Creek 5350SE vs Rega Mira 3

My experience is that they are towards the warmer, more musical side of ss integrateds and they would be on my personal short list (I've heard them for brief periods, never had them in my home, also studied their reviews.). The more expensive one gets you a little more detail in the sound.

Art,
May have to find a dealer and give them a try. Sounds like what I'm looking for.

Thanks

Since you like the British sound check out the Arcam music solo. Very nice all in one unit for 2K new. Takes care of any space problems and less cables. You can use it with your Ipod. They make a Rdock of their own. I like Arcam more than Rega but they are both nice.

Well, that's just it. Not sure if I do like the British sound. I'm trying to get ideas from here. Haven't been out to audition anything yet. One of the local dealers carries, Naim, Rega, Linn, ARC, Rotel and a few others I can't remember. Haven't been able to locate a Creek or Primare dealer locally... I'm in the Dallas area if anyone knows of any.

Audiogon is a great way to try out gear at relatively low depreciation cost. I mostly stopped going to dealers because I don't want to use their time unless I play to buy from them, and I find that I need much more than a quick demo in the shop to determine the character of a piece. Also, as a hobby-est in this area, I like to change gear a lot, and I'd get killed with depreciation if I bought new all the time.

That said, if this were not my hobby, if I just wanted to get a nice system set up and forget it, I would definitely work with a dealer to get a nice system with proper synergy put together. I recommend dealers all the time to friends that want to do that. It can save you a lot of time and grief and experimentation.

So, IMHO, if you just want to set up a system and get on with life, find a dealer with good gear to compare and work with. A dealer with Naim, Rega, Linn sounds fine to me. If you see yourself getting itchy to change systems every year or two... welcome to the club :)

Art