| Editorial January 2008
Home Theater & Sound’s
Products of the Year: Anthem Statement D2 A/V Processor and Mirage OM Design
OMD-15/OMD-C1/OMD-5/Prestige S10 Home-Theater Speaker System
Home Theater & Sound writers are certifiable
home-theater nutcases. Over the past year these guys have been on two quests: to bring you
the best products they could find, and to upgrade their own systems for the best
performance possible. The two Products of the Year for 2007 are not only winners on the
strength of their reviews, they’ve also found their ways into our writers’
reference systems. They’ve been strongly endorsed by everyone on our staff who has
heard and seen them, and that made the selection process easy.
Anthem Statement D2 A/V Processor -- Setting the Standard
 From the moment I hooked up the
Anthem Statement D2, I knew I had something special on my hands. Anthem’s Statement
products are a cut above their standard line in pretty much every respect, which places
the D2 in rare territory indeed. However, the real news about the $6699 D2 is the
inclusion of a top-notch video processor based on the Gennum VXP chipset used in some
very-high-end standalone video processors that cost a few thousand dollars themselves. It
shows.
True to form, the Statement D2 performed spectacularly with
everything I threw at it. Exalted audio performance was a given -- the D2 is essentially
an update of the already highly regarded D1 -- but its video processor exceeded my already
high expectations. This is one of the few video processors on the market that gets
virtually everything right. The Statement D2 is greater than the sum of its parts, and in
my book, that makes it a winner -- in this case, of Home Theater & Sound’s
Product of the Year award.
...Jeff Van Dyne
jeffd@hometheatersound.com
Mirage OM
Design OMD-15/OMD-C1/OMD-5/Prestige S10 Home-Theater Speaker System -- For a Truly
Great Experience
 It’s a great time to be
a home-theater enthusiast. Blu-ray and HD DVD players now bring high-resolution picture and
sound to home-theater systems, and high-definition displays continue to improve in
performance and decrease in price. But while most of the advances in home-theater
technology seem to be in the electronics, loudspeaker manufacturers, too, continue to
improve the quality of surround speaker systems.
This year, the Mirage OM Design OMD-15 / OMD-C1 / OMD-5 /
Prestige S10 home-theater speaker system ($4700) redefined for me what is
possible in its price range with movies and music. The OM Design speakers have all
the hallmarks of a fine audiophile system: sweet yet extended highs and a smooth midrange.
The lowest octave is a bit light, but the bass is always quick and responsive. But perhaps
what sets this system apart from the competition is how well all of the speakers integrate
to create a coherent, 360-degree soundstage. Unlike many surround speaker systems, the
character of the OMD’s sound changes very little as it moves from the mains to the
center and surrounds. This is crucial in creating a convincing, first-rate home-theater
experience. Played on their own, the OMD-15 mains are great-sounding stereo speakers, with
a wide soundstage and an excellent sense of depth that made me enjoy listening to CDs as
much as or more than watching movies.
Available in high-gloss black or rosewood veneer,
Mirage’s OM Design is a great-looking, great-sounding surround speaker system at a
reasonable price. Combine these speakers with a high-performance receiver -- or even
high-quality separates -- and you’ll see why they were chosen as one of Home
Theater & Sound’s Products of the Year.
...Roger Kanno
roger@hometheatersound.com |
