Customer Reviews

Mirage Nanosat Small High-Performance Speaker (Single)

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The Mirage NanoSat, NS, is a not-quite-so-small satellite speaker. This model is slightly larger than the Orb speaker (4.2" X 5.8" H) but is constructed much like the Mirage MX. It has a 2.75" titanium/polypropylene mid-woofer and a 0.75" titanium hybrid tweeter mounted in an acoustic lens assembly. The NanoSat specifications claim the frequency response is from 110 Hz to 20 kHz with a crossover at 2.7 kHz. Measurements indicate that the 110 Hz specification is optimistic since the woofer has a resonance at 152 Hz (broken in) and a response at 137 Hz that is 10 db down while at 111 Hz is minus 20 db - too low an output to be very useful. I would estimate that the correct crossover frequency to a sub would be about 145 Hz. It has an 87 db efficiency specification but sounds like it plays louder than the MX (which also has a 87 db spec.) at the same power input. The NanoSat's power rating is 100 watts maximum (8 ohms). It also has what Mirage calls an Omni-polar design; where the woofer and the tweeter each fire almost straight up onto an acoustic lens that disperses the sound through ~360 degrees. Mirage claims the only 30% of the sound will be direct, with 70% of the sound energy reflecting from the walls, etc. While this gives the speaker a larger acoustic size, is reduces imaging ability making this speaker best suited for surround applications. It should be mounted "upside-down" if it is mounted above 6 feet off the floor to direct the tweeter output down toward the listener. It also should be mounted close (~one woofer diameter) to a wall to improve the low frequency response.
Listening impressions: The Mirage NanoSat, mounted at 2.5" from a wall, has a sound that is well balanced and quite articulate with a good mid-range and mid-highs but not quite as smooth as the MX - the lower mid-bass is a bit stronger than the MX. Like the MX, the sound has little impact (It has a small radiating area of only ~ 6 sqin (almost twice as much as the MX) compared to the ~16 sqin area of common mid-woofers). It has an audible resonance at 152 Hz and a few upper mid-range resonances that make the response somewhat uneven and lead to a hollow sound especially noticeable in reproduction of piano music. Tympani sound good and the flute is nicely rendered. Strings are good and brass has some nice ring but is missing a solid bottom. The tweeter does not have quite the bite of the MX but seems quite smooth - the treble may even be a bit recessed.

The Mirage NanoSat (NS) sounded a bit congested compared with the MX, but at ~$120 each it is the lowest priced speaker in this comparison test. Willie Nelson's voice sounded better on it than on the MX. Piano music was disappointing - sounds hollow - likely cause is the strong 150 Hz resonance.
The Mirage MX (~$150) sounded noticeably clearer than the Mirage NS but the sound was a slight bit lightweight compared with the others - one must drive it hard to get any bite in the strings. The MX sounds much better than the NS on piano music.

Conclusions: The Mirage MX sounds slightly better in balance and clarity than the NS overall, but the NS is somewhat better in reproduction of male voices. The Mirage NS and MX are pretty close in sound quality, but I would give the edge to the MX and say it is well worth the extra $30 per speaker in cost.

I bought these speakers to replace some Mirage clones I used as surround speakers in my home theater system. I have no room for large speakers in the back of my theater. I was surprised that these speakers were actually smaller than the speakers they replaced. The speakers they replaced share the Omnipolar technology. Both speakers lack any hint of bass response. My AV Receiver auto configuration kept setting the subwoofer crossover frequency at its highest setting in an attempt to compensate for the lack of bass. My large subwoofer does not respond that high, so I had to manually move the crossover frequency down. What I gained by acquiring these speakers is smoother sound more like my large front speakers. My large front speakers make the lack of bass in the rear less noticable. My old surround speakers response peak in the lower midrange, which made them sound honky and fake at times. With smoother sound and Omnipolar technology, these Mirage speakers simply disappear. You only hear the sound, and it doesn't sound like speakers. Sometimes the sound is pulled outside of the front speakers and wraps smoothly around you rather than sounding like separate speaker systems projecting at you from distinct directions. Multi-channel SACD or DVD-audio music recordings can sound like real musicians in a real room. Human voices in the back channels sound like human voices. These speakers are exactly what my theater needed. I couldn't be more elated.

I purchased these a couple of months ago and continue to be amazed at what they do. Some of the other reviews prompted me to write this because they don't address what these things really excel at doing. They are not full range speakers and I don't even see the point of assessing them as such. We're talking about an enclosure roughly the size of a four inch cube. No, there's no bass response to speak of and that's a good thing. Where they excel is the role of satellites in a 5.1 or 7.1 system.

I come to this as a dyed in the wool two-channel audiophile. I've built and designed speakers in the past. I don't like most multichannel systems because they are not faithful to the recordings and the sub-par surround speakers tend to color the critical midrange of the main speakers. The beauty of the omnipolar design is that it projects almost all reflected sound that arrives to the listener at a low level from literally all over the room. There is almost nothing directly radiating at the listener from the rear. The effect is to basically enlarge the soundstage coming from the main speakers without smearing or coloring their sound. Some of the multichannel processing options out there will work extremely well with this setup. Certain sounds and instruments are lifted out and away from the main speakers--but not placed behind you. Set the satellites' volume at the right level (low!) and the result can be scary good. Don't worry about the fact that they don't "match" your main speakers because with different driver sizes and inevitable reflections in the mix, nothing is going to match them anyway (yes, that whole matching thing for surrounds is a myth). Mirage's philosphy on this is dead on. Highly recommended for anyone who has a good two channel setup and wants the option of "surround sound" properly implemented.

I am using these as front high speakers and the sound is crisp and clear. For those of you that might be curious how they are mounted the suggesedt mounting for high placement is upside down this has proven to be ideal. I would recommend these for both high and wide placement to accompany your front speakers should you require a bit more front sound stage and clarity. these small but powerful mirages will do the job.

I find these little guys to be a great part of my 7.2 all mirage system. I have the larger Mirage OS3-CC as my center channel and this helps with midrange in the system. What I like most is how these speakers can just blend into the room and still provide a great sound field for both video and music.

Great product. Awesome sound. Only knock on the Amazon process is that it took forever to get the merchandise to my door.