front (bi-polar) They have great potential for the price. Are they as good as top of the line Paradigms? No. but those Paradigms will run you 14-1600 bucks. For at least a grand less you can make a compromise. These are good in hi-fi which most people say bi-polar is made for. these can also rock. Very good low end response great mid and high it's hard to tell if its this or my amp or a combo but the highs are bright (a little piercing but most people don't really notice) They're big and they're heavy. If you can get some cheap go for it. They more than do the job. Let me just say that these alone will add detail if you are currently using shelf speakers from your college dorm days. RadioHead/Pink Floyd - there are sounds I never heard before on Dark Side and OK Comp. That's when audio becomes really exciting for me. The sound will fill a room no doubt. I absolutely loved these babies when I first got them. they're a "man's" speaker - big and looks like something from 2001 Space Odyssey. I love Canadian speakers - best value and best price - most comaprable American brand is Definitive Technology Similar Products Used: Kenwood small lame speakers froma home theater in a box set... warfdales |
[Sep 29, 2003]
William Walker
Audio Enthusiast
Strength:
Smooth, natural sound stage i.e. almost like hearing an actual concert in your living room. Not artificially bright or too bassy. Recordings that already have substantial base in the recording itself will sound just fine while some older recordings with less bass may give the illusion these speakers do not have the ability to put out a decent low end. But you can overcome the weakness of the recording by using an equalizer or good quality speaker cables like the AudioQuest Type 4 speaker cable. Speaker cables such as these will greatly enhance the detail of the instrumentation and vocals and clean up any sloppiness found in the recordings.
Weakness:
These speakers must have room to breathe (away from the walls, furniture and other objects) otherwise they will not sound right. If you can still find a pair of the OM 10 speaker at any store I highly recommend that you buy them. Even a used pair might be good. I've owned these speakers for close to three years now and they still sound as fresh as they did when I took them out of the box in Nov. 2000. For nearly ten years I had been auditioning speakers to replace my old Klipsch Heresy's but the only speaker that came close to what I wanted in my price range was the Definitive Technology BP 10's. But in the end those speakers did not accurately replay Rock and Roll very well. But then I accidentally found these and that ended the search. The OM 10 has an atypical sound when compared to most other speakers. Most front driven speakers are either artificially bright and/or have a very narrow sound stage and sound like they come right out of a wooden box. In contrast these speakers offer a spacious sound stage that closely resembles an actual concert. They are smooth and lifelike though some people that are accustomed to traditional speakers might call them neutral and say they are lacking in high end and midrange. But when you come right down to it the very concept behind producing a good speaker is to accurately reproduce the instrumentation and vocals to have it sound life like almost as if you were at a concert. Having sufficient room in order to obtain the maximum benefit of this speaker is essential. Consider these speakers to be equally as persnickity as those Martin Logan or Magneplanar Ribbon Technology speakers. You need a good sized room to use them and you need to keep them at least a couple of feet off the walls in any direction. If you are able to do this then you will be able to obtain the best sound that these speakers have to offer. Current System: Mirage OM 10c Speakers Cambridge A 300 Integrated Amp Onkyo T4310 R Tuner Cheapo Teac CD Player AudioQuest Type 4 Speaker Cable Similar Products Used: Klipsch Heresy |
[Sep 18, 2003]
gsandiego
Audio Enthusiast
Strength:
+ Amazingly deep and high soundstage + Great clarity + Wife likes them
Weakness:
- Narrow soundstage - No bass (needs a sub) - Can't remove the grill cloth I had to grab the store's last 2 discontinued pairs at this price. I initially intended to use them as the F/R in a HT setup but may end up changing that. I'm moving to a new house with a 13x20 room but who can resist new toys? I've got one pair opened up and hooked up to a Sony NS-900V DVD player and Pioneer Elite VSX-43TX receiver. +. Deep and high soundstage: The speakers throw the deepest image of any speakers I've had or heard... except for some Wilsons my friend had. But c'mon, they were Wilsons! Anyway, the speakers disapear and you cannot sense that they play at all. They also have great height. Playing both Diana Krall and Eddie Vedder, we felt like we were front row looking up at singers onstage. +. Great clarity Listened to some Mozart piano pieces (most of my CD's are packed so I've only got a select few left) and my brother commented that they actually sounded like pianos, not recordings of pianos. Enough said. +. Just plain sexy That's what my brother called them when he saw them. WAF (Wife Acceptance Factor) is very high, as the speakers are mostly a cool pyramid wrapped in pretty black grill cloth, topped with pretty black piano gloss. Can't wait to set up all 4 of them. -. Very narrow soundstage: EVERYthing sounds like it is coming from 4 feet behind and in the middle of these speakers. I seriously don't even need a center channel! I've tried toed-in, straight ahead, 10 feet apart, 4 feet apart, and cannot get them to throw a wide stage. It's like all of the performes are sitting next to or in front of each other. However, I'm still experimenting with placement and will have to move them anyway to my new house. -. No bass: Well, what do you expect from a 6"? Unfortunately I have already packed my subs and of course intend to have them for HT so I can't fairly say this is a weakness for me. However, they sound great for most music as they are, just don't play your N'Sync through them. C'mon, you know you've got one boy band CD in your collection! Don't you? Okay I borrowed my sister's. -. Cats love them My wife's cats cannot resist the grill cloth, and I can't figure out why Mirage made them non-removable. I can't see how they would be replaced if they were scratched. The speakers, not the cats. So, if I can't get them to sound right, they may end up being really beautiful surround speakers in a 7.1 setup and I may have to go back to direct-radiating for the front/center. We'll see. Similar Products Used: Polk RT, JBL HTIB speakers, Magnepan, B&W DM series |
[Jan 16, 2003]
Steven Jones
Audio Enthusiast
Strength:
Sound clarity and seperation. Great sound reflection from the OmniPolar format.
Weakness:
Spacing can be tricky, but once you get it right you'll love them. Tina Turner said it best. They are simply the best! I am sure you can spend several thousand dollars to get something better, but for the opportunity under $1000 you cannot get a better speaker. No sub is needed, but adding one will blow your mind. Not only the sound quality, but the look. A good friend spent almost 2 grand on some Polks and they cannot touch these OM10's. Similar Products Used: Polk, Infinity, B&W |
[Dec 29, 2002]
anthonydef1
Audio Enthusiast
Strength:
A 28 hz low-end is unreal; not bright or harsh even with titanium tweeters; I can run these completely flat and not need a sub. Awesome build quality.
Weakness:
Positioning is crutial. It took me a lot of experimentation to find the right placement. If they don't sound good - move 'em. Also, good luck finding a them. I've owned these beauties for a few months and I've just now positioned them properly (in a 12x10 room there's hardly space for a home theater and a couch and less room for the desk and computer that I had to move). These suckers blow me away. Even though they're only powered by a Yamaha (got a great deal on that, too) they still sound fantastic. Clean, crisp highs; full, warm mids, and in such a small room I don't even need a sub (not even for movies!). Positioned properly these speakers are great on the low end. I would definetley recommend at least auditioning these before thinking about buying more expensive speakers (if you can find them...they've been discontinued). I did see a pair sell on Ebay for about $350... My System- Fronts ------ Mirage OM-10 Center ------ Mirage OM-C3 (soon replaced by Mirage OM-C2) Rears ------ Infinity 2000.2 (soon replaced by Mirage OMNI-50) Rear Center-- None (maybe an Omnisat someday) Receiver ---- Yamaha RX-V2200 (plan to add a B&K ST125.3 amp) DVD --------- Onkyo Integra DPC-6 Sub --------- Still undecided All connects are Monster Cable (for now) Similar Products Used: Owned a few pairs of generic speakers, a few JBLs, a few Infinitys. Auditioned lower line B&Ws, Paradigm Monitor series, Definitve Technology, Klipsch, ect. |
[Apr 23, 2002]
timwas1
Audio Enthusiast
Strength:
blending seemlessly with the rest of my mirages, while allowing me to retain "enough" full range sound in the rear surrounds for full range dvd audio ect... well ballanced from top to bottom compliments my om6s wonderfully,small footprint
Weakness:
if i had to nit pick the black cloth- prefer the new series looks- though its the sound that matters, im about one year away from completing my hometheatre/2 channel audio integrated setup- boy what a job this has been-fun- educational- and frustrating. im sure many of you folks feel the same.of course any time we lay our hard earned money down we really want to feel good about our purchases, sometimes being biased even.well of the many speakers ive listened to the mirages simply "do it"for me.the detail on top with theyre wonderful tytanium/hybrid tweeter, suprisingly not a bright sound. rather accuratly detailed, rich and warm , dynamically boisterous sound when called upon. the om 10s are full range enough for mains however they simply perform wonderfully serving in a support role in the rear of my setup. placement is 3-4 feet from side walls and 3-4 feet from rear wall. they really provide one helluva hollagrapic sonic ride with my om 6 mains and mc2 center channel. if your interested in a speaker that can serve audiophile sound along with dynamic hometheatre sound definatly audition this manufactures product, competes at a higher price point imho. also stated by some reviews on "new series" that better top notch electronics mate well .my system today--- mirage om6/ om 10/ mc 2/ bps 400 sub/ amp on front- plinius sa 100mk3/ sides and surround- adcom gfa 7000{soon to be all plinius}h/t pre-amp lexicon mc2/2ch. pre-amp adcom gfp 750/interconnects straightwire rapsody lex,to gfa, homegrown silverlace from plinius to adcom gfp 750/ sony cdpcx 400 jukebox transport to monarchy dip{cable straightwire megalink, to kora hermes 24/192 triode tubed dac./toshiba sd 3109/ 4700 dvd/ current desighn pc8 plus line conditioner/surge protection. my final purchases will be plinius sa 102 monoblocks {2}lexicon mc 12 and the pioneer elite series 620 or newer, i also have lovan classic series stands.this combination of plinius, kora tubes and mirage cant get any better. then im going back to fishing and upgrading other parts of my life. twas fun though---chow..... { |
[Apr 14, 2002]
DMP1024
Audio Enthusiast
Strength:
Magical room-filling sound, Rich tone, wide audible frequency response (very high to very low), Interesting 3D soundstage, Very addicting!
Weakness:
Subtle dip in midrange, No removable grill, Needs room to "breath" (or reflects too much), say good bye to social life. Chris Troianello has inspired to me to do a follow up review for my OM-10s! I''ve owned them for 3 years now. Wow it goes by fast. After hearing $5,000 dollar B&Ws through outragously priced gear. I can honestly still say, these speaker are an excellent value! I don''t want make this too long to read, but I must say that ALL speakers have some flaws...at any price. And some snobby audiphiles have tryed to make me feel bad about owning my speakers. They say things like "for the price of 2 tweeters, you could get one really good one" and "that onmipolar thing is only good for surround speakers". I understand where these guys are coming from. But, they all admiit to me..that I have them set up correctly, and THEY DO SOUND GREAT! The tweeters are the best part! They sound amazingly life like! OK, here''s some things I recomend. Use the best wires and interconnects you can get your hands on. These speakers are very sensitve to quality wire. It makes a big "hearable" difference! Bi-Wire. I bought some Tara Lab Bi-wire speaker cables. Any problem with the midrange you might have... goes away when you Bi-wire. it''s pretty cool! Room placement is critical! mine are 4 feet away from my back wall now! yikes. Use the "one to one1/2" rule, eplained in your owner manual. Basic speaker set up stuff. Learn about "Tweaks". Everything from rolls of bubble rap (D cell battery shape) under my Sony ES cd player to the slabs of limestone I have my speakers on effect the sound and the soundstage. Its free to learn and fun too..just dont go too insane. (like i have) So, in a nutshell, my speakers have satisfied me for a few years now. What more can you ask? Somtimes i day dream about buying more expensive speakers ... but, I know I''ll miss that Mirage sound. I''m sorry to see them discontinued. Buy them up while you can folks. They do satisfy! |
[Mar 22, 2002]
gralen
Audio Enthusiast
Strength:
good sound when it works
Weakness:
separation not as good as b and w I just brought these on Sunday. I hook them up to my Yamaha 1200 and set back to listen the first song I heard was the sweetest thing I ever heard. Then after several more songs it started to go down hill, Then I notice that after the second day The sound started to get better. ( I had the Yammmie hook up to some celestion)The sound almost blew me away. After I started to hook everything up tp my dvd palyer I notice theat the higs were not coming out of one of the speakers. I switch speaker wire and notice the same thing. I think the tweet is out even though they have a metal tweeter. I am taking this back Tweeter tomorrow. The first pair of om10''s were stolen . That is why I looked everywhere to get replacements because they sound so good. Similar Products Used: celestion, bose 301, mirage om 10 |