Fairlight CMI
The VLSI ES5503 allowed the Mirage to offer digital audio sampling technology at a dramatically lower price compared to existing competitors. In 1984, when the MSRP $1,695 Mirage debuted, the only other polyphonic digital audio samplers available were the new MSRP $8,000 to $10,000 E-mu Emulator II and the large Fairlight CMI Series II system at approximately $28,000 for a basic system. (The New England Digital Synclavier II system did not offer a polyphonic sampling option until later, in 1985.) The sampling resolution of the Mirage, Emulator II, and Fairlight CMI Series II was 8-bit.