Meridian Unplugged - Powered by MrTechGuy.co.uk Forums Discussion Meridian - Streaming 218 or wait for 210?

Hi everyone.

I guess there is a big shift in how we experience music, going toward simpler and easier way (Airplay, Bluetooth) at the expense of the degradation in sound quality.

Anyway, I was very excited about this 210 streamer because it will bring more simple music experience. I enjoy simple airplay as much as high quality sounding music. The link here shows many of my efforts to go airplay without much degrade in sound.. years back.. Airplay with DSP.

So simply, I am excited because 210 will be able bring me airplay. But, it is taking too long, and I just checked with dealer here in my country, and he is doubtful about importing 210 streamer because there won't be enough demand. He recommends 218 instead.

My question is... will there be any difference in sound quality if I go Airplay with (Airport Express) - (optical) - (218) or simply 210?

Oh, and additional question is... what more do I get if I go from MS200 (now) to 218 do I lose anything?

Thank you so much!

It might be more practical to import a 210 directly from the UK.

The 210 should be available by the end of this month.

AirPlay will always be limited/truncated to 16/48.

The 210 is ‘Roon Ready’ - and since you already have Roon, why would you prefer AirPlay (other than streaming to the 210 from your iPhone)?

You can directly connect your NUC to the USB input on the 210.

Thank you very much for the comment.

Although I have Roon (started in 2015 as many of members here) and enjoying it fully, there are limitations when it comes to streaming Korean music sources, K-Pop. For the latest K-pop music, as well as other new releases, my options are limited to using the iPad / iPhone apps (such as Bugs or Melon) and then to the Airplay.

So you are suggesting that I should wait for 210 streamer... dealer offered 30% discount on 218, which is tempting but I guess I will wait and see.

Thank you.

I am still trying to decide if I go with 218 or 210 for my audio end-point upgrade. No money for both.. (cheap cheap)

218 is definitely an upgrade for increasing input/output perspective, but is it really an upgrade from MS200 in terms of music quality? (non-MQA)

210 is not out yet, but would it be any better quality music than 218 (changing Sooloos to RAAT? (at least in theory?) or equal?

It would be better to ask this question once the product is released, but wanted to get some view from the experts here.

Simply, playing to Meridian DSP, my simplified assessment of music quality of source is this...

ID41 >> ID40 >= MS600 > MS200 > (core+store sources, MCs, Controls, etc.) Where do 218 and 210 fit in?

Thank you so much~

Oh.. this is pretty clear.. thank you for sharing this information!