Is the Mira A3 still a good buy?

I'm looking for a professional machine, and have pretty much narrowed it down to the Diamante or the Mira A3. OBVIOUSLY, the Diamante is the greatest machine that has ever lived. The Stenograph Rep made sure I knew that.

But, finances are obviously limiting! Mira A3ers -- do you have any major problems with it? Do you like it? Just okay? Should I just bite the bullet, work the corner, and find a Diamante at all costs? Am I damaging my court reporting career by going with anything other than the Diamante? That's how Stenograph is making it seem...dang sales people. 

I still have my Mira and love it.  My career has not been damaged by not upgrading, but I do have more $$$ in my pocket!!!  Get what you can afford.  Business is down in this economy, so it's not a good idea to buy something if you don't feel you can afford it.  Sales people will tell you anything.  It's the sale that puts more $$$ in their pocket.

Hello!

To be honest, I do not own an A3 Mira ... but if I were in your shoes -- er, pumps -- I would skip the corner option, save myself some money and buy the Mira.

I have heard complaints about the Mira's stacking, but that can be fixed with a good adjustment routine.

I've also heard complaints about "machine-gunning," or "stuttering" keys, where if you stroke, say, the left S once, you get more than one instance of the word from that one stroke -- that is, "is" would become "is is is."  My local steno repair ninja has a fix for that one should your writer acquire that particular affliction.

That said, if you get the Mira now, use it to get through the rest of your speeds and the CSR/RPR and that first year, THEN you can look into getting something new.  Who knows what will be out in two years?!

Hope that makes sense ... and good luck to you.

--gdw
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"For a Good (steno) Time ...."
http://www.cheapandsleazy.net

lol...you should work the corner and get the newest machine out...sorry, I just thought that was too funny.  I still have the Stentura 8000 from 1994, so I'm  not up to date on the machines, but in my opinion, go for newer.  Save your money, if possible.  I would make sure to ask before I purchase, though, are they in the process of having a new writer come out in the near future.  If I remember correctly, my friend bought the Mira, then a few months later they came out with a new Mira that had the ability to record voices right to the writer.

I started in 1990 with a Smartwriter -- loved that machine.  It was great.  I finally bit the bullet and bought a new machine in 2008 -- the Mira.  I like it but it does stack more.  I had it readjusted and it helped a lot, but it still does more stacking than my Smartwriter ever did.  Six months later or so they came out with the Diamante.  Oh, well!  I expect this darn thing to last me at least 10 years.  Those sales people are the worst -- they tried to talk me into trading in my Mira at a huge loss.  Stupid sales guy tried to tell me that the ATTORNEYS will be more impressed with a Diamante.  Um, half the time the attys don't even realize I HAVE a steno machine.

I had the Mira for almost three years before the Diamante came out.  Yes, it's a lot of money, but my writing has improved so much.  Sometimes Stenograph has deals (and this is what I was waiting for) where you can purchase the machine as a lease, low monthly payments, no interest, and one dollar buyout at the end.  I still have my Mira as a backup machine and I keep it set up for speed practice before a realtime job or a test.  The Diamante is much lighter than the Mira so wheeling it around downtown isn't so arduous, especially in the winter, and the touch is so light that I'm not tired at the end of a long day listening to a biopharmaceutical patent case.   I do recommend it.

Jesse, Gosh, I guess I stumbled onto this board and just now re-stumbled...and I had someone interested in my Mira.  It's still sitting here in my box next to my desk.  I was asking $2,000 plus shipping.  Never had a problem with it.  Has the wide keys.  If you want to contact me, my e-mail is tstephensx7@gmail.com.  I'm afraid I won't stumble this way again for a while.