Classic Canadian sound brand Mirage has been resurrected, and audiophiles everywhere are excited about the prospect of new ground-breaking speakers on the level of their iconic M-1 set from 1987.

Premium Audio Company COO Oscar Bernardo is relaunching the brand, which was previously acquired by Audio Products International (API).

At one stage, before the API takeover, Bose tried to acquire Mirage but it never came to fruition due to logistics, and Mirage eventually fell apart, a victim of their own success as they weren’t able to match manufacturing to the demand for their products, which were receiving rave reviews across the board.

Word has it Oscar now wants to return to his roots – a steadfast passion for high-performing Canadian audio products.

In buying Mirage, he plans to reinvigorate the brand with the vision of returning it as an industry leader, setting the standard in speaker design and performance.

The Mirage story kicked off in 1979 with Jeff Percy, Jeff Soltysek and Patrick Dempster, then famous speaker designer Kevin Voecks of Revel and Snell Acoustics came on board to create the initial Mirage designs, and the rest is audio history.

The plan was to develop speakers that put out a soundstage so natural listeners would feel they were at a live show. The company became known for delivering immersive 360° audio experiences.

Regular speakers focus on direct sound dispersion, but Mirage’s Omnipolar units captured the impact of reflective sound.

In their first few years, Mirage concentrated on high-quality, affordable two-way speakers. Voecks then sold his US speaker business and moved to Toronto to become Mirage’s lead designer. Then came the highly successful M-1, which are widely considered the peak of Mirage’s design philosophy.

Founded in 1973, API were already assembling Mirage’s speakers so the acquisition made a lot of sense.

Then the Klipsch Group bought API in 2006, and Mirage started to fade and pretty much died. But this resurgence is full of promise if new product is in the same sphere as the M-1 and other Mirage output.

Before joining the organisation in 2006, Bernardo (below) worked in operations positions in executive and management at API, Fineline Circuits Limited and Campeau Corporation.

“Oscar is a dedicated, respected, and trusted leader that has made significant contributions to the success of our company,” says President and CEO of Premium Audio Company Paul Jacobs.

“He has been integral in carrying out the company’s vision and developing new ways to create, distribute and sell the most exciting high-performance audio entertainment products around the world. I am confident he will rebuild the Mirage speaker brand to the greatness it deserves.

“We look forward to seeing what Oscar Bernardo can achieve with Mirage based on his track record over the past 35 years in the high-end loudspeaker category.”

It’s safe to say audiophiles enamored of premium sounds everywhere have the same thoughts as Paul.