Meridian Unplugged - Powered by MrTechGuy.co.uk Forums Discussion Meridian - Systems Absolute Sound Review Feb/March Issue

Stacey,

Ed hasn't shipped back the Switchman. It'll be back sometime in the next few weeks. He has to get all of the units he had for loan back from CES before he can return mine.

To answer your question though:

Each input can have channel trim +/- 10dB in .25dB increments.

Volume control is in .5dB steps, so I can get a fairly precise level match. Can I get within 0.1dB? Probably not.

I only listened to Soular Energy on the Kenwood / Outlaw / Rocket setup in System B so far.... and it's splendid.

Completely natural sounding, and far better than the vinyl.

I haven't broken out the SACD version yet, as I've been enjoying Trifield on traditional Redbook CD, as I begin to finish up my listening for the upcoming review.

Damn, I wish I had the $$$ for an 861 Processor!

Regards,

But with a price difference like that, wouldn't I be better off saving my $15k and selling my 568.2 when the next best processor comes out? It's not like $15k buys me economies of upgrades. I could buy two more 568s at that price, and I'd always have the latest.

Oh well, are you saying that the sound really isn't that different?

Mr 568,
You are right that it is most likely not more economical to buy a 861 and do upgrades than to upgrade/replace a 568.
But from where do you get the $15000 price difference ? The basic 861v3 with 8 analogue or digital outputs is $15000 above the list price of a 568.2 (not here in Europe anyway)

I doubt a 861 is sound wise a very big difference compared to a 568, but i never did a side by side comparisation. But othere people here migth have done that and have an other oppinion.

Jaco

I think that those who claim the 568/598 combo provides 95 percent of the sound quality of the 861/800 are exaggerating. I just dropped off my 800 v.2 at the dealer yesterday to be sent off to Meridian for a v3 upgrade. The dealer was kind enough to loan me a 598. The differences in sound quality on CD reproduction were immediately apparent. The magic that I had experienced with the 800 was just gone. Less air. Less attack. Less clarity. Just a little less of everything. The 598 reminded me of the Proceed PMDT. Is the 598 a slouch? Of course not. But it is not the 800. So in addition to an upgrade path, the 800 series also offers flat-out better performance. You pay for the difference, but no more than a Mark Levinson fan pays for the difference between a 360S D/A processor and their reference processor. Each individual will have to decide whether the incremental improvement is worth the added expense. For me, the answer is clearly "yes."

wow..just read the article and can't remember ever reading such a glowing report on any brand....makes me reach for the visa card (seriously)...then reality kicks in an I moan about the price of an upgrade.

Don't worry folks, I'm getting over it and will get it done one day (seeing as no-one else seemed at all bothered by the price...it must have been just me )

[This message has been edited by ncpl (edited 01-23-2003).]

The also reiterates something I have been harping on about for some time - well recorded CDs, properly processed, can give very musical results, maybe not up to the superior standards of DVD-A (done properly) but more than adequate for goose bump reactions. OK, so there is not a high proportion of well recorded CDs, BUT, with so many CDs produced, even a low proportion = a lot of titles which qualify :-) Until the gimmicks of surround sound settle down I'm sticking with CDs.

The comments above re the cost of ownership-upgrading are a real issue that are enough to limit sales despite its sonic superiority. It took me months to come to terms with outlaying hard earned dollars to buy a V2 861 but the cost of upgrade to V3 really rubbed salt into the wound. Yes, it is "upgradable" but not a simple nor inexpensive proposition.

John

As this topic thread has turned into a discussion on whether the price of an 800v2 to 800v3 respectively the price difference of the 800 is justified over the 598 in the first place, I'd like to add my 2 cents.

Having bought my 800v2 about 1 year ago, my dealer at that time expected the upcoming upgrade price to be in the range of somewhere between 1.000 to 2.000 euros, which was absolutely fine with me.
Checking back with him recently, he tells me it is now 5.600!!! euros, or in other words, the exact price difference between a new 800v2 and a new 800v3.
I am shocked to put it nicely. This IS in fact the price of a new 598!
What mopes me most is that there appears to be no appreciation at all for existing 800 owners. Yeah, you CAN upgrade (and keep your old chassis), but the after all price you pay will be that of a completely new unit.
And if you have a nice dealer, he will lend you a spare unit for the time of the upgrade.

I fully agree with Tassie Devil.
To all newbies out there, don't get disillusioned (as I did) by the term upgradability. The price tag may be enormous!

Frankly, I am considering of selling the whole thing, pending only on any new features for the 800v2.

If I go for a v3 upgrade now, what will be price for a v4 upgrade? Where does this end? If you made the (for me extreme hard) decision to buy a 800 (v2) at the price of 13.800 euros, the upgrade now asks you to justify the unit price of 19.500 euro for a 800v3. This price is a completely different ball game (at least for some of us), which may result in a clear NO decision!

When buying an 800 be sure to know you are entering a cost spiral you do not have full control over.
How long will the v2 be supported? (only until variable output on the v3 is available?). Who would buy a v2 then?
Will there be any new features for the v2? ( for MONTHS now, the Meridian homepage announces an upcoming software page for the 800).
Will we at least get access to DVD-A stereo?
(why wouldn't the existing hardware not support this?)

1. You need CPPM to read the or decrypt the data.
2. You need an MLP decoder in 800.

Stacey,

Thanks for sheding light into this, but are you saying you need dedicated hardware for both of it?

I don't know about CPPM so may be it requires a special piece of silicon that contains a protected de-crypting algorithm to which
Meridian has no access (i.e. to implement this using their own software as for e.g. HDCD form Pacific or DCDi from Faroudja).

But for MLP de-coding, the ONLY argument I would accept from Meridian would be that there is unfortunately not enough horsepower in the DSPs of the 800v2 to do MLP decoding in real time.

But then, doesn't the absence of the need to do video processing for DVD-A free up some DSP CPU cycles?



[This message has been edited by jburkart (edited 01-28-2003).]

They do MLP decoding in hardware. When you get the V3 upgrade, it will add a DSP engine or two. The CPPM actually goes on the MPEG decoder card. CPPM is something you must license, I believe.

The only DSP in the 800 is on the input card. With V3, you no longer need the input card because they now have new DSPs. Someone once complained about not wanting an input card on the 800, you can thank them. BTW, where is Healthnut?

The 800 will actually upsamples all 6 channels before sending off to the 861 or 568. The 598 does not have the same amount of DSP as the 800. (I am not trying to justify the cost, just pointing out some differences.) You can actually use the 800 w/ an 861 if you have DSP speakers AND you can place them equidistant from the listener. You don't get any of the DSP modes like Trifields or PL II, but you can listen to movies and stereo that way.

From what I gather V3 is really a plumbing upgrade. (at least for 861) I think V4 is really just software for the 861, but I don't know for sure. If so, lets hope they provide it on the website. The cost of V3 probably supports the software development for V4. (I am speculating so if they charge, please don't shoot me. )

Personally I like the multichannel stuff. It is really up in the air as far as should it be re-creating a live experience or something new and artistic. Seems to be open with parties on both sides. I like both methods and it will sort it self out, I hope.



[This message has been edited by sspears (edited 01-28-2003).]

It may be CPRM and not CPPM, I forget. (CSS2)

It's CPPM (Content Protection for Prerecorded Media).

Regards,