Mirage M3-Si

[dwayne.aycock]

Greetings All, a local dealer here in Atlanta will soon have a pair of Mirage M3-Si speakers for sale. I already have the M5-Si as my mains, MC-Si Center, M7-Si as my surrounds, and Polk RT/i8 as my back speakers. I was thinking of getting the M3-Si as my mains and then using the M5-Si as my surrounds and the M7-Si as my back speakers. This will give me a complete M-Si set up. With that all said, what are the M3-Si speakers worth? I know they (M3-Si) are no longer made, so that will have some effect on their value as well as making replacement parts pretty near impossible to get. The dealer (audio alternative) has been around for a long time and they sell really high end stuff. The owner stands behind his products 100% and will NOT sell junk. Thing is, the Wife has agreet to LET me get the Mirage M3-Si for Christmas.
BLUF: what should these speakers be selling for if they are in good to great condition? I have to prepare the Wife for what she will consider sticker shock. Like many other Wives, "she just doesn't understand".
Dwayne

[Hyfi]

I just did a google search and it seems they are selling for $1300 used.

[dwayne.aycock]

I have conducted a similar search and come up with Canuk audio in Canada. The $1,300 price tag was from 2009 and in Canadian currency. What does that translate to in U.S. Dollars? I was expecting the M3s to cost between $1,000 and $1,200 bucks with another hundred or two for the bealers profit. Any idea of what these speakers sell for "blue book"? I am sure the dealer is going to buy low and sell high. If i were the dealer, I would try to make $300 to $350 on them.
Your thoughts...... or am I way off base?
Dwayne

[harley .guy07]

I used to be a mirage dealer in the early to mid nineties when these speakers were made and they were an excellent speaker in there time and still are as long as you have the space and the power to push them. the M3 si sold for somewhere in the 3700 dollar range back then and I have seen them go for somewhere around 1000 dollars today in the used market. I would try for around 700 to 900 for them and go from there and they will make a very good theater setup with your other mirages. The one thing I loved with the M3 si was with the proper power the bass was some of the most revealing I have heard and they image like crazy. I just hope you have room enough for all those bipolar speakers in your listening room to get the most out of them.

[harley .guy07]

I would not go over around 1200 dollars for them though

[dwayne.aycock]

Thanks everyone!!
I have the space, as I have the whole basement of my house and my Wife doesn't like to go down there. The space is about 25 X 20.
I have them 5 feet from the wall in the rear and 4 feet from the sides.
I am not too particular about the back speakers as they are only used for movies, and only then when program material is sent to the circuit.
I agree that $1,200 is about right. I will let you know things work out when he gets them in.
Dwayne

[nad_obed]

Great speakers!

[bizkitfan2001]

very nice!

[RGA]

With Canadian pricing and exchange it is not so easy to tell - the dollar is now at par but things typically cost more in Canada. I suspect it is due to the recession having very little real impact in Canada compared to the United States and much more regulation of our banking industry in Canada. Though, while this is true it may merely be a life jacket to prop up Canada a little longer and make the transition into a recession slower.

The value of used gear is dependent on demand - so may as well ask high and see what happens when selling and bid low - lots of people desperate for cash and you can swoop in and rape them - that's capitalism no? I hear it's a love story.

[E-Stat]

With Canadian pricing and exchange...

Canadian currency concerns for buying used goods in Atlanta is even less important than the fact he was considering the purchase last Christmas!

rw

[Gilbeurt]

I bought some used M3. The woofer are bad. Since you were a dealer, do you have any idea of the spec of those woofer? Found some in Australia I think. They are branded as Athena. But I would like to find a more precise spec to find a nearer one.

I used to be a mirage dealer in the early to mid nineties when these speakers were made and they were an excellent speaker in there time and still are as long as you have the space and the power to push them. the M3 si sold for somewhere in the 3700 dollar range back then and I have seen them go for somewhere around 1000 dollars today in the used market. I would try for around 700 to 900 for them and go from there and they will make a very good theater setup with your other mirages. The one thing I loved with the M3 si was with the proper power the bass was some of the most revealing I have heard and they image like crazy. I just hope you have room enough for all those bipolar speakers in your listening room to get the most out of them.

[harley .guy07]

I know you can find out what the specs on the speakers themselves online but to say the actual specs of an individual driver would be harder to find. I do not remember the exact specs of the woofer since it has been many years ago since I sold them and when we took on mirage they were mostly talking about their new I SI models that replaced the M3, I know they did a few enhancement's to the SI series but I don't remember if the woofer is different. I would try to find a used exact replacement online if you can find one. Otherwise you could try to find someone with driver measuring software and take the good woofer out of the other speaker and find the specs. But if you are going to replace the driver with another brand of driver I would replace the woofer in both speakers as to have them sound the same. I do not have any of the literature left from when I sold these back then so this is about all the help I can give, sorry

[Gilbeurt]

Thanks for the information. I was going to replace both of them, since one is not the original and the other one has something loose that is vibrating. I did some measurement and they seem to be 4ohms. They need to be not more than 4 inch thick from the part that sit on the speaker box itself. Since they cost me 150$ and that the other drivers are good, I will try to find some good drivers and test what it sound.

[Gilbeurt]

I know you can find out what the specs on the speakers themselves online but to say the actual specs of an individual driver would be harder to find. I do not remember the exact specs of the woofer since it has been many years ago since I sold them and when we took on mirage they were mostly talking about their new I SI models that replaced the M3, I know they did a few enhancement's to the SI series but I don't remember if the woofer is different. I would try to find a used exact replacement online if you can find one. Otherwise you could try to find someone with driver measuring software and take the good woofer out of the other speaker and find the specs. But if you are going to replace the driver with another brand of driver I would replace the woofer in both speakers as to have them sound the same. I do not have any of the literature left from when I sold these back then so this is about all the help I can give, sorry

I finally bougth 26W/4534G00 from discovery to replace the defective woofers. These are 4ohms 10 inchs. Prince at just a little more than 100$. They fit in the place of the woofer. I had to use some other screw, 6 instead of 8. I drilled new holes an it was pretty easy. I only have the front grill to pass router to make some space around the hole for the woofer. The new woofer have a little larger frame. If you do not, the front grill si à little bended in the midle. Not mutch.

Now, the sound. They just sound great. The new woofer are more pmowerfull i think than thé originals. Thé magnet si 40oz instead of 28oz. The bass is very precise. I stil did not pushed thème to much, i will let them break a little before. These box are precise. My wife used and old mic and sang on them, wow... Sounded just as what i hear naturally. Wonderfull.

Using yamaha rxa2000 to drive them with no problems.