Mirage M1 or M3 vs M1Si or M3Si Series

THIS IS NO BS! Way back when Chicago hosted the CES show I had a conversation with Mr. Paisley who was one of those responsible for the design of the original M1. We talked candidly about the M1 (which I owned at the time) and the soon to be released M1Si. He was very straight forward answering my questions. He explained that when they came up with the idea of the M1 it was meant to be a flagship type product which they planned to sell in very limited numbers ("a few hundred per year"). To their surprise, demand for M1's was huge and the current production could not keep up. The tweeter for example, was a custom unit, hand tweeked with tight tolerances. The crossover was also hand tweeked to each tweeter to get the best sound. When demand grew, things would have to change so the production could keep pace. The real reason for the tweeter upgrades was to speed production. The new tweeter had tolerances that allowed it to be used with no hand tweeking involved-and the "new" crossover changes were implemented to work with the new tweeter parameters. I never heard the M1Si in a side by side comparison with my M1's so I cannot give you a comment on any specific sonic differences. I can say however that I never felt the need to upgrade to the M1Si even after hearing them several times. I ultimately moved on to 2-way stand mounted speakers and do not miss the Mirage bi-polar sound. My M1's, by the way, were low serial numbered and were bi-wireable.

I have
2 pair of M1si's
1 pair of M1's
and 2 pair of M3si's
I'd like to sell the M1's & 1 pair of M1si's
the M3si's are in my home theater system & the other pair of M1si's are in my audio setup. I live in california (bay area)
so local pick up would be preferred since they weigh alot.
if you want pro shipping that could be arranged.
email - raptor1015@aol.com

So, in light of this discussion does anyone know if it is advisable to replace blown M1 tweeters with M1-si tweeters since I can't source M1 tweeters? Sounds to me like the si tweeters needed LESS hand tweaking (i.e. they had tighter manufacturing specs). I know the crossover points changed between the two models but that may be moot, if the tweeters were essentially identical in output and frq response in the required range.

Any advice about dealing with 2 defunct M1 tweets appreciated.

The best thing you can do is to have the original tweeters rebuilt or find used ones. Though if you had to go with something else I would think that M1si tweeters would be the best alternative to any other tweeters out there.

I recently heard M1 in a small room (with NAD M3) of 170 sq feet - it was the best sound I have heard. Amazing bass, no sweet spot (music was 'everywhere') and it seemed like live show just in the room. Amazing. 

Can anyone please tell me if indeed M1si was inferior model (to make the manufacturing process quicker) and more mass produced in comparison to M1 please? (especially when someone has heard them side by side or even owned both at the same time! That would be awesome). 

I am asking as......I want to buy those Mirage speakers now hehe (either M1 or M3) but dunno if I 'have to look only for original M1' or if I'm going to get the same awesome sound also with M1si. 

thanks

ps. Also, I understand that in both M1 and M1si the mids and woofers had foam chassis which requires rebuilding over time as the foam deteriorates?
Is it hard to rebuild or pain in the ass and hard to find people doing that kind of work?