Meridian Unplugged - Powered by MrTechGuy.co.uk Forums Discussion Meridian - Systems 861v8 somehow lost stereo capability

I went to listen to some music tonight and was surprised to find that it all sounded mono. It seems the music is coming through all the speakers equally so it sounds like it is coming through the center speaker. Even the surrounds seem to be louder than they should. I recently upgraded to v8 and have been enjoying it with no problems until tonight. I have powered everything on and off, rebooted the PC but all to no avail. Tried several different uPnP renderers...same result.

The music is played via a PC connected via USB direct to the 861. I haven't listened to music for about a week (been watching movies and TV... which go through an HD621) but nothing has been touched or changed. Any ideas on what happened and how to remedy?

Thanks,
John

Which preset shows on the display on the 861?
Does the sound change when you select another preset?

Robert

Hi,

Best to check if the DSP preset is correct and also double check your PC's setup. If that yields nothing then consider re-typing and then re-loading the 861's configuration.

If that fails, then re-load the 861's firmware (v8.0) and the retype and load configuration again.

Regards,
Carl

Doesn't all speakers on equally = Party Mode?

However, I've no idea how this could have been set "on".

Party mode is only available on the MONO preset.

I have Party Mode enabled on my system setup, works well for parties where you just want to flood a room with sound with an even SPL distribution.

Regards,
Carl

Well I've re-typed the unit and reloaded my config. No good. Sound still coming equally from all speakers. I tried other DSPs and get the same. Seems to be OK via HD621.

Have I somehow fried my unit (or at least the USB card?) I've double checked to ensure I have the latest USB driver. I'm getting a little worried!

Thanks,
John

Add a Digital Coax or Toslink source to your config. Does it still happen? If not, then its definitely the USB input. You could try another PC or the Analogue outputs from your current one.

M

Once again

Which preset shows on the display on the 861?
Does the sound change when you select another preset?

Robert

The display says PC Music 72. I have also tried PC Trifield to no effect. I have reattached my old USB to digital converter and plugged it in to a new PC2 source and have the same issue! It plugs in to a different card than the direct Meridian USB connection.

So this points to the PC? It doesn't appear to be a USB port issue and the PC and PC2 are plugged into different ports. It's wierd as nothing has changed on that PC.

Thanks,
John

I don't think it does point to the PC. What happens when you play a 2 channel audio track via a HD621 connected source?

Please note what DSP preset is selected.

Regards,
Carl

PS if you what a second pair of eyes to check your .msl file email it over to me.

OK I have hooked up an old soundcard that was in the pc so I am going digital coax from pc to 861 and USB isn't involved at all. Same issue. And as I said before this new connection is to a different card than the USB connection. I am trying to contact my dealer and see if I can get the firmware to try and reinstall that. I played a CD through my Bluray player that goes through the HD621 and same issue. Something to do with stereo?
John

Hi John,

Can you run calibration and step through the speakers in turn to check the test tone is coming from each speaker correctly?

You find calibration button under the flap, press it while in standby to activate, and step through the speakers with the cursor keys under the flap.
No need to go all the way through the calibration process, just turn it off once you've checked all speakers give a tone when it says they should on the display.

Rick