One box or two?

[admin_exported]

Hi all,

I am a beginner when it comes to home cinema and hi-fi systems, so I would appreciate your views on what I should do. My problem is that at the moment I have one TV (Pioneer PDP-427XD) and the Telewest (now Virgin Media) HD box. I was thinking of buying a system (total cost up to £5K including the speakers) that will allow me to watch DVDs but also perform extremely well with CDs (audiophile quality). Also, I do not have a lot of free space, so at the moment I only want to buy a pair of speakers only, I want the system to allow me to expand later.

Initially (because of the lack of space) I was thinking of a one box solution (Arcam movie or Naim n-Vi or Meridian G95). I heard the Arcam movie and I was ok with the CD performance until I heard the Arcam DV139+ Arcam AVR350 combination. The difference was huge (in my opinion!).

So my first question is, do you think that the Meridian or the Naim can match the sound you get from the Arcam separates? Are two boxes always better than one?

Assuming that the answer is that I should go for the two boxes solution, what combination of AV AMP and DVD/CD player you would recommend that will give very good DVD performance but very very good CD performance as well? The AVR350 seems to me to be behind the competition in terms of specification, but for example I am not sure if the DV139 with match well with the Onkyo TX-SR875... Also do I really need to get the DV139 which is quite expensive or can I get similar sound from the Marantz DV7001?

And of course there are the speakers... Which one would you recommend for my needs?

Thank you very much in advance for your views and help. I hope in the future to be in a position to contribute something back to the forums after I get some experience with hi-fi systems.

 

[Andrew Everard]

The Naim n-Vi is an exceptional one-box solution, in my opinion, and would be a very good basis for your system.

If you wanted to go the two-box route, I'd certainly take a listen to the Marantz DV7001 with the Onkyo TX-SR875, as I think this is an excellent combination for much less than the Arcam combination. An alternatve on the DVD/CD front would be the Marantz DV9600, which is again much less expensive than the Arcam DV139, and IMHO offers supwerb performance.

Speakers? The Dali Ikon 5.1 package is a long-running WHFSV recommendation, and would suit this system well.

 

[Anonymous]

Andrew,

Thank you very much for taking the time to answer my question. I just got the What HI-Fi Ultimate Guide Home Cinema and in there it says that the Naim, in stereo performance, matches the best efforts of qood quality budge separates... I am hoping for something better on the stereo front and that is why I was looking at 2 box solutions.

Also, about the speakers I want to start with only two speakers that can go on a shelf. Unfortunately I do not have the space for anything more exciting. What do you think about the Dali Concept, the B&W XT or the Sonus Faber Concertino?

Thanks

 

[Andrew Everard]

Any of those are a good choice, or Naim's n-SAT speakers, which were designed to be used with the n-Vi

 

[Anonymous]

I have exactly the same dilemma as you and I'm considering the same sort of options. However, my concern is also about spending too much on DVD technology whilst the blu-ray/hd video battle is raging. I read the same review of the n-Vi and was concerned at the same comments on sound quality, as well as what I would do about upgrading to blu-ray/hd video when the battle is sorted. My current views are to separate the stereo and AV components and I'm thinking of purchasing a Cyrus amp/CD combination with a lower priced AV unit. The advantages of the Cyrus being their size and sound quality. I wish there was a smaller AV unit that just did the centre and rear channels whilst leaving the front to the Cyrus. The latest AV solution from Cyrus may be worth a look but I haven't read any reviews and it didn't appear to have hdmi switching. Separating the stereo and AV allows easy AV updates as the technology changes and I see that Panasonic have already announced a blu-ray/hard disk player is coming soon. It is obviously more complex to operate than a one-box solution but with Logitech remotes the problem has become much easier to handle.

I'd be interested in Andrews comments on my suggestions and whether there are any other smaller amp/CD players worthy of consideration. For example, I have a Linn Classik that sounds great but I have no idea how it compares with Cyrus solutions. It would be great to see some reviews in What HiFi comparing the sound quality of the Arcam movie/n-Vi to more conventional AV kit, and the sort of solution I'm thinking about. I assume a Cyrus amp/CD outclasses the Onkyo 875 in stereo by some margin but I have no idea if that is correct.

 

[Anonymous]

Andrew/Clare,

Any chance of either of you responding to my last points?

 

[Anonymous]

At the end I came to the same sort of conclusion,i.e. that it does not make sense to buy an expensive DVD player while the HD war still goes on, so I am buying a cheap DVD player and a separate stereo system. Tomorrow I will demo some systems and if I get any change to compare the Cyrus solution to the Arcam movie/n-Vi solutions I will let you know.

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks for that. I would be most interested in your comments. After checking the web I noticed that Cyrus also do a surround sound processor and if you buy the 6 or 8 series amp/CD and a separate dvd/hard disk recorder the price comes out considerably less than the n-Vi and not much different than the Arcam Movie Solo, depending of course on whether you go for the 6 or 8 series. I have also been considering the Cambridge AZUR 540R V3 surround receiver, which whilst not being as small as the Cyrus surround, is physically smaller than most of the alternatives and has hdmi switching that the Cyrus doesn't. Reviews of the Cyrus range of amps/cd's have all been good and I was impressed with the 6VS amp that I heard recently. I also noticed that the Arcam, Cyrus, Cambridge, and Naim ranges are all at the What hifi show in London in Nov.

 

[Andrew Everard]

[quote user="DLD"]Andrew/Clare,

Any chance of either of you responding to my last points?[/quote]

Clare's on holiday this week, so there's only me answering. The idea of this forum is an exchange of views, not a direct 'ask the staff' - hopefully other forum members will have some advice.