with respect to speaker design, I think the discussion could be useful if people were not biased.
I think there has been a complete revolution in speaker design in the last 10 years, this is particularly true with drivers and cabinet construction (this is most likely due to advanced engineering in materials and software development/measurements)

for example, who has listen to the following?
Magico
Martin Logan
Wegg III
Eggleston Works
JM Lab Utopia III series
MBL
Wilson Audio
Avantgarde
Thiel
Kharma
Avalon
Audio physic
Sonus Faber
etc...

They all have very different sound characteristics but sound wonderful in a good setup, I recommend you listen to any of old or new models of these famous brands.

my most memorable listening sessions where:
- Martin Logan Statement I
- Wegg III Lunar One
- JM Lab Grande Utopia III EM

Now it is true that the M design provides, active speakers with multi-amp setup, the cost of doing this the hard-core audiophile way surpasses the price a pair of 8ks no doubt! (probably several pairs even more than 2 for the previous 3 speakers mentioned)
I'm in the camp that thinks you cannot do everything with DSP technologies just yet, may be in the future. It is a bit like the digital amps, they are getting better, plenty of advantages but not quite there yet in terms of absolute sound.


I think it is fair to say that an all M system cannot be beaten for convenience, in fact I would guess that most people than have 8k have a full setup, no vinyls, and a good home cinema system (on average), obviously most people here are not the average M buyer, this is clear.

Meridian is not what you would call an esoteric audiophile company (for the better, because most are going out of business at some point), it is probably a blend between B&O, hard core audiophile with a bit HT added to the mix.

PS: I hope I haven't offended anyone!




Last edited by fbourgoin; 2010-02-10 00:15.