Mirage NANOSAT Home Theater Speaker System 5 compact satellite speakers and a powered subwoofer
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Features
• includes 5 satellites and 1 subwoofer
• OMNIPOLAR technology creates a larger, more realistic soundstage
• sensitivity: 87 dB
• frequency response: 30-20,000 Hz (A 3dB)
• warranty: 5 years speakers, 1 year subwoofer |
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Mirage NANOSAT Home Theater Speaker System 5 compact satellite speakers and a powered subwoofer Customer Reviews
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♥♥♥♥♥ |
good system
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I've had my Nanosat system for several months now, and I think I've finally spent enough time with them to write a review that does justice to this system.
Overall I would say that these speakers are a good value. They look very cool, are built like tanks, and with the sub properly located, they deliver a top notch movie and music experience. The sub has excellent, powerful bass. (people with a high pile carpet should possibly put a pad or something under the sub because the down firing speaker moves so much it will probably hit the carpet on louder bass notes) The satellites have crystal clear and highly detailed highs. I've been listeneing to a lot of old favorites, and it's almost like I'm hearing them for the first time again. I've heard nuances that I'd never noticed in the hundreds of times I've listened to them before. As far as sound quality is concerned, the limiting factor seems to be the recording quality of the movie or cd... For the first time I can actually hear a difference between DTS and Dolby Digital.
I have the Nanosat 5 system plus 2 extra nanosat speakers setup in a small (approx 12x14) room in a 7.1 configuration. The speakers are connected to a Yamaha RX-V659 7.1 receiver which I bought at the same time as the speakers, so I had no prior experience with the sound quality of the receiver with any other speakers. All of this is connected -initially with 7.1 analogue and then finally digital fiber optics - to my PC which has a Creative Labs X-Fi Xtreme Gamer soundcard.
When I decided to get these speakers, I had read tons of reviews online. Most of what they said has proved true, so I'll try not to rehash what others have said. There are a few things you may also have read about these speakers that I would like to dispell. I had heard about the 'cloud of sound' these speakers supposedly have that makes the room sound somehow bigger... Maybe I just don't have enough experience with higher end surround sound to recognize what they're talking about, but I don't hear it. They do, however, have the amazingly seamless soundfield that the speakers 'dissapear' into that people have raved about. It's something that has to be experienced to believed. Some people had written that this 'cloud of sound' made the pinpoint possitioning of sounds a little less distinct. Maybe... but to me everything sounds convincingly located and very detailed. Maybe it's just not as evident in 7.1 vs. 5.1.
A few reviews said something concerning volume with the center channel speaker. The center channel volume is fine. I've never had a problem hearing dialogue. My center is mounted a bit lower than all the others (it sits on a pedestal behind my monitor about 6" above head height while all the other speakers are mounted on the wall about 16" from the ceiling facing down), but I don't really think that makes a big difference.
Another thing that I'd read was that these speakers -need- the sub to sound good because the speakers don't have much bass. That is somewhat true. Bass without the sub is undeniably weak, but not aweful. I have a full 88 key keyboard hooked to my pc, and without the sub the speakers can cover the full piano range no problem. The real problem is this: sounds below a certain frequency may be more or less non-directional, but this sub covers much higher pitches than that. It's a fact that makes subwoofer placement very, very important. It ruins the surround effect when everything lower than a certain pitch seems to be coming from the corner of the room where the sub is, especially when that pitch is so high relatively speaking. This is definitely this system's weakest point, and keeps me from giving it a full 5 stars. I found that placing the sub behind something to break up/ disperse the sound a little helps a great deal, but the way I've solved this problem is by putting the sub under my desk basically right in front of me facing straight at me, but I realize that isn't an option available to everyone.
I have had a little trouble with the sub electronically. The sub would pop every time I touched the volume knob when I first got it, and then one day I started noticing this low grating noise coming from the sub. The problem turned out to be dirty contact points on the volume knob. I solved it by turning the sub off and turning the know back and forth a bunch to wear off any crud built up on the contacts. I haven't had a problem with it since, and it doesn't pop when you mess with the volume knob any more.
Volume on this system seems adequate for a small room, but I wouldn't put it in anything much bigger than what I have. It may be that the receiver -and not the speakers- can't handle the volume, but it certainly doesn't seem like my setup could handle much more.
If you buy these, the one thing you absolutely, positively need to know about these speakers is that they need some break in time...especially the sub. When I first got this system, I was a little dissapointed. Sure it was better than the Creative Inspire 6.1 speakers I had, but was the improvement worth several hundred more? After about 2-3 weeks things began to smooth out. The improvement was remarkable. |
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Mirage NANOSAT Home Theater Speaker System 5 compact satellite speakers and a powered subwoofer ultimate electronics.