Meridian Unplugged - Powered by MrTechGuy.co.uk Forums Discussion Meridian - Systems 861v8 - still a good buy?

Hi Struttmaster,

Looking at the photos of the cards installed on Gumtree, I am not sure on what criteria this 861 model qualifies as a v8?

Cards from left to right are as follows;
IA04
OA18
OA18
OE14
IE44
CO00
ID40

The SpeakerLink OE14 output card is a v6 card which was upgraded to the OE34 SpeakerLink card with the v8 upgrade. Also the obligatory v8 ID29 card is absent.

According to Duncan's Meridian Info for the 861 model progression, I think it is safe to describe this 861 as a v6 model, unless I am missing something?

Cheers,
Steve M

Thank you for all the insight and help - the M community is a very friendly place

After a conversation with my dealer, I have decided to go for a new 861.8 and trust that M will be a fair company (which apparently they always have been), if and when the replacement will be released.

Work on the basis of "if"

The new Trinnov Altitude 16 is just about to come out (official announcement tomorrow at CEDIA) at the same kind of price as the 861v8. If it's like the 32 it will have digital out and be Roon Ready. It does Atmos etc and is meant to be good at music and movies. If you want to use it with DSPs hook it up to a 271. Kind of makes the 861v8 + ID41 look like a dodo.

The Trinnov is a very sophisticated piece of kit and it is primarily a film processor. If you are not into the whole Dolby Atmos setup and prefer to stick with the 5.1/7.1 music surround setup, then a Meridian 861 can't really be beaten in my opinion. It is wonderfully transparent, very musicality and is easy to use for both film and music.

Thanks for the clarification Steve.

Cheers,
Andrew

I am told that Trinnov is a fantastic processor for Home Theatre use. However, if Music and Home Theatre is of equal importance & one can live with a 7.1 setup, the 861 is apparently still the machine to go....

It s a leap of faith in Meridian on my part...hope they don't disappoint

Even an 861v4 with LPS is still a very good processor for non Atoms materials.

When comparing the Trinnov to an 861v8 let's make sure the apples are being compared to apples.

The Trinnov carries an onboard 4k HDMI switch, it has vastly superior room correction, channels can be separated out within the processor with crossover points to facilitate biamping and triamping, remote diagnostics, setup and software updates, very quick to market product updates.

When the current HDMI standard was finalized, Trinnov owners had updates pushed out within hours. As the Trinnov does it's magic in software, it has great advantages over processors that are chip based.

The 861 is a great beast, I own one, but as funds allow, it is going to be replaced.

I've lived with the 861 for several years and the Trinnov Altitude 32 for about a month now. I would consider it a retrograde step to go back to the 861 now. The Trinnov is so precice and articulate in its delivery of both film amd music and the room correction is so effective. Also, you have so much control over the target curve for your listening room.

The Trinnov sounds like it's incredibly impressive, probably as it should be for the price.

Put it this way - I've spent my 'new toy' money for the whole year and a long way into next