Big powerful sound without needing big money in amplifiers. They look good. Very clear and detailed sound. More than enough bass for any type of music or home theater.

Can overwhelm a small room.

I'll begin by saying that I had never bought into the speaker "Burn in" theory until I got these speakers home and began listening. In the begining the bass seemed absolutely unmanageable. Even when adjusted all the way down, with some music it was still dominating. Now, after maybe 200-300 hours of playing time I can adjust the bass back up to the point where I can find a satisfying balance with any music.

If you want to read a review about the sound quality of these speakers check out this review of the OM-7s at http://www.soundstage.com/revequip/mirage_om7.htm. The OM-7s are nearly identical to the OM-5s except the 5s use two active woofers as opposed to one passive in the OM-7s.

When playing music I find these speakers to be clear, articulate, and in a word, satisfying. You can play them very loud without a hint of ear fatigue. When I was audtioning speakers I was able to compare the Paradigm studio 100s and the OM-5s directly; the OM-5s won that contest hands down but at a + $1500.00 price diference. The B&W CDM9NTs on the other hand were easily the equal of the OM-5s when being driven by $20,000.00 worth of stereo equipment. However, when played using my receiver, a Dennon AVR 3801, the B&Ws sucked. The Martin Logans, which sounded great, also need more amplification than I was willing to pay for. That is one of the big reasons I bought the Mirages. They sound great with my 105 w/per channel Dennon.

I also use these speakers as part of my home theater and in my opinion that's where these things really earn their purchase price. They really help bring movies to life. Big live dynamic sound. And this is the format where all that bass power really shines. When things explode in the movie you can feel it.

I will echo a couple points made by some of the other reviewers. First, mirage omni polar speakers are not for every one. If you like a more forward in your face sound these probably aren't for you. These speakers seem to blend into the room with a more full or room filling sound. Secondly, these speakers need room. I have them in a 20'x 14' room and it may be to small. They also need to be out away from the walls. I have placed mine about 1.5' from the front wall and about 2' from the side walls and I'm sure it would help if they were out into the room even more.

To sum all this up, when you consider that they sound great when driven by a simple $1000.00 receiver, I don't believe you can beat these speakers for the money . If you already have $10,000.00 worth of stereo equipment I'm sure it gives you many more options but these speakers will sound just that much better.

My Equipment:
Dennon AVR-3801 receiver
Mirage OM-5 mains
OM-C2 center (An excellent speaker)
OM-R2 surrounds
Polk M-3 rear surrounds

I vote these speaker an overall 4.5 (nothing rates a 5 in my book). Happy speaker hunting. P.S. Never never never pay retail price. Ask for at least a 15% discount from your local retailer.

Regards,
rick

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I auditioned Paradigm Studio 100s, B&W CDM NT 9s, Martin logans, and a couple others but these were the ones that I really considered buying.

Great company

None for the price

I tried the OM-5 and they were too large for my room. No blame to the speaker itself, the OM-5 were out of control in the bass region and could not reduced too much via the control at the back. After purchasing a pair of OM-7 instead, I found out that Mirage will modify your existent OM-5 or OM-6 speakers at the factory. Contact Mirage for further details.

Have fun
Bernard

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OM-6

superb design......

out of the box, the bass sounds muddled/muffled... treble on the harsh side...

after 300 hours... everything just locks in place....

i've always love the mirage speakers... from the m1 years...

you just have to get used to hearing omnipolar that's all... it's a love or hate kind of thing...

some people just can't get used to listen to omnipolar speakers.. so this speaker is definitely not for everyone.

FREE YOUR MIND before listening to these fine speakers...

as for me... i'm born to listen to omnipolar...

Excellent imaging, massive soundstage, great midrange...

They need some room to breathe which can present placement challenges

The OM-5's are truly outstanding loudspeakers. I spent a lot of time at the store trying to decide what to get for the living room. I have some great NHT speakers that do the job for home theater in the basement, but I wanted a different sound for the "listening" room. I had been leaning towards a really nice pair of Marting Logan's, but I was having a hard time getting used to the ask price on them. I use a Mirage sub (BPS-400 - also a 5 star piece) with the home theater setup and decided to give the Omnipolar speakers a try.

Everything I listened to really came to life on these speakers. I got much of the "fast" and detailed sound that I love about the Martin Logans plus incredible bass extension. The midrange was top notch. I do not understand one of the previous reviewers disappointment in this area. Perhaps the subwoofers were turned up to loudly when he did his listening, because the midrange was as tight and articulate as any I have heard from any loudspeaker. The bass is very deep and tightly controlled. There is a tempatation to turn the level controls up, but I have found that I actually prefer the overall sound with the bass turned down a little bit.

Take some time to play with the placement of these speakers. I have some room to work with, but these speakers really sound their best in my home when pulled away from the wall. This does not bother me, and I would have done the same thing with the Martin Logans, but if space is a concern for you then you will not get the best out of these speakers. Also, I think you have to have a pretty big room to get the best sound from them.

These speakers are really a bargain when you consider they are complete with two very good powered subs. I am using them for music only, but I have no doubt they would do well on home theater too. I'll stick with NHT for that, at least for now. I do not understand the 2 or 3 star ratings and their accompanying comments. I found little to criticize.

Full sonic range, at last

None, yet

O.K. Got tired of the lack of deep bass of the Martin-Logans. It made bass management of DD surround sound difficult since the subwoofer had to support the bass of five speakers, and was only present if the LFE channel provided it. (Great midrange, however, I am not dissing M-Ls by any means, believe me). But since there's more to life than chamber music, I needed, as Scotty would say, more power.

Here's the deal with the Mirage OM-5s... -they provide the difficult task of a wide dynamic range and fast attack time on the one hand without stridency or peakiness on the other.... not an easy task. For over 3 grand, a speaker system should cover the complete audio spectrum and the OM-5s do exactly that. Also, I never gave much (read any) credibility to (audible) speaker break-in but the second day sounded much better than the first, so give them a fair hearing, so to speak.

For the first time ever, I have been able to shut off my equalizers (in a Sony DA777ES) completely. Any setting other than flat seems to stretch the sound away from its intended presentation. The sub-bass is cleaner even than my Velodyne and really adds to the home theater experience. One suggestion: IMHO, the cherrywood finish looks cheap and tacky, especially for a speaker of this class. The black gloss finish contrarily is far more attractive, but beauty is in the eyes... etc. So far, I am totally satisfied with the OM-5s (which isn't easy for an audiophile).

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Martin-Logan Aerius i

Fantastic imaging.Unbielivable clarity.Bass that hits tight and hard.Just an all around great performing speaker.

I bought the cherry wood finish.I think they should have givin the whole speaker the same finish.

These speakers for the price are truely second to none.They handle every thing Iam throwing at it.It is amazing how well and deversified these speakers are.I was looking at B&W and Jamo first and both are great speakers.They just don't cut it with both 2 channel stereo and home theater.
By the way I was looking at B&W 600 series 2 and Jamo concert series.I think if you have the 11,000.00 to 40,000.00 B&W is the way to go.Hey we can't all be rich.Like I said the Mirage OM5's are just an all around fantastic speaker.Give them a listen they will give you that grin from ear to ear that you read about in so many of these reviews.

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Nothing similar

depth

midrange

I had a chance to spend some quality time with these babies. They sure are beautiful, but they just can't dance as well as they should for $4500 CDN. I was really impressed with the depth of these, and imaging was spot on. However, midrange was kind of unfocused and lacked definition. Bass response was great, though. i would save 1500 and go with the studio 100's.

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paradigm studio 100's