Mirage M5si owner looking to upgrade...

[Mark1983]

Hello. I have a pair of Mirage M5si's that I purchased in 1992 and am ready to upgrade. I listened to A LOT of speakers at the time and the Mirage's really appealed to me and they still do. I have a larger budget now and am willing to spend up to $5k if the speaker really does it for me.

I will probably be setting up a home theater but I'm not really concerned with performance on movies, I'm most concerned with stereo reproduction. I have a Hafler 9505 amp and an older Adcom preamp and Denon CD player I'll most likely be upgrading.

As I said I really like the sweet treble response of the M5si as well as the spacious bipolar sound. What I am looking for is a little more meat in the midrange, a tighter bottem end, and a speaker that has a little more authority at higher volume levels.

I auditioned the KEF Reference 4 a few years ago and was really impressed with them. If they were available today I might buy a pair. I also checked out the B&W Nautilus 803 last year and really liked them as well. I have a feeling I like a more laid back "British" type of sound if there is such a thing.

I check out the PSB Golds and they did not appeal to me. They sounded good but a little sterile to my ears.

My question to the people here is considering that I like the M5Si, KEF Reference 4, and B&W Nautilus 803 sound what other speakers do you think I might like? There are so many good speakers out there that I can't audition them all so I'd like to concentrate on the ones I will probably like.

Will the Revel sound appeal to me? How about Paradigm, JMLab, or Proac?

I primarily listen to artists like Stevie Wonder, Joe Jackson, Elvis Costello, Beatles, The Who, etc..

Thanks for any suggestions.

- Mark

 

[mazersteven]

There are a lot of great speakers for $5000 a pair. Like the last time I suggest you get out and audition. Bring your material to audition that you are familiar with, and have fun. Remember to take notes so your remember each speaker you listen to.

Dynaudio Contour series
Aerial Acoustics Model 7B series
B&W 800 series
Focal JMLab Chorus series
Usher 6 series, (Dancer series. They have a new speaker out in the series not sure of price)
Tyler Acoustics Linbrook, & Taylo series
Salk Veracity HT3 series
Sonus Faber Domus series

 

[flippo]

Mirage omd 15

Check out the mirage Omd 15 (or better yet the omd 28)

 

[dadeo]

Mark, I up-graded from Paradigm Monitor 9's to JMLab Focal Profile 918's last year and could not be happier with my music listening (the reason I bought them). They are great for movies too. I also have a Velodyne DD12 sub and Focal center and surrounds.

Good luck with your HT project!

 

[howaboutthat41]

I love Revels, but would not necessarily describe them as laid back. If you have a (somewhat) conveniently located dealer, they seem like a must-listen in your price range.

 

[Kichy]

I had M5si's for 10 years. I loved the enveloping soundstage and refined tweeter....but the diffuse sound and polite treble got to me after a while ...So I went back to Ohms. God I don't know why I ever got rid of them! The Mirages were getting on my nerves visually as well. (I didn't like the PSB Golds either) Never heard a Paradigm I liked either. Sounds like the new series 3 Walsh 200s are right up your alley. All that image focus that I went without for so long, the imaging, the terrific bass POWER! Even John Strohbeen said to me "you may stray, but you'll always be back.." The 200s are $2995 and of course you get the 4 month money back guarentee...


PS Love Joe Jackson as well! I use Body and Soul as a demo.

 

[Kichy]

damn these edit buttons disapperaing after 30 min...

check out these comments by an Audiogon member...


"This is scarry!!! I just listened to a pair of 1978 Ohm C2 speakers that had details a Paradigm Signature S8 didn't reveal. To say I was floored is an understatement...."

"I sold my Paradigm Signature S-8 speakers because, in my room, I could not live with the harshness."

 

[3db]

I can't believe it either

damn these edit buttons disapperaing after 30 min...

check out these comments by an Audiogon member...


"This is scarry!!! I just listened to a pair of 1978 Ohm C2 speakers that had details a Paradigm Signature S8 didn't reveal. To say I was floored is an understatement...."

"I sold my Paradigm Signature S-8 speakers because, in my room, I could not live with the harshness."

Its too bad the Audigon member didn't treat the problem of poor room acoustics rather than addressing the symtom by changing out speakers. Room acoustics plays such a big role and is the most overlooked factor in this hobby. I've recently moved and have set up my HT in my new place and the 1st thing I've discovered is how much the bass response has improved. The lower end is way more authoritive now as opposed to the room they were in in the old house.

 

[Mark1983]

Well I finally got out to listen to some speakers and here's what I thought.

Paradigm S8 and S2.
Perhaps it was the room but these speakers sounded very lacking on the bottom end. Just very uninvolving and dry.

B&W 802D.
Same room as above. Sounded better than the Paradigms but boxy and still a but lean on the bottom. Not bad but not great. Must be the room.

B&W CM1.
Same room as above on stands. These things sounded great. Nice tight bottom end, smooth midrange.. I really like them.

B&W 705
Same room as above. Sounded a lot like the CM1 but with a little more detail in the midrange and more punch down low. Better defined bass.

Different room now...

Paradigm 100's
I like these speakers. A little laid back on top but I like them. Bass might be a little "woofy" but it might be the room.

Paradigm 40's
Similar to the 100's but a little "spitty." Didn't like them as much as the 100's.

B&W 703
I don't know but in this room these sounded a bit thin and boxy.

I listened to a few others that didn't impress me. Only the CM1's and 705's made me want to reach for my wallet but I'm looking for a full range speaker.

I have a feeling this dealer didn't have any of these speakers set up correctly. Overall this was a disappointing day of listening.

Stopped by another store on the way home and listened to the Mirage OMD-15. I found it way overbearing in the upperbass. That critical region around 200 to 300Hz. Unlistenable.

They also had a pair of Snell D7's in the room and they were pretty nice but a little to clinical for me. I just didn't hear any magic.

I'm going to get out and listen some more but I'm thinking perhaps I'm a minimonitor guy?

Thanks for the advice guys.

- Mark