Help for a Newbie About Speakers & Receivers

[Justinian]

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I would be grateful if some of you experienced audiophiles helped me out. I am just trying to put together a new stereo system, and I have a few questions. Mind you, I know virtually nil about home audio. First, I almost bought the new Sony DAV-X1 system that has one subwoofer and two side speakers - all very compact. But there were no reviews available so I hesitated. Instead, I did some online research here and on cnet.com and narrowed the field for my new stereo components. So far, I have these in mind:

(1) I purchased two Mirage Omnisat Micro speakers from Vann's, and they will be shipped today.
Now I need to purchase a center channel speaker, a subwoofer and a receiver. I am not interested in tower, bookshelf or any other kind of speaker at this point. The room where this will be set up is only about 15' x 12' and has carpeting all around. So I don't need anything too powerful or the walls will shake. Plus I need something smallish. So here are the other possible choices:

(1) Center Speaker: Mirage CC-1(150W); Acoustech H-65 (10-150W); Athena AS-C1.2 (150W); Acoustic Research ARV-P42C (15-150W)
(2) Subwoofer: Mirage L-150 (150-600W); Athena Audition Series 10" 400-Watt Powered Subwoofer;
Rare (older) MIRAGE PS-12-90 (90W); SONY SA-WM500 12" (150W) STEREO; Yamaha YST-SW215 (120W)
(3) Receiver: Denon AVR-3300 (105Wx5) Denon AVR-3200 (90Wx5);Denon AVR-3000 (100Wx5); Denon AVR-97 (100Wx5)Denon AVR-2700 (80Wx5); Yamaha HTR-5830 (100Wx6); Sony STR-DE598 6.1 (100Wx6)

Questions:
(1) The Denon receivers are the most expensive items above, followed by the Mirage Subwoofer and Mirage Center Speaker. Which of these components are most important? If I chose to spend extra $$$ on one component, which one should it be: the center speaker, the subwoofer or the receiver?
(2) Of the above receivers, which one would best match my system?
(3) Should all the components ideally be from the same brand? Since I have Mirage surround speakers, should I go with the Mirage CC and SW too, or is it OK to mix and match using other brands? Mirage has Omnipolar technology. Does it matter if another speaker does not use that?
(4) How important is a subwoofer to a system? I know it produces bass, but what if your center channel speaker also produces enough bass. Vann's says this about the Mirage CC-1:

"Also found on the Omni CC is a 3.0" Polyproylene Titanium Deposit HyBrid midrange, and two 5.5" Polyproylene Titanium Deposit HyBrid woofers with injection-molded cones impregnated with car raphite and mica, and reinforced to withstand higher power and excursion (driver movement). The woofers feature conical phase plugs at the centers of the cones where most manufacturers install a simple dust cap. The phase plug reduces anomalies and transient response distortion usually associated with dust caps and extends and smoothes out frequency response at the top of the woofer's pass band--both on- and off-axis--for rich and full bass response."

(5) Any other suggestions? THANKS.

Justinian

[topspeed]

Questions:
(1) The Denon receivers are the most expensive items above, followed by the Mirage Subwoofer and Mirage Center Speaker. Which of these components are most important? If I chose to spend extra $$$ on one component, which one should it be: the center speaker, the subwoofer or the receiver?Speakers will make the single biggest difference in perceived sound. Therefore, I always recommend allocating the largest percentage of your budget to speakers, in particular the mains and then cc.

(2) Should all the components ideally be from the same brand?Not necessarily.
Since I have Mirage surround speakers, should I go with the Mirage CC and SW too, or is it OK to mix and match using other brands? Yes, on the Mirage CC. No, on the Mirage sub (unless you really like it). You can mix brands, but it's best to stay within the same brand on the front stage at the very least. If you plan on playing any multi-channel hi-rez, you should strive to use not only the same marque, but also the same line with that marque.

Mirage has Omnipolar technology. Does it matter if another speaker does not use that? It might. The radiating pattern of the Omnisats makes for an, uh...unique soundstage. Because of this, you might be better off staying with them if you like them.
(3) Any other suggestions? Enjoy the music!

Hope this helps.

[Justinian]

Thanks, topspeed, that helps alot.

"The radiating patter of the Omnisats makes for an, uh...unique soundstage. Because of this, you might be better off staying with them if you like them."
Did I detect some reserve about the Omnisat speakers? I decided on the Omnisat surround speakers because they received a great review from users and also cnet's staff (and they are awfully picky). PLus they are so small and the price was right - just $129.00 each from Vann's. I guess I'll have to see how they sound in my room. But I will go with the Mirage center channel too. As for the subwoofer, I have no great investment in the Mirage brand for that, and maybe I'll even wait before purchasing a SW and see how it all sounds without one.

"If you plan on playing any multi-channel hi-rez, you should strive to use not only the same marque, but also the same line with that marque."
Pardon the question, (DUH!) - but what is "marque?"

[topspeed]

"The radiating patter of the Omnisats makes for an, uh...unique soundstage. Because of this, you might be better off staying with them if you like them."
Did I detect some reserve about the Omnisat speakers? I decided on the Omnisat surround speakers because they received a great review from users and also cnet's staff (and they are awfully picky). PLus they are so small and the price was right - just $129.00 each from Vann's. I guess I'll have to see how they sound in my room. But I will go with the Mirage center channel too. As for the subwoofer, I have no great investment in the Mirage brand for that, and maybe I'll even wait before purchasing a SW and see how it all sounds without one.Well, I've always maintained that buying speakers without hearing them first is like getting married without meeting the other person first. It might work out...or they may end up with half of everything you own! Still with only $129 invested, it's not like it would be a catastrophe if you didn't like them.

The Omnisat's radiation pattern is very diffuse (hence the name "omni"). If you are looking for pin point imaging, these speakers are going to have a hard time pulling it off. But that's not what they are designed for, so there ;)! As long as you like them, that's all that matters.


"If you plan on playing any multi-channel hi-rez, you should strive to use not only the same marque, but also the same line with that marque."
Pardon the question, (DUH!) - but what is "marque?"Marque=manufacturer. Example: B&W is the marque, 800 is the model line. If you were buying B&W's, you'd want to stay within the line. IOW, you wouldn't want to mate a pair of 802's with a 600 series CC. Make sense?