I can only echo the others comments and tell you what I did and why. I have 4 DSP 8000s and 3 DSP 7000s. I love them and wouldnt trade them for anything else (until M does an 8000 successor perhaps!)

In my room, I decided I did not want to see amplifiers, although I dont mind seeing the speakers and I didnt want to mess with expensive cables- because I dont believe they really make much difference- and I like the ability to use the axis and boundry controls to tailor the sound and frankly, it just seems to me that Meridian designs a system as a whole system, although you can purchase bits a-la-carte if you should desire, and I wanted to do a system with no subwoofers and also where the electronics are in another room- requiring long interconnect runs.

the resulting sound is phenominal. I didnt go and audition many other speakers- as I view the DSPs as unique- who else makes such a sophicistated speaker in terms of its electronics?

I am extremely pleased with the resulting sound and I have had no moments of buyers remorse, even with the hefty price of such a setup.

In terms of value- as John and the others point out, remember if you buy a $20k pair of speakers, you will need an amplifier to match them and that means not just in power and sound quality, but also in terms of market cachet. So the DSPs are really not at a competitive disadvantage when compared to many high end speakers in terms of value. In terms of justification- does anyone need such expensive speakes? of course not. but then again, you dont need 5.1 sound reproduction in your home either.

I wouldnt knock the other makes- the ones Ive actually heard are all fine- but for my preferences (70% movies, 30% music- but I want "musical" speakers- or at least what I think musical is) I am completely happy with the Meridian speakers. Anyone who comes and watches a movie cannot believe how clear and dynamic, musical, and "grand" a movie can be.

Then I play them some Pink Floyd CDs and move on to DVD-As and the smiles just grow wider. Even in this busy world- I find myself making time to go and listen to something an average of 30 minutes a day.

[This message has been edited by JerryL (edited 11-20-2003).]

Best regards,
Jerry
Main System: 861v6, DSP8000s in corners, DSP7000s Center and Sides, 1-9 humans.