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Heard my friend's system, thinking of leaving hifi

I asked a friend to come over and listen to my system which consists of a Cary 303/200 CD player, Plinius 8200 integrated and Soliloquy 6.2 speakers with Acoustic Zen cabling all around, most of which was purchased from this site. He politely told me to gather my best music and invited me to go to his place and listen to his system.

He has some type of Meridian arrangement where the CD player goes directly to internally powered fullrange speakers. Oh my, the first 10 seconds and I wanted to cry! It was all there: imaging, soundstage, naturalness to all instruments, non-fatigue, front row... I've been to alot of trade shows and dealers in my area so I know what a great system sounds like and where my modest system stands in comparison, but geez that Meridian system sounded amazing! I mean it dwarfed all by comparison. (The only flaw that I could find was that in the systems current state it didn't allow for the addition of an FM tuner.)

Naturally most of us can't afford to drop that kind of money on a passtime. Certainly, I really can't afford to drop $50k on a system like that, but jeez it sounded great! I mean I came home and wanted to give my system away and find another hobby!

Does anyone have any suggestions about any changes I could make to my system to start working towards getting to that sound? I would say that first the speakers would have to go. Something "fuller" than the 2-ways I currently have. Perhaps something with powered woofers? His sytem seemed to present all frequencies in a balanced manner. Mine seems a bit thin in comparison and certainly lacks the lower end. Any suggestions would be appreciated...
portugal11
mrtennis
3,295 posts
 
this hobby is very subjective. keep this in mind when you read my suggestions. i too am looking for a pair of speakers. i favor panels. i urge you to listen and decide for yourself.

replace the speakers with a pair of analysis audio omega or epsilon. power them with a tube amp and buy a tube preamp. replace your acoustic zen cable with soundstring audio cable. i own 2 pair of interconnecs and a line cord. i reviewed their cable. you can read my review on audiophilia.com .
aball
1,994 posts
 
Lacking bottom end changes everything - for the worse IMO. I think a big part of what you heard was due to that.

Also, I know your speakers and never really cared for them all that much. Everything seems dedicated to the midrange - which is excellent - but you want a more balanced sound than that. How large is your room? Larger speakers with a cleaner top end would help a lot. Maybe even adding a sub for a potentially cheaper and more flexible alternative.

But don't despair. I have heard many fancy systems that I would never trade mine in for - although I admit there are a couple exceptions but I don't miss them. Sometimes it doesn't take very much to make a huge improvement in your own setup. I personally feel your speakers are your main limitation. Detailed info about your room, as Dave suggests, is needed. You want to make certain that your next pair of speakers are properly sized and designed to work with your room.

Arthur
nrchy's avatar
nrchy
2,111 posts
 
It's really tough to better the sound of active speakers. Audiophiles are too picky to use them, but active speakers tend to be the best sounding systems! I had them once, but I'm too picky too.

O

o

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jaybo
4,478 posts
 
no offense, but your speakers are not the last word, even in their price point. changing them may put your system ahead of your friend's meridian...and you certainly don't need to drop a fortune to do it.
onhwy61's avatar
onhwy61
4,163 posts
 
Deal with it, accept it and go on and have a happy life. One of the nice things about being an audiophile is that when you are bested nobody cuts off your head and parades it through the center of town on a stick to the cheers of the crowd. None of this stuff is that serious.
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