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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
dcstep
1,518 posts
 
01-15-08: Shadorne said:
"Yes Active Speakers can indeed surprise you that much!! No passive crossovers and dramatically reduced IMD distortion and huge dynamics is like having a veil removed from the sound compared to passive speakers."

With all due respect, I don't think that active speakers are the key to reducing IMD, increasing dynamics and removing veils. Instead, assuming a basically competent system, it's about the speaker placement and room interaction. If you get those right then it doesn't take mega-bucks to put together and incredibly transparent, dynamic and revealing system that's pleasant to listen for hour after hour.

Dave
steveaustin
57 posts
 
I second Pdreher's recommendation of a REL Storm III sub. The single biggest improvement to my system was adding an active sub, especially the REL, which gets its signal from the amps, not the pre-amp, and a seamless blend with your speakers is easier to achieve.
Borrow one, demo one, or buy one on Audiogon (and sell it without a loss if it doesn't do it for you). It really fleshes out the sound of your system, and not just on bass-heavy material. Even acapella vocals benefit -- with the sub, you hear more of the 'room' the music was recorded in. A good, musical sub adds so much more than just lower octave information!
I know the exact difference in sound you're describing when you describe your friend's system vs. yours -- yours sounds anemic and as if certain frequency ranges sound good at the expense of others; his sounds full and well-balanced.
My advice: before replacing any of your components or speakers, try supplementing what you have with a REL sub, and see how you like the difference.
Good luck!
dodgealum's avatar
dodgealum
1,406 posts
 
Well, Portugal11, your last post has me thinking about a pair of Daedalus Audio DA-1's for you. Full range--check. Sound like real music--check. High WAF--check. I just sold mine for $3500, which was a very fair price. (I'm taking delivery on a pair of the new version DA-1.1's next week). I saw another pair up for sale here last I checked a few weeks back. Most of Lou's customers, like me, are moving up to the new models so more may appear soon. Email me off line if you want some more information. The DA-1's were the speaker I moved to after a two year search to replace the Harbeth's with something full range. I think my review is still floating around on the A'gon if you are interested. A truly great speaker that can be had used at your price point.
shadorne's avatar
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shadorne
7,477 posts
 
Dave,

Perhaps it is all hype - certainly there is some marketing! I once shared your skepticism too. However take time to Listen to what Bob Stuart of Meridian has to say

"Active Speakers are 1000 times better..."
dcstep
1,518 posts
 
I haven't heard the Meridians since the 1990s, so maybe some miracle has occurred since then, but last time I listened they were still subject to the laws of physics and needed to be properly set up in relation to each other and relation to the room. When a non-active ("passive" is not the correct term) is set up properly it has the same potential.

Such beginning-to-end systems as Meridian DO eliminate almost all potential for component mismatches. Unfortunately the biggest mismatch in most systems is between the two speakers and the speakers vs. the room. That is better addressed with proper placement, rather than DSP, since DSP can only handle relatively minor anomalies. There is room for DSP in a well set up system, but only after IMD and resonances has been minimized by proper placement. Then, you can really only attenuate the peak resonances.

Even Stuart only talks about the POTENTIAL of active, powered systems. I agree with his statement of potential, but it's only potential. Most of the potential is available with properly set up and placed speakers. Since most systems lack this most important step, they're largely disappointing.

Active speakers are NOT 1000 times better, IMHO. They're not even two-times better than a well matched conventional system.

Dave
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