Meridian Unplugged - Powered by MrTechGuy.co.uk Forums Discussion Meridian - Systems Is 800 competitive as a CD player?

I ask this question as an owner of an 800 player, but also as someone who has not really kept up with progress on the CD transport front. Frankly my 800 gets very little use anymore - probably 95% of 2ch is done via Sooloos and most Mch via my Oppo 93 - so I'm wondering whether selling and replacing with a downmarket unit such as the PS Audio memory player mightn't actually give me better performance on those rare occasions that all for spinning two channels? Thoughts welcome.

Can't really answer the direct question, but, I have no intention of investing in a disc spinner ever again. It takes so little time to get a new CD into Sooloos (even via dBpa) that I never feel the need.

If the 800 gets so little use then maybe release it into the wild and live without. If you really find the need to spin a disc then look at the options and consider whether it is worth the investment.

Have you tried taking an SPDIF output from the Oppo into your 861. You could set up a phantom input so that when you played a CD in the Oppo, it avoids HDMI.

For occasional 2 channel audio use I found the Oppo fine, as long as I avoid using HDMI.

Cheers
Greg

I rip all my CD's and BD and DVD's.. Only 3D BD remain todo.
SACD's I avoid because they can't easily be ripped.

I will not invest in spinners anymore either. Oppo remains the limit. Kudos to M for pushing the digital realm forward!

+1....... Just need 5.1 Sooloos

I think all the responses simply reinforce what I have long suspected is should do, but have been loath to pull the trigger. The 5% of the time I play CD it is either because I want to listen to something that has not yet been loaded onto Sooloos, or it's a new disc that I am evaluating for worthiness. Greg, your suggestion about SPDIF from the Oppo is a good one.

Good suggestion. When I first got my Oppo I still had the non-apodizing 861v4 so found HDMI via HD621 comparable to SPDIF, but now with v6 avoiding HDMI makes sense again. Has been a while since I poked around in the Oppo settings, do you have to switch between HDMI and coax out, or is the latter always active?

Hi Simon,
Do you have many DVD-A Discs with Multi-Channel Tracks?

If so, I still find the 800 to have a very noticeable advantage over the Oppo 93 for these recordings, and as I have a lot of these, I still hold onto the 800 but YMMV.

I sold my 800 as once I got the Sooloos I never played a CD again. Multi channel DVD-A discs are good enough through the Oppo or ripped via the Dune ( need to get my HD621 back though). The Sooloos handles 2 channel rips fine.

Don't regret selling the 800.

It looks better then a Oppo that is a big advantage

I can give you a pretty direct comparison, as I had a loan 800 to replace my 808.2i while mine was in for repair, into 5200s, and I also ran an Oppo BDP-93 through the same setup (coax-in through the 800).

The 800 was considerably better than the Oppo in a side-by-side comparison - it was smoother, more refined and cleaner, especially in the upper registers, and more organic in the bass. I also found it to be a more organic, natural looking DVD player, but that's a different story.

It was well worth running the Oppo through it coax, to my ears too, but you'd have to try it and see what you think! I can't see the thread now I'm replying, but are you analogue out, or using DSPs?

All that said, though, whether it's worth hanging onto if you're only very occasionally spinning a disc before loading it into Sooloos? Hm, only you can decide!

The Oppo seems fine for CDs via SPDIF and SACDs via HD621. [For more critical listening I use my 808.3 in another room.] But for SPDIF I go via the 861v6 rather than direct to the 8ks. I am sure some would prefer the direct route.