Mirage OMD-28 Floorstanding Speaker

I previously reviewed the OMD-15's and wanted to append that review but Amazon makes no provisions for 'updates'.... So, we'll pick up the story here....... After the shipping/fingerprints on the drivers nightmare I endured with the 15's, I ended up shipping them back to Crutchfield ( a second time!!) and got a refund. Put my Infinity's back into service and spent the next few months longing for the sound that came out of those 15's in my living room!!! It's like life, once you've tasted the 'next level', it's almost impossible to 'go back', biblical indeed! The 15's had impressed me and sent me to the 'next level' sonically. Then a very special friend called while I was working and said "Ger....are you sitting down??" and proceeded to tell me that through a contact, he could score me the 28's for close to wholesale. Whoaaaaaa! Ok, Breathe Dammit!!!!!!! Once in a lifetime opportunity here. So, I went for it! Now going from $2500 Mirages with shipping damage to $7500 Mirages is a whole different gig!! After I ordered them, they arrived, within a week, on 'Pallets!!!!!' Freakin Pallets!!!! Ok, Breathe!!!!!!! That shipping method did them NO harm I'm pleased to say. So now fassssst forward to the meat...... Mirage speakers, and don't ask me why but they DO need to be played (broken in) for around two weeks to loosen things up. And the effect is audible as they do indeed 'open up' in your room. Still makes no scense to me but it's true with both the 15's and now the 28's. But as I was breaking them in I noticed a 'buzz' at a certain bass freq (around 50 hz) on one of the woofers. It seems that the 'laminated' cone was defective and at that certain freq, it produced an audible buzz!. I shot an email to Mirage and the next day got a call from a very friendly employee and with a fax of the receipt he sent me off a replacement woofer no charge. At this price point me thinks things like this should NOT happen, but then again one has to be realistic and made in china is....well....made in china! I also noticed when replacing the Woofer, that the screws Mirage uses to secure the drivers to the cabinet are too small for the hole in the cabinet. In another words, as I was unscrewing the screw, with it about half way out, I could take my fingers and slightly move it side to side! But when their secure they seem ok. So there's the cons, now the Kudo's: incredible soundstage, depth, clarity in the mids and highs, high-hats that seem to be suspended in the middle of the room, totally effortless and uncompressed sound, even at higher levels,...you get the idea. The BEST sounding speaker I've ever had! They are stunning both visually and aurally. Would I spend the $7500 for the pair if I had to do it again and didn't get a discount?? No. And again, for a guy who was used to paying around $1500 for a pair of excellent speakers like the Infinity Kappa 600's, Speakers that list for FIVE times that had better be better than perfect, but the china connection just doesnt cut it in the Quality Assurance department. But that being said, I used my bonus on this 'once in a lifetime' purchase and under those circumstances, I'd do it again. Even with all the little Quality quirks, These are Fantastic sounding speakers...I think I take them to my grave with me!!! Gerard Masters 2010 Update: Well it's been a few years and the OMD 28's haven't fared that well in the audio world. With the floundering economy and limited distribution and a way too high pricetag at the time, I think I've bought the only pair!! And now you can get a pair for $2600! Still pretty high but since I've lived with them for a few years I still have to say that they are the Best Sounding Speakers I've owned. It's funny, after a while you get used to the incredible sound and start taking it for granted how good it actually is. But that's the way it is with life as a human. I did change the electronics driving them: I went from the Onkyo A-9911 amplifier to the Denon PMA-2000IVR to an old Yamaha C-80 mated with a new Onkyo M-282 2 channel amp and MAN, that match up just took the OMD's to the next level. Not that the Denon was a slouch, it wasnt, in fact I found it not lacking at all, But the WRAT technology in the Onkyo amp-even though it's rated at 'just' 100 watts/channel, mated with the dynamic range of the older Yamaha, opened up not one but two audio doors. The sheer Depth of the music is beyond words, and the Mirages handle it like it's just another day!! So to sum up, Mirage blew it it two big ways: 1)They really did overprice this line big-time. 2)The China quality build in little area's as described are just unacceptable. You just don't market a product like this to an audiophile community to have it arrive at your house with loose screws!!???? Stupid mistake which they have payed for by the bombing of this otherwise, stellar speaker. G.Masters 6/2010