Meridian Unplugged - Powered by MrTechGuy.co.uk Forums Discussion Meridian - Systems 568 upgrade to MKII status worth the money?

I have an early UK unit (#17!) and I believe I even posted the first audioreview.com review of it! A great piece of equipment it is, that I still feel no need to change.

However, I recently bought a 598 and am now interested in the MKII upgrade path, more for the enhanced DSP than the Smartlink & DVD-A side of things.

Can anyone who has actually gone through with the part- or full upgrade let me know their thoughts on whether it's worth the money? I run crap rear speakers (which I need to upgrade) but rarely run 5 channel music programmes.

I don't currently feel incentivised to make a commitment to DVD-A for all of the obvious reasons either.

Thanks in advance to anyone who has actually made this upgrade who can advise (not speculate).

Regards

Paul

Have you seen enough DVD-A discs you are interested in? That's my rule of thumb, which right now = no. I also think it's rubbish to spend so much just to be cut off from SACD.

I'm going for a new 568.2 unit and have to decide between the 568.2 and the 568.2MM

As I have a DVD 596 I won't be having any DVD-A discs in the near future. I will upgrade my 596 as soon as the chroma bug has been solved which may take some time.

I guess it is best to go for the 568.2 without DVD-A I'll be saving US$ 770.- for something I don't need at the moment.

Meridian really gives us a hard time

...while you wait for the chroma bug to be fixed (when?), don't forget that the 596 is only upgradable in the next 6 months. You'd better check when the bug will be fixed.

Thanks for the hint, I didn't know that.

Does this also mean that the 596 will be discontinued?

ncpl - there was another thread on "limited time upgrades". has anyone gotten an official, actual confirmation of this?

i believe the 596 is already discontinued in favor of the 598.

doody.

Is the 568 to 568.2 upgrade even available yet. When dores the clock start ticking on the 6 month upgrade period?

What's a 568.2MM?

The 568.2MM has an additional SMART LINK connection for six discrete channels comming from the 598 DVD player. The connection is done with a standard 75 Ohm SVGA computer monitor cable.

I did get confirmation from HQ last week that the time limit would apply to the 596 upgrade only. The 568 upgrade is not impacted.

I think this has significant impact to any 596 owners who are (or were) thinking about upgrades in the future. Although it makes sense that the 598 should supercede the 596...simply as it does the same and more...after the upgrade window is closed, the re-sale market for 596 will be very poor. This will make it very hard to sell a 596 which is then your only route to 598. It seems to me to be quite inconsistent with previous upgrade strategies.


[This message has been edited by ncpl (edited 02-02-2003).]

Paul,

I have not done the upgrade, but exchanged my 568 for a 568.2 through an arrangement with my dealer.
There is a noticable sound improvement, especially when using Trifield. I would suggest you borrow a 568.2 to 'try this at home'.

Regarding the SmartLink part, I would like to do some speculation:

HDMI is probably going to be the industry standard for digital audio/video connections.
When this happens Meridian will implement it. For the 800/861 this means new cards.
For the 568 it means it will replace the SmartLink connector. Literally, given the layout of the backpanel.
I suppose there will also be a 562v.4 to offer HDMI-switching.

Having an HDMI standard will also mean there are more devices offering this.
So if you are interested in DVD-A, you might get a cheap-ish Brand-X player with HDMI to see if you like the format. If you do, you can go for the 598 which will then probably also offer HDMI-out. Maybe even for video as well...

However: SmartLink is here now, HDMI is just on its way and may take a year to fully break through.

Regards,
Mark

New panelLink cinema ICs will enable consumers to buy HDMI-enabled home theater
equipment in mid-2003
http://www.HDMI.org/press/release_010903_3.asp

I spoke with a dealer today and the 568.2 /.2MM upgrades are now available, beginning Feb 1 and ending July 31st, 2003. The upgrade price from a 568 to 568.2MM was quoted at $2,000. The upgrade will be done in Atlanta, and they are quoting a 4 week timeframe.

Any additional comments on those that may have gotten the upgrade or been able to compare the upgraded unit to the base 568, would be appreciated.