$40 a pair Omnipolar Surrounds - Similar to Mirage Nanostat Surrounds

[Kurgan]

I thought others might find these an interesting buy for such a low cost. Yes they are part of a game system sound package but for a descent surround it might be a great cheap buy.

Xbox Spherex 51000 system surround speakers. OMNIPOLAR™ technology, licensed from Mirage® for $40 from partsexpress.com I don't have enough posts to include a link, but the site is partsexpress.com. Just search for Spherex or Xbox and you'll find them.

Specifications: *Power handling: 55 watts max *Impedance: 8 ohms *Frequency response: 135-20,000 Hz *Dimensions: 5-1/2" H x 6-1/2" L x 3-1/4" W.

My brother found these the other day. He knows his stuff, being a recording studio technician for 10+ years, not to mention at $40 a pair they are an unbeatable price to try. Which he and I are going to do and I will post my results.

Something to note, they use a standard RCA connector so you'll have to wire your own adapter for standard speaker wire, though my brother will probably crack one open and put in standard speaker posts.

In any case I will have a pair by the weekend. Though I only have an older prologic receiver (Onkyo TX-SV414PRO) it should be enough to realize the potential these could have.

More to follow....

 

[jaxvon]

I thought others might find these an interesting buy for such a low cost. Yes they are part of a game system sound package but for a descent surround it might be a great cheap buy.

Xbox Spherex 51000 system surround speakers. OMNIPOLAR™ technology, licensed from Mirage® for $40 from partsexpress.com I don't have enough posts to include a link, but the site is partsexpress.com. Just search for Spherex or Xbox and you'll find them.

Specifications: *Power handling: 55 watts max *Impedance: 8 ohms *Frequency response: 135-20,000 Hz *Dimensions: 5-1/2" H x 6-1/2" L x 3-1/4" W.

My brother found these the other day. He knows his stuff, being a recording studio technician for 10+ years, not to mention at $40 a pair they are an unbeatable price to try. Which he and I are going to do and I will post my results.

Something to note, they use a standard RCA connector so you'll have to wire your own adapter for standard speaker wire, though my brother will probably crack one open and put in standard speaker posts.

In any case I will have a pair by the weekend. Though I only have an older prologic receiver (Onkyo TX-SV414PRO) it should be enough to realize the potential these could have.

More to follow....

They trademarked "omnipolar"? That's comical. I'd like trademark "square root" or "integral" myself. On the topic of the speakers, they, in all likelihood, sound like garbage. The FR will be uneven and you will have bass localization issues. They will probably distort at reference volumes. So I would say don't go for them.

 

[Joe Schmoe]

The FR will be uneven and you will have bass localization issues. They will probably distort at reference volumes. So I would say don't go for them.

1) Since these are clones of Mirage Nanosats, which have good FR, why wouldn't these? 2) There is no bass to localize, since they only extend to 135Hz. 3) Those who wish to destroy their eardrums by blasting their system at "reference" levels need to buy more expensive speakers. (this is akin to criticizing a VW bug for not being safe over 150MPH.)

 

[Kurgan]

Very impressed by the speaker!

Ok, as Joe pointed out these are clones of Mirage Nanostats. I was also skeptical at first when I saw the price and knowing they were made for an XBOX but my brother was spot on with his assessment from CES a year or two ago.

These are very solidly built speakers. The plastic feels very sturdy and not cheap. Each speaker weights about as much as my Polk Minimonitors, I'd say easily over 5lbs each which is nice for such a small unit. The grills are removable and simply use pressure to stay on the speaker. They have a standard RCA connection (just had to solder a connector to my existing speaker wire). Each unit also has both a standard screw mount on the bottom as well as a nail mount (for lack of a better term, hammer in a nail leaving it 1/4" from the wall and slide the speaker over it.

While I can't crank my system to extremely high levels due to living next to others in a condo, I can say they showed no signs of slowing down. Yes, they do miss a few of the mid-bass/bass frequencies but that's to be expected due to their specs.

I don't get to open my Onkyo TX-SR505 (refurb for $124 from shoponkyo.com) till Christmas so until then they are sounding good as standard surrounds in my current Dolby Prologic system (Onkyo TX-SV414PRO).

So, if anyone is looking for very inexpensive but good quality speaker, these are definitely worth listening too. I only wish I had a set of Nanostats to compare them with.

 

[WmAx]

You can find some limited measurements of the complete 'system' using this speaker module at the following link:

http://theaudiocritic.com/blog/index.php?op=ViewArticle&articleId=37&blogId=1

-Chris

 

[m_vanmeter]

I purchased the subwoofer enclosure from this set that Parts Express also has on sale. Very well built enclosure with speaker, only the sub amplifier has been removed. Purchased a little 25 watt plate amp from PE at the same time, make a simple presswood filler panel and cut out for the new amp. Works great for a "less than $50 subwoofer" for my kids room.

If they still have them, I'm going to order the "omni" speakers as well.

 

[spiktsu]

I should have bought the Spherex XBOX Sound System when I saw it at CompUSA back in 2004 hahaha.
That's too bad... Back then I had no idea the Satellites were part of Mirage. If I did, I would have bought it
without thinking twice! On another forum I found a guy which he sold me 2 Spherex Satellites for $20.
Yeah I was lucky... I'm still looking for the complete set up or just the 5 Satellites... Anyone here has them?
Wanna sell them ahaha?

 

[its phillip]

wow dude. can you stop bringing up a bunch of 4 year old unrelated topics with the same question?

 

[spiktsu]

Nice kitty there... My bad.
but can you tell why is that a big deal.. " Just wondering".
It's a forum.. I'm sure I'm not the only one looking for Spherex satellites...
This may bring out the word out there for those who has them and want to sell them

 

[its phillip]

I doubt anybody here has the speakers you are looking for...while there's nothing wrong with posting about them, you should just post a single topic about them instead of bumping a bunch of 4 year old ones.

 

[spiktsu]

Cool, I'll keep that in mind! Thanx ^_^

 

[jonnythan]

They trademarked "omnipolar"? That's comical. I'd like trademark "square root" or "integral" myself.

You can. If you introduce a line of speakers called "The Square Root Speakers" you can trademark the term in this field.

 

[its phillip]

^ another example why bumping dead threads is not good...because people will waste their time responding to 4 year old posts