Heard my friend's system, thinking of leaving hifi

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.

Of course it is not for everyone. Many people prefer a more relaxed or refined presentation or warm presentation then the dynamic, transparent and raw (sometimes harsh depending on the source material) sound of Actives. Judging from your observation of your friends system - you are the type person who likes "precision" - Active Speakers is the way to go and there are more models to chose from every year...PMC, Genelecs, Meridian, B&O, ATC, NHT, Adam, K&H....etc.

Anyway....IMHO it is highly likely that your friend's Meridian ACTIVE Speakers is the key to what you liked and heard.

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..."

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

I agree - Twice as good for Active vs non-Active Speakers is closer to the difference and I agree that room acoustics/speaker placement can make this order of difference too (although most audiophiles know about this fact whilst fewer are aware of the advantages of Active Speakers or the problmes of matching speaker and amplifier).

1000 times better is just pure ridiculous hyperbole - nobody would believe that (I think this statement is tongue-in-cheek heavy handed marketing on the part of Meridian founder Bob Stuart - nobody in AES would buy this statement and Bob knows this!).

Here is some more info on what you heard at your friends house. Bob Stuart on DSP Speakers

I am surprised that you heard a system designed by Bob Stuart (at your friends) and loved the sound and were awed to the extent you want to throw away your own gear.....and yet you hope to get in the direction of this kind of sound through speakers where much of the cost is in high quality scandanavian furniture (impressive look) rather than a pure functional box speaker.

I know that Meridian have a whole range of speakers and price points besides the top of the line that your friend has - so why not start there. Besides there are many choices of Active speakers today from low cost two way near-fields designed for studios (ugly black functional boxes that have cheap or no veneer but where cabinet costs have been invested more in their driver quality - better sound for the same money but trade off is worse look) to absolute "monsters" that are priced similar to your friend's system. I would start modest, keep an eye out for a second hand bargain and work your way up over ten or fifteen years...just two cents, and assuming you really do want to impress your friend with equally good sound one day.

Unfortunately high quality sound AND ultra nice to look at veneers with stunning cabinetry are mega mega expensive. If you can forego the nice looking cabinets then you can still get good sound at modest prices, expecially second hand, IMHO.

Remember what Queen said, I quote "Fat bottomed girls you make the rockin' world go round" - that is the kind of speaker you want - not a tall thin elegant but rather dull blonde that is fussy, cranky and always on a diet!

Good luck!

Hey Shadorne, my hi-fi buddy has heard all the Meridian gear. Still loves his horns,lol.
A sobering thought; expensive doesn't always equal good/or best.

Which horns does your friend believe beats Meridian hands down? If you are referring to the fact that Meridian gear is rather expensive and may not be great value then I will definitely conceed that.

Indeed there are all kinds of great sounding speakers at relatively modest prices especially if they do not need to be played that loud - I don't doubt your friend may have excellent sound with horns - after all these were THE most popular design for many many years before solid state gave us more power cheaply, allowing other designs to be able to compete...and horns excel at low distortion because the transducer moves much less...a very live/dynamic type sound. The fact that horns are still around and used in homes is testament to their great sound. I like the sound of horns too.