Meridian Unplugged - Powered by MrTechGuy.co.uk Forums Discussion Meridian - Systems Are You Happy With Your 621?

Drop me a pm with your email address Jerry and i will send it over to you

There are good HDMI splitters out there and I'm using one with the HD621 here now without any problems. Yes it adds to the clutter and would have been nice included in the HD621 but not many processors sport two HDMI outs.

John

The justifiable crits of configuring the HD621 have already been posted by others. It has been a real PIA to set up again here this week but finally there thanks to the good folk here. A mystery why it flipped out of setting as initially I had no difficulties and all worked fine.

To answer the question - yes, well worth while. BD audio via HDMI is not great without it as I discovered when the Oppo was feeding into a Denon 4308. In that system I compared the audio on a classical music DVD via HDMI & the Oppo -> Denon 4308 to that via a Denon 3930 & Denon link -> 4308 and the audio quality from the Denon 3930 was markedly superior.

That said, I'm only enthusiastic about BD audio via the HDMI & the HD621 in the main system. SACD sounds very flat and ordinary from the Oppo using this path and is far better via the RCA SPDIF output to the 861. I have not investigated DVD-A yet & only have a few discs anyway.

John

I am very pleased with my HD621 acquired 3 weeks ago and at peace with the (to me) substantial cost. Many thanks to this forum for a better price via an import to the U.S. from a dealer in France who responded to one of my inquiries on a thread in late December with a favorable price offer. I bought an unmodded Oppo BDP83 at the same time. After installing the HD621 1.05 firmware update I then spent many hours with configuration with the HD621 and G68. I am in bliss with redbook CD sound quality but have found real differences in the quality of SACDs originating from recordings in different eras. I have not spent enough time on DVD-A, DVD or BR-DVD to have much of a sense of what HD621 is contributing to sound quality in those formats.

Bruce

My experience echos other's comments. The manual is a real PITA, but once set up it is a marvelous machine that allows me to hook up any HDMI device to my Meridian set up.

Before I bought it I agonized whether to get a modded Oppo or the HD621 and I am glad in hindsight that I chose the HD621.

John, Ive found SACD sounds great via Oppo-HDMI-Meridian. I find DVDA is identical to my 800........

The HD621 is a game changer in my system for all the same reasons already expressed. I especially like the M Comm HDMI integration between HD621, 861v4, Oppo BD 83, DirecTV HR 21 Pro and MSR: One touch source selection.

It upconverts to MHR and eliminates at least one level of DAC conversion. Multiple HDMI inputs. I'm only using two. My 800v4 HDMI video output is direct to Sony SXRD, MHR via three 861 SPDIF connections.

DVD A to my ears is better from the 800 than the BD 83/HD621. SACD by Oppo doesn't sound as good as M DVD A, but I don't have many SACD selections. I've reported several video only drop outs.

This week I tried power cyclying the Oppo rather than rebooting the system and the video came back immediately.

Thanks to everyone for the v1.05 "beta testing."

Tim

Yes, I know as I had to buy one. A limitaion with the HD621 is that you can't have audio out over both HDMI and MMHR. I don't always want to use my main system for sound so I ended up putting a 5x2 splitter in the front of the HD621. It works fine but it's just extra clutter and expense.

Cliff

Hi Cliff, I would like to have the same option for easy conversion to my headphones for off hours movie listening. Would you please elabarate on exactly what you did and if there is any downside (audio degradation) with normal use?

Thanks,

Hi Dolf

Essentially, I have an Octava 5x2 switch before the HD621. Several sources (PS3, sat) feed into the Octva unit which has dual mirrored HDMI outputs. One of these outputs goes directly to my TV display so you can view all sources with the Meridian system out of the loop.

The other output from the Octava goes to the HD621 for the HD audio etc (and also video via a projector when in use). There is potential for some AV degradation going through Octava unit but I haven't noticed any difference in either the sound or picture quality. Hope this makes sense.

Cliff

Thanks Cliff,

That indeed makes sense and is very straightforward. I think that will be a wise investment for me to finish listening to one of my action movies late into the night with headphones without having to reconfigure my Meridian.

I find it strange that Meridian did not mirror the audio out into the HDMI out as well as to the SPDIF, but with this elegant solution I won't loose any sleep over it.

Thanks again,

Dolf - though more expensive, a Lumagen Radiance would be an elegant option too. You would get about the best scaled image from DVD's at 480i from the Oppo, if that's a concern for your use.

Cheers, Ian