Would Tannoy Arena Highline 500 be a good buy now ??

[admin_exported]

Hi Guys,

Bit of advice needed. I have had an "OK" set up for some time Panasonic 42 Pv500, Denon 1909 and Kef 2005.3 which i was quite happy with ....until an impulsive purchase at the weekend saw me get a new TX -P50 GT30 and the Pana 310 BR Player which, after setting up i am absolutely chuffed to bits with. I cant beleive the advance in 5 years anyway thats another story.

The crack is this... im now wondering about my amp and speakers and have recently been offered some Arena highline 500's (which were mega money some years ago but got rave reviews) at a reasonable price. However i will not have chance to audition them and wondered if you think i would notice a big difference. Would the Denon amp be big enough to drive them properly? Are the speakers getting a bit long in the tooth now and have other speakers surpassed them now just like my plasma? Friendly advice needed please - thanks.

 

[Big Chris]

Just because newer better stuff may come along, it doesn't mean older stuff suddenly becomes rubbish. If the price is right and the condition is good I'd jump on 'em.

You probably could do with an amp upgrade for that level of speaker, but that's not to say it won't work and sound great.

 

[bigboss]

The Tannoys will be a definite upgrade sonically over the KEFs. The Panasonic 310 has twin hdmi outs, so you won't need a 3d capable receiver, but something like a denon 2311 or 3311 will give better performance. You can always upgrade your amp later.

 

[vpacalypse]

How much have you seen it going for? link?

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks for your input.

Thats exactly why i went for the 310 Br player because of the twin HDMI outputs. At that time i wasnt even thinkin of upgrading the amp but after reading a couple aof months of magazines ive got the bug again. However, your right i could go for a none 2010/ 2011 amp but higher end and get it for less. Do those mentioned have audio return so i can watch freesat and free view through the amp?

The price for the 3 year tannoys is just under £500 which buts at them at the price of current entry level Q acoustics set ups for example and cheaper than Kef 3000's. Id rather have for something 3 years old but better spec'd than new, 5 stars winners but lesser spec. Hope that doesnt sound snobby it wasnt meant to.

Cheers

 

[strapped for cash]

It doesn't sound snobby at all. I built almost my entire system by buying components that had been (or were about to be) replaced by newer models.

As long as the spec suits your requirements, what's to worry about? Newer models often incorporate features that are of little relevance to many users, simply to justify being regarded as "upgrades" over the previous range. Sure, newer models can deliver improvements in key areas of performance, but those improvements are usually incremental rather than significant.

Buying older high end kit at knock down prices is a sensible way to build a fantastic system on a relatively modest budget!

In fact, I should start a thread at some point advocating this approach. It's served me very well indeed!

 

[kinda]

For £500 you'd be mad not to get them. I'm tempted myself at that price! Speakers technology doesn't change so quickly so older models are relevant for longer.

Don't forget these were the champion high end style speakers for a long time in WHF when the MT-30 was only the champion mid-range set. I think they only now don't feature as they're technically discontinued.

I myself felt the standard Arena was better than the MT-30 after demoing, and the Highline 500 should be a further step up. I think you'd have to look at the MA Apex to get a potentially better set and you'd be paying 5 times the price.

By the way I run my Arena with a Denon 1911 to good effect, so you should be fine with your amp, and it should drive them OK, but an upgrade probably wouldn't hurt.

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks Guys - minds made up now.

The only doubt i had was after seeing how far TV technology has come in 5 years and how my new set was actually cheaper than the price i paid for original Pana PV500. Thought the same might have applied to speakers but clearly not.

I note your point about buying decent quality kit albeit not new release. It seems we get tempted and fall for the marketing speel that you "need" the latest/ this years gear. I cant beleive how much 1yr/ 2yr old gear is discounted....50% more in some cases. it makes me think that the manufacturers are marking up the new releases rather than selling older kit at a loss. Are we paying too much? any thoughts anyone?

 

[strapped for cash]

Why pay £450 for a mid-range 2011 receiver when you can buy a high-end 2010 receiver for not much more? I think you get more bang for your buck shopping this way.

To be honest, the purchase I'm happiest with of late is the 2008 Denon-DVD2005BT. I picked it up for less than a quarter of its original rrp and in my opinion it outperforms all other (newer) BDPs I've seen in action (with certain forum members in mind, I'm not looking to resurrect the differences between BDPs debate).