Hi Fi advice - 10k budget

[CarbonM5]

Fatman2 said:

^^ From my limited experience B&O are like Alfa Romeo (apart from the reliability/dealer issues though!). Beautifully built and stunning to look at but very slightly wanting in the performance department. Not bad by any means though so is down to personal preference.

I think I sit somewhere inbetween as performance is a high priority but I would buy a Michel Orbe over an equivalent due to looks.

This used to be the case until the Acoustic lens came along on their latest designs and has taken the level of sound reproduction to a reference level used even by Orchestras.

[telecat]

CarbonM5 said:

This used to be the case until the Acoustic lens came along on their latest designs and has taken the level of sound reproduction to a reference level used even by Orchestras.

The thing is that other speaker makers have done it before and it's either in their designs or been discarded as not good enough. B&O produce decent kit but it's far too expensive compared to equivalent kit from the "specialists". And the looks are definitely "marmite".

Good Looking HiFi is available. ARCAM "Full metal Jacket" Amps and CD Players are well within your Budget as are Cyrus, Roksan, Musical Fidelity and Audiolab. Pushing the boat out Meridian have been mentioned and their G08.2 CD player is superb. You could get some Chord Choral Amps and the CD one but you wouldn't have any speakers if you bought new.

Speaker wise the choice, size and configuration is baffling. Floorstanders are "big" in the market with such as B&W, Monitor Audio, Mission,Tannoy and KEF being the big players. However there are hundreds of smaller makers with cabinets sizes and configuration to match your room.

[NorthernBoy]

Might I suggest that you also try a more modestly priced set of kit, too?

You may well find something that you like as much, or even more, at a lower price point.

[JABB]

Wait a month and have a good day out to Oxford.
Meridian are building the European flagship demo showroom for all their systems. It will be fantastic.

[OldSkoolRS]

Don't forget to consider PMC for your speaker choice as well. They also occasionally come up in the classifieds on AVForums (I know as I bought my more modest TB2+ models on there). However, speakers are such a personal choice that I totally agree with the comments about having a good long demo and ideally in your own home: I've had some gear that sounded impressive on a quick listen, but on a home demo over a weekend didn't work out well, the reverse has happened too with the PMCs as it happens.

Bryston amplifiers seem well thought of too by those PMC owners with bigger models than I have. They are pretty expensive, but again do come up used from time to time and have a 20 year(!) transferable warranty.

[1878]

Your profile says you're in Somerset, so a trip to Mike Manning would be recommended

http://www.mikemanningaudio.com/

- Steve

[CarbonM5]

telecat said:

The thing is that other speaker makers have done it before and it's either in their designs or been discarded as not good enough. B&O produce decent kit but it's far too expensive compared to equivalent kit from the "specialists". And the looks are definitely "marmite".

Good Looking HiFi is available. ARCAM "Full metal Jacket" Amps and CD Players are well within your Budget as are Cyrus, Roksan, Musical Fidelity and Audiolab. Pushing the boat out Meridian have been mentioned and their G08.2 CD player is superb. You could get some Chord Choral Amps and the CD one but you wouldn't have any speakers if you bought new.

Speaker wise the choice, size and configuration is baffling. Floorstanders are "big" in the market with such as B&W, Monitor Audio, Mission,Tannoy and KEF being the big players. However there are hundreds of smaller makers with cabinets sizes and configuration to match your room.

Having tried some of the brands you mention plus a few of the bigname US ones the Beolab units are still superior to my eyes and ears regarding timbral accuracy,high frequncy naunce and AV integration.

[Guvna]

High end hi-fi gear choices very much depend on taste

I would certainly go and audition before shelling out any cash

[CRACKIE]

10% over budget but the sound will be

http://www.hifigear.co.uk/hifi-separates/amplifier...
+
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ATC-SCM-100A-SL-Active-Speak...
+
Whichever Universal disc player from either Denon, Cambridge, Marantz, NAD you like the look or feel of most.

[The Moose]

I would be looking at some seriously good sounding valve amp/pre-amps and some good floor standers for that budget

Cheers

The Moose

[hughjayteens]

We recently installed a pair of PMC Fact 8s:

http://www.fact-speakers.com/products/fact8/defaul...

running off one off a Lyngdorf TDAI2200:

http://www.lyngdorf.com/content/view/14/33/

with the room correction module installed and the source was the client's old but very nice Linn Genki CD transport - under your budget and truly stunning. This was for a classical musician who had a very good ear and they were VERY happy with the end result.

It was an acoustically challenging space and the room EQ made a MASSIVE difference (it can be switched in and out so very easy to hear it working.

Some indication of the room size would be useful.

Cheers

Chris

[WhoseGeneration]

Sadly, OP has yet to return to the thread (s)he started, so we are no nearer to having any specific information.

[Lostprophet]

A budget of £10k?

Get an E46 with Harmann system. Job done.

[Seeker UK]

10K will get you a superb Meridian system. Go for a flagship 808i.2 (cost about £6K s/h) which will play CDs and DVD-As and have inputs for analogue and digital sources (like a streamer). Everything is upsampled to 24 bit and 176 / 192 kHz (depending on source sample rate). Add a pair of DSP 7200s or DSP 5500s speakers for about £3.5K and you've got one of the ultimate 1 box systems.

I run a Meridian system using older 500-series components: 500 CD Player, 568 AV processor and DSP5000 Digital Active Speakers.

At 10K, you need to listen to a few others: Naim and Linn are the 'big' names that spring to mind but any decent hifi dealer should offer alternatives and, at your budget, an in-home audition.

Where are you based?

[telecat]

CarbonM5 said:

Having tried some of the brands you mention plus a few of the bigname US ones the Beolab units are still superior to my eyes and ears regarding timbral accuracy,high frequncy naunce and AV integration.

Thought about this but basically Every time I hear any B&O kit none of words come to mind!!!