It depends on you view point. Meridian were one of the major players in advancing cd replay.

Most of the 'hifi' companies simply rebadged Sony/Philips hardware and charged you alot more for it - something Linn/Naim could get away with.

certainly,IMO, Linn amplifiers have improved from the ones 10 years ago. Some would say Naim have ditched the music and gone all hifi.

Arcam used to be a comapny with some great affordable products but everything by them seems to have got more and more expensive lately - or is that just me ?