[sgosh]

On sale again for $148 a pair, I had to give them a listen.

The salesman hooked a pair up to a NAD C 326BEE amp, and then turned down the nearby "Bassy McBass Home Theatre - with xtra mega bass" playing some kind of Youtube Bossiest Mega Bass playlist.

Then, I connected my BlackBerry Z30 to the NAD's line in, cued up Jing Chi's Tengoku, sat down and had a critical listen.

A bit boxy sounding, but decent reach down low to do justice to Jimmy Haslip's characteristicly warm but clear bass.

All the grit and grime of Robben Ford's perfect tone came through, even the faint 60 Hz buzz of his amp.

Good detail on the subtle synthy pads floating in the background.

Vinnie Colaiuta's dynamically diverse hi- hat, cymbal and snare work were all given room to express themselves.

Nothing amazing, granted, but no awful liberties taken. This was sounding far better than $148 ever does.

Low end presence, detailed mids, crisp highs with no sharpness or fatigue inducing flaws.

I compared them against a $900 per pair set of Mirage OMNI 350s. Noticeable difference here, with the latter showing considerably more warmth lower down, and more brightness higher up. Lively sound signature, but markedly V shaped by comparison.

The M20s presented a flatter delivery without sounding cheap.

For $148 CDN or less, you could do a lot worse, and certainly no better.

FYI, I did my listening at Visions, and ended up buying a pair.

 

[cel4145]

Seems like you got a good deal

 

[sgosh]

Seems like you got a good deal

I think so.  They perform better than their pricepoint (on sale anyway).
 
Recommended if you're looking for fronts or rears in a surround setup.  Also decent for filling a medium sized space hooked up to a 2.0 amp.
 
Bass heads will probably want to fill in the very lowest register with a good sub, but it's not strictly necessary.

 

[sgosh]

I had to go back to re-listen to the Mirage Omni 350s, since they went on sale.  Coincidentally, the salesman happened to put on one of my favorite albums, Steely Dan's Gaucho.  I really enjoyed the laid back signature these speakers had to offer, played through the NAD C 326BEE.
 
At my request, he kicked in the Mirage Omni 550 speakers.  They were everything the 350s were, but a bit more forward sounding, less V-shaped overall. The lows reached down a bit lower, and had stronger character and definition.  The highs were nearly identical, but the soundstage was much larger.
 
These were listed at $1100, although I don't imagine anyone ever pays that for them.  The floor manager offered me the last pair for $300.  Obviously, I bought them.
 
I have to give props to the Burnaby Visions location.  Those folks are cool.  I highly recommend them.
 
I'll set these up at my new place in July and post a detailed review.