Hi guys, just joined today! Impressed by the passion, info and knowledge you guys here have. I am in London and I am buying a reasonably priced system by Spring 08 (room average size 12 X 10 ft; system for 80's rock, jazz and classical). I hate ear-bursting levels, I just need the music to be delicate, analytical but 'liquid' and 'rich' at the same time. That's all I ask!
1. I was thinking about the new Musical Fidelity X-T100 (CD+Amp+power supply). Quite exotic for the price. But for around $1,000 (500 pounds) less I could get the Rega Apollo CDP and Brio amp. So, is the MF really worth the extra money over Rega? I only listened to the MF A3.5 early 07 and loved the sound. The X-T100 is more powerful than the Brio and now the X-T170 has even more power. But power is just one criteria ...
2. Also, which floorstander speakers for another $1,500 max? I sampled the Spendor (5e or 6e I think) and thought the sound was not analytical enough. I preferred the PMC. What about the Monitor Audio Silver RS6?
Thanks a lot for your help! Thought I would get your views before going to the shop in Jan 08.
If you consider the Rega system, try to listen to it with Rega R3 or R5 speakers, quite magical. MF and Rega are about polar opposites and have completely different strengths. You really need to give both a good listen to determine which philosophy best suits you. That was intentionally vague as I think it's important that you discover their strengths on your own by listening, then come back and tell us what you heard.
"I hate ear-bursting levels, I just need the music to be delicate, analytical but 'liquid' and 'rich' at the same time. That's all I ask!"
You see ... that "analytical" thing doesn't typically go along with your other desires - at least until you've spent a fair amount of money. And analytical covers a lot of ground. Analytical in the sense of hearing every last detail? That can be done with a slight rise in the presence region which can then remove warmth. Or, it can make for a system that is not as relaxed as another with flat frequency response through that region. Your preference for the PMC over the Spendor leads me to think this is what you mean by "anaytical" as the PMC's are meant for critical listening in a studio environment where the listening intent is typically of a different nature than the home environment.
"I hate ear-bursting levels ... "
"But power is just one criteria ... "
Then I would suggest you understand power and what it gets you and what it doesn't. Reading the archives of the forum will give you some insight and we can answer questions when they are more specific; but power is best understood at a dealer where examples of "power" can be heard rather than described. If you hate ear busting levels, then you probably don't require many watts. How much power and of what variety will be determined by your speaker selection. The Spendors require more and a different variety of power than a Lowther and the results you achieve with each will drastically alter your musical truth. An 8 watt SET just doesn't sound like a 500 watt MF though either can be convincing in its own way.
"But for around $1,000 (500 pounds) less I could get the Rega Apollo CDP and Brio amp. So, is the MF really worth the extra money over Rega?"
Do you have an extra $1k you don't mind parting with? First, relative value is not something anyone other that you and your banker can determine for you. Second, you are not comparing apples to apples with your two choices. Is a $100 bottle of wine worth more than a $12 bottle? Well, that would somewhat depend on how much $100 is worth to you and what you're having with the wine. If you're enjoying a $50 steak, then the cheap wine probably isn't the right choice.
Scale is something that usually comes with price. Most '80's rock does not depend on scale to be convincing. Most jazz performances of the last 50 years do not require scale to be enjoyable. Classical is too broad to say yes or no. Bach, Beethoven and Stavinsky can live with smaller scale than Mahler and Wagner. If you want the system to be more versatile, you usually have to pay more to get that ability of scale.
"room average size 12 X 10 ft"
You'll never develop deep bass in this room and you will have problems with room problems where certain bands of frequencies will be emphasized and others will be nulled. Room issues will make for a roller coaster frequency response through most of the fundamental range of any instrument. Mahler will suffer and make you suffer in empathy. '80's rock will boom away at the typical 80/160/320Hz etc. room resonance. 40Hz will probably never be heard in this room. Jazz will be confined to a soundstage that will fit a small combo no matter who is playing. I would have a serious discussion with a dealer familiar with your sort of construction before I listened to anything.
Off hand I would suggest you visit a Linn dealer and also any dealer who handles single ended triodes and efficient speakers. If you don't prefer the sound of either of those systems over the MF, then you should easily be able to make your decision.
Wow! Thanks for this prompt and very deep response. The plot thickens! Just kidding ... This is very educational and prepares me well for shop visits (what to look for in listenings, questions to ask, etc.). I did not think about the Rega speakers but I will now. Thanks also for drawing my attention to the different types of all music even within the same genre (eg. classical - chamber music vs. symphonies), I just forgot that aspect. More advice still welcome. Even if now I understand I should not compare both systems directly (MF or Rega), I wonder what Sam Tellig of Stereophile would think, he seems to love both. I could email him and post his answer here if I get one.
The only thing thats really going to help is to listen, I would suggest that with the christmas holiday break coming up, if you have the time you ring a couple of dealers, arrange a demo and turn up with a few of your best known, but contrasting CD's. Depending where you are are, Cornflake, Graham's and Walrus should between them be able to let you audition Creek, Rega, Naim, and MF among others. Given that your room is probably going to cause some fun and game's balancing the sound I would suggest you start with something like the Apollo, Brio and R1's or R3's from Rega. The standmount 1's may do the job, but the 3's when I had them were forgiving of placement, although time spent experimenting certainly brought rewards and improvements. I moved to the Spendor S5E's and from my experience with them )Room is 16' x 14' x 11' high) you may have Bass issues with them in a smaller room.
Colin makes good suggestions here. The dealers he mentions are some of the best in London. Another I don't see on his list is Infedility in Kingston Upon Thames. They also deal with this kind of HiFi.
On the Rega side, also consider the Apollo/Mira combination. The Brio is an excellent amplifier. The current Mira brings quite a bit more to the party and that ever-pleasant extra: remote control! If you pop in to Cornflake, Grahams or Infidelity, they're also Naim dealers and you could possibly go to an Apollo/Nait5i combination for similar money to the MF. The Nait brings an extra dimension of rhythm so it would suit your musical tastes very much indeed.
The problem with comparisons is that we're not really comparing like with like except in one dimension - price. Apples and oranges are similarly priced but very different. Can one honestly say that an apple is better than an orange or vice versa? Not really, they're different that's for sure, so one's preference may be for apples over oranges, but one can hardly declare one fruit better than the other.
Where the Musical Fidelity presentation is a sunny summer's day lounging on the beach enjoying the sight of pretty young things while glorying in the heat and sunshine, the Rega's is a sunny summer's day racing about in boats with the fresh sea breezes, salty air and invigorating expense of energy.
They're both just as valid as each other, just different takes on a sunny summer's afternoon in the Med!