Meridian Unplugged - Powered by MrTechGuy.co.uk Forums Discussion Meridian - Systems Is this a valid test to see if my ears will hear benifits of Apodizing Upsample?

I am quite sure this 'feature' is not unique to the HD621, I believe it is because of the nature of HDMI. The audio needs to be buffered because it needs to be demuxed from the video data. I hear the a clear improvement in the tightness of the bass using my Octava.

Hi George,
Bob has said that processors will get an apodizing update. I would simply advise that you wait. I am in the same boat and have been waiting with fingers crossed for 1+ years. Sod's Law will prevail and the update will appear the day after you buy a HD621.
If however you can make use of the HDMI switching then it could make sense regardless of Sod and his law.

cheers

The “slap you in the face” in this thread was never attributed to a reviewer or journalist. The “immediately stunned” and “mind-blowing” were Robert Harley`s expressions of a response to the realisation of the improved sound from the new technology. You do not have to approve of one`s writing style but all of the article content should be considered before dismissal.

If you move on and don`t read the article then in the case of RH and Stereophile`s John Atkinson you would have missed what in my mind were the best explanations of, and details about, the new technology in the 808.2. Never underestimate the technical expertise and experience of RH and JA.

Very soon after I gained my 808.2 and 7200s a very experienced audio reviewer described what he heard from my equipment as “fabulous” and “great”. He praised the ability to keep separated the various components of the performance, the various instruments and performers (dimensions and space). That has since been confirmed as one of the signature sound features of the 808.2. My point is he quickly noted benefits from a short audition.

You either believe or not that the 808.2 and now also the 808.3 has the technology to remove a particular distortion, pre-ringing, that was introduced during the CD making process and remained imprinted in the CD. You may also be fortunate enough to have heard that difference. When you think seriously about that achievement then if you are like me you would regard that achievement as remarkable. As RH added the sound gains resulting was like having all your CDs remastered and the 808.2 was the most significant product in the history of the CD.

Choose whatever emotive or otherwise words to describe the achievement. I will acknowledge the greatness of Meridian`s achievement.

Maybe it is time to now move on and discuss the reported improvements in the 808.3 and 861 v6 and what it means to have only the first version of apodising in the HD621.

George I could not agree more

George, go and borrow one from a dealer, get it set up in your own rig, and once you've had it there for an hour or two, I defy you to tell us that you couldn't hear a huge difference. You may disagree with my "slap in the face" comment at the moment, but consider it again after you've listened. I think the debate will then move onto the limitations of describing audio rather than the audible differences themselves.

Cheers

George

Thats a stunningly good suggestion that can result in gob as well as face smacking results of epic mind blowing and life altering proportions. My favorite statement is something is so good it has altered all known laws of physics. When I see any of these comments I take them with a grain of salt. For me, when I read that the ----- whatever it is product was great but the sound really opened up when I switched power cords or different interconnects- the review ends for me and the magazine goes in the trash.

Alas the HD621 isn't that good- but running 2 channel PCM from my K player when playing back bit accurate ripped CDs, it was quite a pleasant surprise for me in my system. Noticeably better than straight coax from the K PLayer to the 861. Its exactly as the others have said- the cleaned up sound allowed me to hear things I was missing before. Its kind of like fixing the sharpness on a friend's monitor when they had it pegged at 100% with the intent of seeing more, but the reality was they were seeing less because the ringing and false contouring the control was introducing was obscuring real picture detail. When you bring it back down, you can actually see more. I think the best way to say it is, after hearing this, I am ruined for other setups. IF the 861V4 will get it, I would wait. But if you decide you want the high res Bluray (and hddvd?) formats, then this filter is a great bonus in the HD621. Whats your audio transport? Streaming? There must be a way to get that signal on HDMI.

My whole setup is in my signature. I could test playing CD's on the PS3 initially. I'd have to add another component to convert SPDIF to HDMI. And I'd have to rearrange the rack to fit the HD621. And I'm not sure how good the cheap SPDIF to HDMI adapters are and if it can handle the occasional 24/96 native material from the Transporter. I don't mind doing all that if it's the only way, but it would be frustrating if the firmware came out, because that would be a much better solution (sound wise, money wise, system tidiness wise, time wise). Lately we've been watching movies once a month, not worth it for movies. But music is every day.

Wait....

On Friday, kswanson and I were in Stereo Design`s (San Diego) Meridan 8K demo room. We used the modded Oppo for some 2 channel CD listening, hoping we would hear the apodizing difference made by the HD621.
The Oppo`s modded three SPDIF digital outputs were routed directly to a G61R (old version, upsampling but no apodizing). We listened to a CD with a known harsh and edgy vocal track without upsampling turned on in the processor. We both thought it was pretty edgy and not easy to live with.
Then, the G61R setting was changed to output high res. The yellow bar now appeared on the 8Ks. The sharp edges were moderated. We both heard some improvement due to the processor`s upsampling. No apodizing, yet, of course.
Then we switched the output to the Oppo`s HDMI into a HD621 and then via Smartlink SPDIF into the G61. We heard a significant difference/improvement in the vocal track. The harshness was mostly gone and voices and instruments seemed to have more “air” surrounding them.
We could and did switch back and forth between the two signal paths. We also listened to some more complex classical tracks including a Reference Recording HDCD. We left convinced that the HD621 does the job as advertised.
Our experience confirms reports by other HHers that the Oppo is preferred using HDMI with the HD621. I am convinced and will be spending some $ next week. We are not claiming we performed an unbiased, scientific double blind test or anything like that. We hoped there would be noticeable, audible improvement. We think there was, that`s all.
For the record, the harsh vocal was Rufus Wainwright`s second track of his Want One CD, song titled I Don`t Know What It Is. The classical track was Respighi`s Adagio on Mischa Maisky`s CD titled Adagio. And the Reference Recordings track was Copland`s Fanfare on the Copland HDCD