Meridian AV alternatives

[reg]

About 5 years ago as part of a house refurb I had 5 of the following in celling speakers fitted to form an AV system with sub and Meridian front end.

Did AV duties plus was connected to Sooloos then Roon for audio.

Given family situation and the fact that it was a "living room" the in-ceiling speaker option was attractive and the sound was top notch as well

https://www.meridian-audio.com/products/loudspeakers/performance-in-wall/dsp320-2/

Sadly my ex wife now owns the 5 speakers and unscrewing them from the ceiling probably won't go down to well.

As a result i am having to start again on a new AV project.

Wanted to know which brands i should consider in addition to Meridian in a similar price bracket/quality. New room will be more of an AV room so don't have to do in ceiling but it is appealing. There are also other formats to consider such as atmos etc.

Any suggestions most welcome.

 

[The_Krell]

An awful lot depends on your budget (doesn't it always?)

If you're happy putting things in the ceiling you should consider atmos - my wife won't have any of it although her logic is flawed....
ATC speakers work very well against a wall (and mounted on said wall)
Processor...I replaced my old Lexicon DC-2 (only did DTS/DD) 3 years ago. Listened to a Marantz which I thought sounded pretty much the same but could do atmos, Arcam - awful, ended up going for a NAD. Obviously those then need an amp(s). Marantz does come as a receiver as I recall.
The NAD does Roon but sounds awful compared to CD player but its fine to have on in the background.

Hope this helps in some way.

 

[reg]

An awful lot depends on your budget (doesn't it always?)

If you're happy putting things in the ceiling you should consider atmos - my wife won't have any of it although her logic is flawed....
ATC speakers work very well against a wall (and mounted on said wall)
Processor...I replaced my old Lexicon DC-2 (only did DTS/DD) 3 years ago. Listened to a Marantz which I thought sounded pretty much the same but could do atmos, Arcam - awful, ended up going for a NAD. Obviously those then need an amp(s). Marantz does come as a receiver as I recall.
The NAD does Roon but sounds awful compared to CD player but its fine to have on in the background.

Hope this helps in some way.

Thanks. It does.

 

[Pressure]

MK do good on-wall speakers which are excellent for AV, less so for music, but they’re expensive.

I second the recommendation of NAD although they’re a bit of a mess at the back, lots of bits to connect. Dirac for AV is extremely useful so you might want to look at the new Denon and Marantz AVRs. Arcam usually sound ok to me.

Atmos in ceiling would be ace, but upfiring speakers can be ok too depending on what sort of room you have.

 

[reg]

MK do good on-wall speakers which are excellent for AV, less so for music, but they’re expensive.

I second the recommendation of NAD although they’re a bit of a mess at the back, lots of bits to connect. Dirac for AV is extremely useful so you might want to look at the new Denon and Marantz AVRs. Arcam usually sound ok to me.

Atmos in ceiling would be ace, but upfiring speakers can be ok too depending on what sort of room you have.

What brand is MK?

 

[Bodgit]

What brand is MK?

https://mksound.com/

Personally I think a good soundbar takes some beating for convenience, if you have one of those for TV duties and a hifi, that does everything.

Since I already have a good hifi, didn't want to pay too much for a sound bar, ended up with a Denon 550 which cost me I think < £300 as an ex display model form Richer Sounds

 

[Signs]

I went with Q acoustics in my kitchen /tv room , not bad at all for not a load of money , the sub is from an old Kef setup i had

 

[reg]

https://mksound.com/

Personally I think a good soundbar takes some beating for convenience, if you have one of those for TV duties and a hifi, that does everything.

Since I already have a good hifi, didn't want to pay too much for a sound bar, ended up with a Denon 550 which cost me I think < £300 as an ex display model form Richer Sounds

Thanks. This is a new name to me

 

[Signs]

What brand is MK?

https://mksound.com/

 

[Tim F]

My Marantz AV8802A is pretty good and does atmos. Not bad for music too. I rate M&K and run these as rear speakers.
- How many Atmos speakers will you fit?
- Running music or just film? If you go for music too. then getting good quality hifi fronts may be a better option.