Mirage or Polk?
October 25, 2004
Wes,
I was recently at Tweeters listening to Polk LSi15
and Mirage OM-9 speakers for both audio as well as home-theater use. It was so close that
it was hard to decide. After reading your review of the Polk
speakers, which many of my friends own, I was wondering what your opinion was in
relation to the Mirage. If I had to lay it all out I might have thought the Mirage
speakers sounded a little better, but I don't know much about them. I would appreciate
your help and a response.
Jeff
Mirage is an impressive speaker manufacturer, and I have
had many pleasurable experiences with their loudspeakers. If you're concerned about the
company being "legit" and staying around in case you need service in the future,
worry not! It's part of one of the largest speaker-manufacturing companies on the planet.
The OM-9s have garnered extremely positive reviews,
although I've never lived with them. I have heard them and I thought they did an
exceptional job of reproducing the power response of an acoustic instrument in free space,
which is a tough trick to pull off.
If your initial response was to prefer the Mirages, I'd pay
attention to it. Perhaps you should cull through your favorite recordings and come up with
two or three critical tracks that highlight what you want most from your hi-fi
reproduction and take those tracks in for a shootout.
It's true for all of audio, but most especially for
loudspeakers, that the only opinion that matters in making a choice is yours. Besides, if
you go for the Mirages, going to your friends' houses and listening to their Polks will
seem even more like an audio vacation.
Dorm-room HT system
October 19, 2004
Hello Wes,
I am a starving college student looking to purchase some
speakers for my dorm room. My room is small (12' x 17') and accommodating a 5.1 or 6.1
system will be difficult. However, a home-theater system has been something I have desired
for a long time, and it is time to indulge.
Also, I will only live in this tiny room for a year, so I
am not afraid of getting larger speakers. Of all the systems out there, two systems
continue to intrigue me. The first is a system you reviewed in July, the Ascend Acoustics
system (composed of CBM-170/CMT-340c). The other system is one I have always had my eye on
and thought I could run by you. I was thinking of getting two pairs of B&W DM602 S3
and a B&W LCR60 S3 center-channel. I was wondering what you thought of this system and
how you thought it matched up against the Ascends.
Following that, due to my low budget, my sub and receiver
options are limited. How would the Hsu STF-1 subwoofer work with these two systems? Also,
you said in your review of the Ascends that they "won't hesitate to point out the
flaws in your basic mass-market budget receiver," so which receiver would you pair
with these systems given a $300-400 budget?
Jake
Thanks for the compliment, but that was probably Jeff
Van Dyne's review of the Ascend speakers you read -- I still haven't heard 'em. But
Jeff was certainly enthusiastic about 'em, so I wouldn't worry about how good they sound.
According to him, they're winners. Combined with the Hsu STF-1, they'd give you immense
sound.
So would the B&Ws, but I think the 602s are even more
critical of their amplification than Jeff makes the Ascends out to be, so I'd be careful
there.
The current Harman/Kardon receivers have really impressed
me with their sound and flexibility, so I'd look into the options there -- and H/K can
always be found discounted. Good luck....Wes Phillips
From Athena to Energy?
October 14, 2004
Hi Wes,
I am currently running an Athena Micra 6 speaker system
with a Yamaha HTR-5760 receiver. I have been reading very good reviews of the Energy Take
5.2 system, and I am thinking of replacing the Athenas with the Take 5.2. The only slight
confusion is that the Take 5.2 has been discontinued by Energy and has been replaced by
the act6. There is not much published about the act6 system. Not even the Energy website
mentions much about the act6. Nowhere do they mention that the Take series has been
discontinued!
I am not too sure if replacing the Athena Micra 6 with the
more expensive and now "not in production" Take 5.2 will be a very wise
decision. Please advise. The reason I ask is that I am not too happy with the quality of
music from my home-theater setup. I am going with the assumption that my Yamaha receiver
is all right and replacing the speakers might do the trick.
Nitin
You don't say what it is that you're unhappy about with
the Micra 6es, so it's hard to say if simply changing speakers will do what you're looking
for.
Don't get me wrong -- if you've got your heart set on new
speakers, you should probably indulge yourself. However, you shouldn't ever make a change
without knowing exactly why. If you're basically unhappy with the sound of stereo discs
when played on your multichannel rig, it could be your DVD player -- many don't sound good
on CDs.
Or, it could be your speaker placement. Experiment with the
stuff that doesn't cost any money (like placement) first, then try to determine whether
your problem is in the front-end or in the speakers. Then make a change.
And if you do decide to replace your speakers, I wouldn't
worry too much about buying models that have been discontinued -- you can get excellent
bargains that way, and companies like Energy support products for years after they have
stopped manufacturing them.
Internet subwoofers
October 12, 2004
Hi Wes,
I have read pretty much all there is to read on the
Internet covering subwoofers costing less than $1000. After reading many of your articles,
I am impressed by your observations and knowledge, but mostly with your willingness to
share this information. What is your opinion of the 12" Dayton Loudspeaker Titanic Mk
III versus Outlaw Audio's LFM-1? I am trying to upgrade, and because both of these subs
are sold factory-direct I have no way to compare them. Some background info. Either sub
would be used 75% for HT in a 13' x 25' basement room (with carpet) and a 7' ceiling. I've
been building my HT for over two years, adding pieces as I can afford them and I would
really appreciate your opinion as to which sub might offer more value before I order one.
Brian
I haven't heard the Dr. Hsu-designed
Outlaw, but it seems to be very similar to the Hsu STF-3 I reviewed -- and I liked the
STF-3 very much indeed. It would seem hard to go wrong with the LFM-1.
Better bass and imaging
October 7, 2004
Hi Wes,
I have a relatively large L-shaped attic room with a
high ceiling. I have a problem with low frequencies because I can only hear loads of deep
bass on my left side while the right side is completely "bass silent." I believe
this is a result of my room not being symmetrical. I am also interested in how to achieve
as big a soundstage as possible without sacrificing imaging.
Marko
You are almost certainly correct that the problem
is your irregularly shaped room, but all rooms have bass "hot spots" and bass
dropouts. If your seat is located in a room node where bass is diminished, it doesn't
matter how loud you crank the bass, you'll be fighting a losing battle.
There are a few answers. One is multiple subwoofers
-- another is very careful subwoofer placement. A quick-and-dirty placement trick I have
written about before is to put the subwoofer where you normally sit and walk around the
room listening to some bass-heavy material. Note the locations where the bass is well
balanced and mark them with masking tape. Then try placing the subwoofer in one or more of
them and listen from your regular seat to determine which works best for your usual fare.
If you do this, you will retain the soundstaging
characteristics you have now -- all you'll add is more bottom.
Speaker placement near TV
October 5, 2004
Hi Wes,
Why do I need big speakers in the middle of my room
when my TV is up there on my wall?
Pan El
Any relation to the Els of Krypton -- Jor and
Kal? (Gosh, I crack myself up with my comic-book fan-boy humor.)
But you're asking the $64k question right now --
it seems as though every loudspeaker manufacturer is coming out with low-profile or
high-quality in-wall speakers. I have a pair of Polk Audio TC265i in-walls in for review
right now and they sure ain't your grandpa's in-walls. Heck, some companies like PSB and
NHT are even making in-wall subwoofers!
If your local A/V shop doesn't have anything
sexy or unobtrusive enough for you right now, just wait a month or two and you'll see
choices from Advent, Atlantic Technology, Boston Acoustics, Canton, Infinity, JL Audio,
Klipsch, Niles, and others I probably haven't even heard of yet. And, of course, there's
always the Magnepan MMG Ws that I love so much.
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