Meridian Unplugged - Powered by MrTechGuy.co.uk Forums Discussion Meridian - Systems Seeking guidance on building a Meridian system

Hello and Happy Holidays from a newbie to the forum. In fact, I’m new to Meridian and new to streaming. I have wanted to rip my CDs to a server for some time, but I was daunted by trying to figure out which file format was best, which software to use, which electronics to use, etc. On top of that, the thought of having to rip all of my CDs (around 1,500 of ‘em) was even more daunting. Nonetheless, I had been slowly gathering steam for this effort and now I am finally ready to dive in!

I have a Classé system and with the recent news that the Classé brand was being discontinued I have been looking for a brand upon which to build my new system. My Classé SSP-75 was probably going to be replaced anyway, but the demise of the Classé brand hastened things.

Last week I was in a high end audio store and the dealer played for me a system with a Meridian 818v3 Audio Core. I was blown away! He said the 818 was functioning as the streamer, DAC and preamp. Not only did the 818 sound amazing, but streaming Tidal via Roon was eye-opening. I could have access to a nearly unlimited collection of high resolution music without having to rip all of my CDs. [On a side note, is the Tidal hi-rez collection as “unlimited” as the dealer was telling me?]

I am just about ready to pull the trigger and buy the 818v3, but at this price it is a major commitment. So I wanted to ask you all for some guidance, especially since even within the Meridian brand there so many different alternatives: 818, 861, 808 among the flagship products as well as the option of pairing a G65 surround processor with an MC200 media core.

My basic question is this: If you were assembling a system from scratch (with a budget of around $15,000 give or take) which piece(s) would you start with?

Two additional parameters . . .

(1) I listen to music in 2-channel stereo, but I also like to use 5-channel surround for movies and TV. So, a big concern for me with the 818v3 is that it is strictly 2-channel. How would I incorporate 5-channel surround into a system based on the 818? The dealer said I would have to use the 818 as a DAC only and then feed the 818’s analog output to a pre/pro or surround processor. But to me that seems like a waste of the 818’s high-end preamp capabilities. After I spend most of my budget on the 818v3, any preamp that I could afford (or sticking with my current Classé SSP-75 pre/pro) won’t be as good a preamp as the 818. If I were going to go this route and not use the 818’s preamp section, couldn’t I just get an 808 instead of an 818? Besides the preamp section, does the 818v3 have any other advances over the 808v6?

(2) I think I want to have MQA capability. I don’t know much about MQA, but from what the dealer told me, it sounds like MQA could be great and I would like my new equipment to have that capability. The Meridian 861v8 would solve the problem of me wanting 5-channels, but I’m told that the 861 does not have MQA capability. Should that be a deal-breaker for the 861? Is MQA that good, or potentially that good, that I should rule out the 861? Plus, I have not listened to an 861. How does an 861 sound compared to an 818? [Just in 2-channel stereo, to compare apples to apples.]

Lastly, and this might be sacrilegious on a Meridian forum (in which case, I apologize, I mean no disrespect), are there other brands that I need to consider before making such a big monetary commitment to a Meridian-based system? I was truly awed by the sound of the Meridian 818 in the dealer’s showroom and I’m sure I won’t be disappointed, but at this price point are there other brands that I should audition?

Thanks in advance for any insight and guidance that you all can provide.

Regards,
Doug

Doug,

Welcome to the forum. I’m going to suggest for streaming you need to look at Roon Labs for streaming your music. Roon is a spin out from Meridian (Sooloos) and works with Meridian hardware as well as many other manufacturers’ equipment.

To use Roon you need to have your music stored somewhere on your network (on a NAS or USB drive) and a “Core” which many of us run on a dedicated computer. To store your CDs you need to rip to a lossless format. FLAC is popular, and a programme such as dBpoweramp is very popular for this. XLD on a Mac is also a good system.

Others will chip in on other hardware issues. Main thing is to let your ears decide.

Thanks, dpstjp.

I will eventually get around to ripping all of my CDs in a lossless format, but that task is daunting. I'm guesstimating that it will take me around 500 hours.

That Meridian dealer that I met with last week made it seem like any album I might want to listen to is already available through Tidal (via Roon) so I wouldn't need to rip my CDs. A subscription to Tidal would give me access to just about all of the albums in my CD collection, plus a whole lot more.

Is the Tidal library really as extensive as the Meridian dealer made it sound?

As they don't provide roadmaps for their future product developments, it's an expensive leap of faith to invest in an 861. I'd have a quick peruse of the thread asking whether the 861 is a dead end. I own it and love it but, starting from scratch and knowing the 271 is on the way, I'd likely go for the 818 and then 271 and a more capable surround processor later as funds allowed.

The 271's existence could be taken as an admission by M that they no longer wish to (or can't afford to) keep up in the ever evolving surround sound arena and, if that's the case, whither the 861? We don't even know yet whether it'll get MQA.

Check the Meridian 218.

1500 CDs (about a tenth of what I've ripped in the past few years) will not take you 500 hours unless you are doing it wrong.

Tidal is very impressive but doesn't have everything. There are many reasons to rip your CDs. For one thing, you know you are getting pure bit-perfect digital, with no watermarking - troublesome on Tidal. For another Tidal, and indeed all streaming, may die a death one day. So at least plan to rip bit by bit (hahaha), even if Tidal bears the load at the start.

MQA high resolution is indeed extensive on Tidal (and devoid of audible watermarking, to my knowledge and ears), but that shouldn't be your only reason to use it.

Finally, about the 818. It's a wonderful machine. I've had it since v2 and run it with all sorts of Meridian speakers from D33 to 8000SE and it is always the best sound I can get from my Meridian gear. I've also run it parallel with a Meridian surround system which worked fine. I wouldn't hesitate.

(Disclaimer: an 818 update could be due, just a guess based on rough intervals in the past, but they are generally reasonably priced and worthwhile. It's usually a matter of swapping some cards in the back.)

Finally, your question about brands is entirely reasonable, but I personally have nothing to add. The only other brand of digital I've had (dCS) was a lot more expensive than Meridian. I consider the Meridian 818 to be a good value machine.

Thanks, Ruben.

Many thanks, dBrowne & Ludwig!

Ludwig, if you don't mind me asking, when you were running your 818 parallel with a Meridian surround processor, which surround processor did you use and how did you have the two machines connected? The local Meridian dealer has tried to explain this type of setup to me, but I have not yet been able to get my head around it.

When you say that an update might be due soon, do you mean from 818v3 to an 818v4? Based on typical previous upgrades how much might it cost to upgrade an 818v3 to an 818v4?

I will be very relieved if ripping my CDs takes significantly less than 500 hours. I was guesstimating 20 minutes per disc to put the disc into my computer, wait for it to load, download the CD information, do any minor edits that might be required to the CD information, rip the disc in lossless format, then repeat the process with some inevitable lost time in between discs when I'm not immediately ready to put the next disc in.

If the ripping process is significantly faster than expected, I might get it done in as little as 200 hours, but that will still take me many months (if not a year or more) in my spare time. I will definitely stream from Tidal quite heavily at first.

Meridian DSP speakers generally have 2 digital inputs. The system has configurable sources, and you can plug an 818 and 861 into the two inputs and configure sources to use one or the other.

Careful, I said "could" and that it was a "guess". I wouldn't go as far as "might"! I think v2-v3 was £1500 or so but you could look it up. Check out the link "Duncan's Meridian Info" above for price lists.

Unfortunately, I don't have Meridian speakers, so I won't be able to use that type of parallel setup.

Ripping your CD collection is not as daunting as it seems. My wife and I ripped 1000 discs over a long weekend using 4 laptops and dBpoweramp.

I had heard recently that Classe had been purchased so maybe it has a new life ahead.

The 818v3 is a brilliant piece of equipment. They can be has second hand or off dealer demo for around $7k

Running an 818v3 analog out to any SSP that has direct or analog bypass will get you some pretty good MQA.

To make the most of your budget, you may want to consider buying used or dealer demo. For $15k you could probably get an 818v2 and some nice digital Meridian speakers all second hand.