Meridian Unplugged - Powered by MrTechGuy.co.uk Forums Discussion Meridian - Systems URGENT Question regarding 861 and 621 Smart Link hook up as well as OA13 outputs

I expect Meridian made a running change to the production card. [/quote]
Unfortunately, not necessarily the case Joel

I've heard "new" 861's with the same problem. Likewise, new IE42 cards in "problematic" 861's has not resolved the problem

One important point to note: The Crackling problem ONLY arises if the following conditions are met
a) A High Res Multi-Channel Device is connected to the MD1 of the 861 AND
b) The Sources was "playing" a High Res Multi-Channel track

That is:
** No issues with playing CD's into the MD1 on the 861, even when connected by MD1 / Smartlink.
** No issues when playing High Res 2-ch DVD-V's or DVD-A's into the MD1 of the 861
** Not surprising, given that CD and 2-ch High Res only uses the D1-2 connection of the MD1

Like I said, when Meridian came out with their DVD-A Smartlink Connection, they spent some time trying to resolve problem, but it was one of those inconsistent problems that affected some 861's and not others. Because there were 2 Multi-Channel connections on the IE42 card, it was far simpler to tell customers to just connect to the MD2, which has been the consistent advice for years now. It's really only since the advent of the HD621 (i.e. a 2nd 3 by SPDIF Device) that it's began to raise it's head again.

In addition, many 800 / G98 users have moved away from "Spinning" DVD-A's altogether, so the above conditions are not being met too often [/quote]

As this issue and setup advice is news to both new and experienced 861 users, it would be nice if this was added to the Wiki.

Thanks Ronnie.

Added to Wiki: http://www.meridianunplugged.com/wiki/index.php?pagename=861

The output jack on the Radio Shack meter is an RCA. You'll need a reasonably long RCA male-to-male cable to connect it to your 861.

I just used a spare S cable - seemed to work fine...
And if you've got a camera/video tripod, you can screw the meter into the tripod head and position it in your main seating position.
Cheers,

Ed.

So you are saying I need 15 feet of analog RCA cable? This attaches to the back of the 861? How inconvenient if you do, I already smashed my equipment rack against the wall... 15 foot long analog RCA cable to a ratch shack meter analog output seems so 'low quality'. ??

It's not about frequency response; it's about impulse response, for which the Radio Shack meter is more than adequate. Of course, if you'd like to buy something "high quality" to do the same thing, go for it.

Your trying to catch up on being out of the loop for X years and catch up in 2 days.

Read this area in WIKI

http://www.meridianunplugged.com/wi...0Room%20Correction%20Tips%20and%20Tricks

You don't need a high quality mic.

All it is measuring is DECAY !!!

MRC does not do "EQ", they don't believe in it, for Home Theater setups any way.

Very different from what most everybody else does.

Read Meridian's White Paper on Room Correction.

MRC is fussy, don't start it at 11PM. Some don't care for it. Some do.

You can use a better Mic (also discussed in Wiki) but it just gives you slightly better Signal to Noise (in my experience) and probably will not effect end results that much.

You can use MRC (Manually) to do a low freq "EQ" with other tools (Also discussed in Wiki)

Thank-you,

The problem is that I have been overwhelmed with unpacking from a move to a new house, so I'm getting torn in 50 different directions. I appreciate your help and responses in such a difficult few weeks. I will read the WIKI next. Thanks again!

I will read the wiki, but not sure if this meter is mentioned.

http://www.soundandvisionmag.com/features/2925/galaxy-audio-check-mate-cm-140-spl-meter.html

I'll read the wiki now...

I think I've seen that Galaxy mentioned over on REW Forum.

http://www.hometheatershack.com/forums/rew-forum/16070-galaxy-cm-140-a.html

The thread above also mentions ECM8000 which is what most folks use and is mentioned in our Wiki. But you need a preamp with balanced input and 48V phantom power for it. All discussed in the Wiki.