Hi all,

I visited with Martin53 yesterday and also went back this afternoon after visiting the main HiFi show.

SE impressions were all very positive across the whole range. For me 5200's are a 'new' speaker entirely, they failed to impress sufficiently before. Now they are quite remarkable for their size. Going up the range the 7200's also get lifted to a new level, lovely sound, my ideal speaker. Of course the 'flagship' 8000's are very very good in their new SE guise. Never any doubt that the improvements have moved on a speaker that was already something special to another level again. Not forgetting that EBA has a contribution too in all of this, compared to pre- SE models.

Very difficult to describe what you hear without resorting to the usual clich�s, that quite often leave someone not having heard what you did, a little cold and none the wiser.

Totally agree with what those have said earlier about the SE up-grades. If I was to summarise on the 8000's, I would confirm that musical image has a significant improvement in focus which also opens up to become more 3 dimensional, provide a sense of space around instruments and vocalists and better position them in front of you. Vocals also have lovely definition. Rhythms and low frequency notes are cleaner, snappier and better defined. From high frequency to low, clarity improves. I'm sure the new tweeter is playing a significant part in this generally. The music is better unravelled to present it in a more engaging manner. The sum of which generally has a positive effect on the whole musical experience and enjoyment.

Overall, there is a significant improvement across the speaker range, rather than minor. Much of the above comment on the 8000's percolates down the range, within the limitations of each speaker.

My thanks to Chris, Paul and the rest of the M staff. Chris was extremely generous with his time on 2 visits, as was Paul yesterday. All were very knowledgable. An excellent event.

808v6, DSP7200SE, MD600
Vertex AQ & LeadingEdge products