Up next is the EPI 100's which won out against the late EPI T/E 100 plus and the Acoustic Research AR15's. How are the legendary EPI's going to fair against the Mirage?
Fit and finish: The real wood veneer of the EPI wins hands down against the vinyl veneer of the Mirage 450's. The internal box of the Mirage does have one piece of bracing just above the woofer which helps the front baffle resonance.
Both speakers got a new foam job and recap of the crossover. The EPI's are a 1st. order crossover with a 10uf cap to the tweeter and the woofer rolls off naturally. The Mirage has a 8uf cap 2nd. order crossover for the tweeter and a first order crossover for the woofer.
I like the modern looks of the Mirage but prefer real wood veneer....These two are tied.
Sound: Both speakers have a similar sound signature and both have tight articulate bass. the EPI 100 goes just a tad lower and has a tiny bit more weight to it but both are pretty close in the bass region. Bass lines on bass guitars are easily distinguishable, there is good weight to lower piano keys.
The mid range seems to be a bit smoother with the EPI 100's narrowing the sound stage to a space in front of you. The Mirage tends to expand out the sound stage a bit more. But more or less the mid range is pretty close.
The treble region is where the Mirage takes over. The dome tweeter reveals higher detail in the cymbals and other percussion instruments. For my ears I can just hear a little more of the drum sticks hitting the cymbals.
My conclusion is both speakers have strong points and week points where the other one does not. They are both worthy entry level vintage audio speakers worth picking up. I like the real wood veneer and the deeper bass of the EPI but I also like the looks of the Mirage and the detailed high end of the tweeter.
Both speakers are awesome.
In the end I feel that these speakers are a tie and I could live with either pair of them.
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