meridian g08 - a thorough bred and a true gem it was a no-contest. sorry that the results have broken kc's heart, who is bent on buying the benchmark, after such positive results in his system.
true, the benchmark have pretty good highs, plenty of resolution and definition but compared against a super-duper like g08, it pales in most areas.
first, where is the bass from benchmark? in g08, the basslines were rhythmic, tuneful, voluptuous and almost enveloping the whole soundstage, though slightly "fat" due to it not being fully run-in. in contrast, benchmark's bass is way too anaemic and not well-defined.
benchmark's sound is a bit "disintegrated" from top-to-bottom, compared to g08 evenness across the spectrum. this could be attributed to benchmark's lack of mids and bass foundation, hence the feeling of lightness and hollowness. compared to g08's colourful tonal palette, benchmark's tonality is simply two-dimensional. another trump card of the g08 is the rich harmonic textures and density, which put it high there in the high-end league, way surpassing the ageing 508.24.
of course, everything is taken relatively. on its own, at RM4K, benchmark is good for its clean and pure sound, but giant-killer it is not.
first, where is the bass from benchmark? in g08, the basslines were rhythmic, tuneful, voluptuous and almost enveloping the whole soundstage, though slightly "fat" due to it not being fully run-in. in contrast, benchmark's bass is way too anaemic and not well-defined.
benchmark's sound is a bit "disintegrated" from top-to-bottom, compared to g08 evenness across the spectrum. this could be attributed to benchmark's lack of mids and bass foundation, hence the feeling of lightness and hollowness. compared to g08's colourful tonal palette, benchmark's tonality is simply two-dimensional. another trump card of the g08 is the rich harmonic textures and density, which put it high there in the high-end league, way surpassing the ageing 508.24.
of course, everything is taken relatively. on its own, at RM4K, benchmark is good for its clean and pure sound, but giant-killer it is not.
on my score card, if g08 was to score 100 marks, then my previously-owned 508.24 (which i sold to a lucky audiophile in sibu) would score 75%, and the benchmark 60%.
harsh contest indeed but A/B-ing in a highly revealing system like mine is alawys a risky business. having said that, i must add that in kc's system which is slightly bottom-heavy, benchmark may be a revelation hence the good results observed by him.
harsh contest indeed but A/B-ing in a highly revealing system like mine is alawys a risky business. having said that, i must add that in kc's system which is slightly bottom-heavy, benchmark may be a revelation hence the good results observed by him.
post-script:
kc reached home and tried the benchmark in his system again. he wasn't wrong, the benchmark sounds excellent and perfectly balanced in his system. i guess it must be system synergy at work here. now, kc, feel good and go ahead and set benchmark your benchmark!
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