Two micro-mini satellite/subwoofer systems belt out big sounds!

It's the classic conundrum: everybody wants the smallest possible speakers and subwoofer, but nobody wants to give up sound quality. Then reality sets in and you hear the size constraints taking their toll on the sound.

Namely, little speakers don't make bass, and even bolstered by a subwoofer, the bass and oomph limitations become painfully obvious with action packed films like Master & Commander.

Two Canadian speaker companies, Energy and Mirage, believe they have devised effective engineering solutions to the size problem. They were in Manhattan last week to show-off their itsy-bitsy creations, and I have to say I was impressed (full CNET reviews by yours truly are in the works).

The Audiophiliac and the Mirage minis

(Credit: Steve Guttenberg)

First up, Energy's RC-Micro home theater, "designed to combine high style and immense sound in a remarkably compact 5.1 speaker package." Standing just 4.7 inches high and weighing slightly over a pound, each RC-Micro SAT speaker has a .5-inch hyperbolic chambered aluminum dome tweeter and a 2.5-inch high excursion aluminum cone micro-driver.

Bass for the system is supplied by the 240-watt ESW-CS8 compact subwoofer with an 8-inch injection-molded woofer. The sats and sub played well together, so well it was hard to believe all that great sound was coming from this tiny $1,000 system, but it was.

Mirage's new ultra teensy MX home theater sat/system was, in some ways, even more impressive. Each two-way, 4.3-inch tall MX speaker can handle 100 watts. The polycarbon cabinets feel nice and solid, they're finished in high-gloss black.

Where conventional speakers only project sound forward, Mirage speakers have 360 degree dispersion. The MX sats' .63-inch pure titanium hybrid tweeter and 2.5-inch aluminum woofer fire up into "Omniguide" diffusers that create the speaker's omni-directional dispersion.

The gambit works wonders and the wee speakers really did create a room filling sound. Oh, and the subwoofer? It's an 8-inch cube constructed of medium-density fiberboard, with an 800-watt amplifier, dual 6.5-inch black anodized aluminum passive radiators and a 6.5-inch black anodized woofer.

The MX home theater is slated to launch in October with a MSRP of $1,200. The Energy system should be available this month.

Energy's new tiny sat/sub system.

(Credit: Energy)

[alegr]

I fail to see how these speakers can be more or less directional than everything else. In the end, it all boils down to phase-amplitude distribution across the diaphragm; apply Fourier transform to that and you'll get directional characteristic on the given frequency.

[John72953]

Nicely said ALEGR! However, what does it mean?

[FH1042]

Ha Ha Ha that's so funny! Unfortunately no one else gets it.
http://thebestpoweredspeakers.blogspot.com/

[pubmat]

alegr... your comments show how little you know. Have you ever listened to these speakers? I didn't think so. Well, I had the previous generation Mirage speaker system, which shares the exact same patented way of dispersing the sound, and it works in spades. The soundstage is unbelievably huge, bigger than my current speakers...and it is largely because of the design. Phase amplitude is just bunk.

[pcnetworks]

We first heard these a week ago at a Klipsch demonstration in Seattle and they sounded incredible. Klipsch speakers are more directional and in your face, the MX's are less directional, but give you a better imaging than any small or large speaker I have heard. Add to it the cube subwoofer, which put out better bass than most of the larger subs without being all muddy, this is perfect for apartments, condos, and dorm rooms. Lower volumes don't lose quality, and you can pretty much hide them anywhere. Plus not being a large "in your face" type of speaker, women will appreciate it more and be more likely to purchase, which in most relationships, the women end up with the final say so.
As opposed to the other Mirage lines, the MX will only be sold by authorized Mirage/Klipsch dealers, not via standard distributors.