Mirage Omni 350 omnipolar

I have a two channel home theater system upstairs and I moved the 550's up there today. My Lazy-Z-Boy is off the left of the TV about 30 degrees and before today, with conventional speakers, it drove me BANANAS. Every sound that came out of that system sounded like it came out of the left speaker. With no center channel it was a hopeless situation. With the 550's the problem is solved! The sounds seem to come out of the whole TV and just sounds great. For a two channel home theater system these are absolutely wonderful.

Maybe these will improve with more break in? Also any simple tweaks that might help? Brace cabinet, more sound absorbering in speaker walls, points, etc?

07-22-09: Kkm
Maybe these will improve with more break in? Also any simple tweaks that might help? ...

I'm sure they need more break-in. They need 50-100 just to get some idea of what they do, and mine continued to reveal higher and higher levels of resolution for quite a number of hours, certainly more than 200.

Also, bear in mind that every speaker has its own presentation. In one design you'll hear more tambourine, another, pedal steel, etc. The Vandersteens are phase-coherent designs, so the perspective and arrangement of the mix is its strong suit *as long as you are in the sweet spot.* The Mirages' strong suits are uniform in-room power response and a natural, relaxed feel to the tonal balance and the timbres.

I have the OMD-15s, which are about the same size and shape as the 550's, but there must be some reasons they are three times the original list price of the 550s. They are definitely not wanting in midrange clarity or low-level detail, but I'm not sure how much of those virtues hold up when you go down the line. The Omnisats maintain those strengths as well.

The Omniguide assembly is nearly an omnidirectional point source. The closer you get its perspective to a point source where you're listening, the more coherent the waves will be when they reach your ears. The speakers improve when spiked, and should pierce the carpet and engage the floor below. Also, if you jack up the rear spikes and lower the fronts as much as possible to get a slight forward tilt, you'll also get more phase coherence. Generally you'll get a smoother soundstage if you face the speakers forward, and you'll also get a better soundfield if you bring the speakers out into the room (at least 3' if possible), and spread them a bit wider than you're accustomed. You'll then discover the larger soundstage while the center stage remains with no "hole in the middle."

Since the 550's intentionally bring the room into play, you can also dramatically shape the sound with wall treatments. My OMD-15s sit in front of tall, narrow windows, and I can control the brightness of the presentation by opening or curtains and raising or lowering the pleated shades.