Meridian Unplugged - Powered by MrTechGuy.co.uk Forums Discussion Meridian - Systems Dipping a toe into Meridian waters : speaker quandary....

Rolski,

One thing HHers are masters (and mistresses) of is spending other people's money! I really feel that there's little else you can do but go and listen, and that includes the 8ks we all want you to try.

dpstjp

Because no one can 'explain'.
Once you listen you will understand.

Hi Rolski
I think it's reasonable to say that all the Meridian Speakers produce Music with a certain distinctive "character" to their sound. So do you all the B&W Speakers in the 800 Range IMHO, and I certainly think the 800 Range (including your 802D's) are a very good speaker, just different to the Meridian "character"

If you find that like that Meridian characteristic when Home Demo'ing the D7K2's, then I think it's fair to say that you will also like, if not prefer the sound produced by the D8k's

Trying to explain the "how" different do they sound would be like trying to explain why a certain Wine or Food dish tastes differently. It just does!!!! But you'd have to listen for yourself.

I could say that it's the Side Firing Woofers or the Separate Head Unit or the larger Cabinet Sizes that surround all the Drivers, or the more Extensive Listening Tests carried out by Meridian when developing their Flagship speaker. All of those things and several others contribute to IMHO the superior sound produced by the D8k's

In normal circumstances, I think most will find that a D8k Pair will outperform an already very Good sounding D7K2 Pair plus Sub.

However, in your particular room, I wouldn't recommend the D8k's, unless you move them out from the absolute Corners by at least a foot from the side and rear walls. There are a few reasons for this, but primarily you will not get the most from the D8k's Side Firing Woofers unless you move them out even slightly. Refelctions from the Side Wall may also be detrimental to the Mids and Highs

If you are absolutely insistent on Corner placement, then IMHO you will be better off with a D7K2 pair for Music. Add a Sub for Movies only, with a low crossover of max 50Hz or even lower

Hi Rolski,

I have the 7.2k's myself in a room sized 4*5*2,2m, concrete and wood surfaces with carpeted floors.
I have the chance to place them freestanding and still i have plenty of bass.
I would rather tone it down than up.
MRC will be added later.

A friend of mine is building a HT room with 8k's 1's - this will measure around 40sqm. There they will get the life they deserve.
Today they have been used in a 15-20sqm room without MRC. They work nicely and they wholeness and togetherness of that sound is just astounding.
BUT - bass issues...

Compared to the 7.2k's I would say the smaller speaker total sound picture is better suited for a smaller (>20sqm) room - especially without MRC.
Still the 8k's are probably my alltime favorite speaker and if it fits your budget go all out.
20hz linear depth and no breaks in the frequency responce is unbeatable in my ears. And it all comes with the M sound.

Hopefully my 7.2k's will end theire days as rears :-)

General Ignorance question here, but don't the 7.2Ks have bass time-alignment capabilities that are not yet included in the other speakers?

Easy. 8k.2's are:

Way more dynamic.

Way more involving.

Superior bass by a not insignificant amount.

Tighter.

More open soundstage.

More expansive.

More enveloping.

More detailed.

7200s are like larger 5200s which are good. 8Ks are on a whole other level in every respect.

I'd rather have a pair of the best speakers and a media player going in directly and then slowly build HT from there w/ pro, HC speaker, etc. Unless you want the pleasure of paying twice.

The bass of DSP8k easily surpasses the DSP7.2k bass refinement. bass-reflex vs sealed. 2 woofers vs 6. It's really no contest..

No question about that, but what Rolski wants to know is why can't a large, sealed subwoofer do just the same thing as the 8000. And much more cheaply.

Nick

Someone else has already described the Meridian sound as "liquid". How would you describe the Merdian "sound" and the B&W sound ?
That's the nub of the question for me - a major advantage of active / DSP speakers is driver-amp-crossover matching, but the head on the 8k's is the same as the head on the 7.2k's except that it's de-coupled. The amp's slightly more powerful, but that's it. Most musical detail is in the mid & high frequencies, right, so as far as I can see there should be no difference at all there unless they've deliberately tuned the response differently ? But then you'd have a different character if the hardware's basically the same, so something doesn't add up....
W.r.t. bass, clearly the 6 balanced drivers should provide more & cleaner bass and the larger cabinet may help, but I'd imagine supplementing what the 7.2k's have with another external sub or two might come close ?
Like I say, I might be wrong & you guys have the experience & knowledge that I don't (yet !) possess.
Also referring to another post, yes, the 8k's are out of my budget, but now you've gone & opened my eyes to the � � price differences then maybe....and it'd be a form of future proofing as I won't always be living in this "compact" rented apartment....!
The current position is pretty much fixed as the 802D's are only a couple of cm from the edge of my screen, but there's a possibility that I could move the speakers down the wall past the kitchen door and about a foot into the middle, but then my seating position would be about 2m away !!!! And of course then I'd go & get a larger screen to fill the space across the wall that the speakers have just vacated, and then the new speaker position would cast a shadow, and then, etc etc etc !
Reflections from the side walls in the current position would also apply to my current 802D's and potentially to 7.2k's - as well as 8k's - surely ?
Questions, questions !

Without wishing to sound like a stuck record, or become a pain in the *ss : why ?
There must be technical reasons why there's so much of a difference if the 7.2k's & the 8.2k's are so closely related in terms of components & size ?

Oops, good idea, but too late - where were you with this advice 10 years ago when I needed you ?!

Simply because Meridian aren't big believers in the non-Directionality of Bass and anytime you ask them, they will recommend a 2.0 System for Music over and above a 2.1 System

Based on the same Rationale, they believe in a 7.0 System over and above a 7.1 system (or 5.0 above a 5.1 system)

Having spent lots of time trying to integrate Single and Double Subs into my system, I agree with them. I prefer the results achieved with a 7.0 system. I also prefer listening to Music in 2.0 and sometimes 3.0 rather than integrating the Subs

In any case, the advantages of the D8k's are about a LOT more than just Bass performance. It's about how balanced, fluid and Musical they sound across all the Frequencies

As long as the D8k's are given enough room from Corners in which to breathe, I think the vast majority here will prefer the net result of a 2.0 D8k System over and above a 2.1 D7K2 system incorporating any Sub of their choice, for Music

Furthermore, I think that this applies to almost any size of room, no matter how small. Always as long as the D8k's are far enough out from the room corners to give their best. And Toe'd in towards the Listener

Hi Rolski
You said twice now that the head on the D7K2's are the same as the Head on the D8k, with the only difference being that the D8k's one is isolated and sealed

That Isolation and Sealing in of itself is a very positive advantage.

However, take a look at the link below for a comparison of the D7K2's with the D8k's. You can see that there is noticeable difference in size between the two different heads

http://s943.photobucket.com/albums/ad278/RHGIlroy/?action=view&current=HowieD8kplusD7vkc.jpg

If you could somehow eliminate the Base Frequencies from the equation (say everything above 300Hz) then IMHO the D8k's still outperform the D7K2's in the Mid and High Frequencies, and by a very noticeable margin

Still, don't listen to me. Go listen at your Dealers and form your own opinion

There is a lot more going on inside the D8k's that is not apparent from the Pictures or the Specs. But they are Priced accordingly