2. speakers
  3. 1354129342

When speakers almost sound like the instruments

My speakers,(Mirage OMD28) have been a struggle for the pass couple years, with small not very dense images, less sonic weight/bass than expected, lacking transparency, not the requisite extension top to bottom. But, the addition of a few other pieces finally brought image density, size and sonic weight to the presentation, much closer to reality. For me, this is when your system has arrived. The speakers bring Jazz to life. It took a conditioner,(SR Powercell mkII), and an excellent preamp,(Joule Electra LA150 mkll) to get my system there. Amazing how the same speakers you've had for a while, and struggled with (2 years) can be transformed from underwhelming and disappointing to very good.

Have you had speakers that you struggled with for a while and almost gave up on, almost sold, that you transformed from disappointing to all you expected?
foster_9
mapman's avatar
Ag insider logo xs@2x
mapman
15,679 posts
 
Most amps and most speakers are "good".

I think the same is true these days about many a digital source as well.

Only certain combos done right can make magic for an individual though. That's the key.

Vinyl is still tougher to master IMHO. I think that is part of its appeal for many.
chayro
1,801 posts
 
I was shocked when I first heard the difference an excellent preamp can make in a system. I was convinced that I needed a better amplifier, but the dealer proved to me that that attributes I was looking for - transparency, solidity, harmonics, could be better achieved by replacing the preamp.
bondmanp
1,465 posts
 
Glad you're getting the performance that your Mirages are capable of. I made numerous system upgrades to get the most out of my previous speakers, Vandersteen 1Cs. I did eventually begin to feel that I had taken them as far as they could go, and ended up upgrading to Ohm Walsh 2000s a couple of years ago. Although I liked the speakers from the get-go, I felt that improvements in electronics, cables and room acoustics were in order. It's all a matter of identifying the bottleneck in your system and addressing it. Of course, once addressed, there is bound to be a different bottleneck elsewhere in the signal chain! But after upgrading my preamp, source gear, room treatments and cabling, my speakers are putting out considerably better sound than when I bought them. As finances allow, I will continue to make improvements, major and minor.
mapman's avatar
Ag insider logo xs@2x
mapman
15,679 posts
 
Identifying the current bottleneck and addressing it is always the way to go to wean performance out of any system, audio or otherwise. Often, easier said than done though. It takes time usually and lots of trial and error along the way.

The speaker/amp/room domain is always the place to start though in order to tackle the biggest potential bottlenecks first. Then it becomes more fine tuning from there.

I had 80's vintage Maggies for many years that I feel I had pushed to their limits but could no longer reach my newer more lofty goals. A near full system rehab (save turntable) followed, starting with the speakers, then amp, then the rest. Now, 4-5 years later, I am at a good place again that I have felt no need to muck with much for about two years now. How long can it last?????
foster_9 OP
1,610 posts
 
Yes Bondmanp, thanks, the Mirage OMD 28's do not respond to just any obvious choice in electronics. I found that out. I had to go through 3 amps to get there, but the right quality preamp seem to do the trick.
More to discover