Meridian 558 vs. Bryston 6B, Arag 8008x3

Interesting, you mentioning the Marsh. The Absolute Sound magazine continues to sing their praise, as have others. I'll have to look at them seriously.

Thanks, again.
Mike

Thanks for both the comments and the insight.

I'm sleeping on it, my gut will tell me some morning how I really feel.

Take Care.
Mike

Thanks for the very informative response.

The B&W N802s are transparent, and articulate all upstream (Pre-amp, amp, DVD, CD) equipment: they do run bright, based on their Tweeter (the driver, and its positioning).

My center is the B&W HTM-1: the B&W N804 in a different configuration: it's rated at 91db, as are the N802s. My concern is that DVD-A will assume five or more full-range; therefore the amps should be able to drive all speakers with equal authority and range. The 3 channel set-up is ideal, in that I'll run paired 3x for the fronts (bi-amped), run digital cable to the rear mains, run them in a 2x bi-amped mode.

My room set-up is expansive: 20x30 with cathedral ceilings: the N802s sing with my B&K monoblocks (250wpc each), but they don't have the continuous punch to drive both the normal and dynamic loads into these spaces.

A dual Meridian 558 setup would provide extra power (at extra cost) to the front LF, then a 5B-ST to drive the HFs: this would cost about $7k each for the Fronts and Rears: more than I want to spend on amplification, unless it makes 'sense'.

The Brystons have an excellent rep; as do the Aragons.

I hope this helps, and do appreciate the thoughful comments.

Mike Dorsam