Creek 5350SE vs Rega Mira 3

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

04rdking,

1. The Naim n-vi is a great piece even if you don't use all the channels or the video. A simple one box solution with very good sound.

2. The Arcam Solo is very slick looking, but the sound is not up to the same level as the Naim in my book, or any of the systems I suggested above. I listened to the Solo carefully with some B&W 705 and 805 speakers, and it could drive the 705 all right, but its flaws started to show with the more revealing 805s. Naim on the other hand seems to punch well above its modest power ratings with a signature sound.

3. Linn makes an all in one system as well, although I haven' heard it. Go have a listen.

4. I visited a store in Austin when I was there that carries Primaluna and Dynaudio. If you are ever in town, you should check it out. Primaluna has managed to engineer in many of the benefits with few of the drawbacks of tube amplification. If space is a major issue, I would listen to one of their ProLogue or DiaLogue integrateds before you purchase if possible.

Knownothing,
The dealer here in Dallas also carries Primaluna. I need to go listen to things.

04rdking - I just picked up a Cyrus integrated from whetstoneaudio in Austin. The Cyrus chassis is perfect for small spaces, and I really like the sound (replaced a McIntosh integrated).