Mirage M490 speakers

[david.j.bryant]

I'm in the market for new speakers in the $600/pair range and today made
my first trip out auditioning speakers and talking to sales folks. At this
point my first choice is the Mirage M490, with Polk S-10's in second. (I
also heard the Polk S-8 & S-6, and the Boston Acoustics T-830 and HD-10).

The M490's were on my shopping list because I'd seen them favorably reviewed
in Audiophile, and rated as "D Class" speakers along with the Spica SC-30 and
Phase Tech PC-80.

Any M490 owners out there? Anyone that's auditioned the M490's against
other comparably priced speakers and has comments one way or the other? I'd
appreciate any recommendations or advice.

Thanks in advance,
UUCP: att!cbosgd!djb
David Bryant att!cborion!djb
AT&T Bell Laboratories INTERNET: d...@cborion.cb.att.com
Room 1B-256 d...@cbosgd.att.com
6200 East Broad Street PHONE: (614) 860-4516
Columbus, Ohio 43213 FAX: (614) 868-4302

[Skip Osborne]

> The M490's were on my shopping list because I'd seen them favorably
> reviewed in Audiophile, and rated as "D Class" speakers along with the
> Spica SC-30 and Phase Tech PC-80.
>
> Any M490 owners out there? Anyone that's auditioned the M490's against
> other comparably priced speakers and has comments one way or the other?
>

I auditioned the Mirage against a variety of speakers (mostly in the $500
range) for a good bedroom system, in which the main criterion for selection was:
* Support for long sessions of non-fatiguing listening;
* Usually listening at relatively low sound levels.
* My choice of music is classical (definition important, bass less so).

Best candidates included the Mirage, the comparable Fried, Ariston, Linn,
the Celestion 5, and the (cheaper) Celestion 3. I wound up picking the Linn. It
had greater openness and detail than any of the others, but more important, and
even more subjectively, the Linn (Index II) keeps you listening to the music
longer - by force if necessary... I have had no cause to regret my decision.

My next choice had the Ariston and the Mirage tied, although they don't
really sound alike. These two both have a rich bass - extremely so for the size. The
Ariston sounded better balanced across the frequency range, while the Mirage
had an airier quality and better definition....an odd pairing with big bass...

Really, don't buy until you've heard the Linn Index.

Skip Osborne
Software Productivity Consortium
Herndon VA 22070

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