Meridian Unplugged - Powered by MrTechGuy.co.uk Forums Discussion Meridian - Streaming 218 Upgrade

Hi Everyone,

I am fairly new to Meridian, a few month ago I picked up a 218 to get into Roon streaming. It's really a great DAC for the price. I have since upgraded my system and could benefit from a more advanced DAC.

What would be a step up from the 218 in the Meridian line up? Looking at alternatives there are only a handful of DAC + streamers out there.

Thanks!

Next up the Meridian line would be the 818v3.

Thanks, I was just looking at the 818v3 and was hoping there was something in between 218 and 818. Spending that much on a DAC takes things into a new tier group.

It would be easier to justify if I had a full Meridian system. I really like the smoothness of Meridian, maybe still worth demoing. Bummer they haven’t updated the 818v3 in a while.

Look at secondhand, here in the U.K. an 818v3 can be had for around £3k - £4k, less if it is an upgraded v1 or v2, not sure how it is in the US.

Units currently for sale used in the US are 6 to 7 thousand.

This is a decent endpoint for digital streaming, plus a pre-amp (don’t really need that if you’ve got digital output). The price doesn’t really fit in there does it?

What about an 818 v1 or v2? This option should be a lot cheaper than the v3, but still a bump above the 218.

I upgraded to the V3 earlier this year based on reviews and feedback here and was quite taken aback by the step up in quality from the MC. The 818v3 is a spectacular endpoint.

Thanks everyone! The 218 is great, very smooth and detailed, but I feel lacks the body and soundstage I get with even my Marantz 8805 pre/pro. I am almost positive a linear power supply, DAC per channel, etc. would help.

I am sure the 818v3 would fit the bill, but my hesitation with spending $6-7K is that it seems a bit dated with Sooloos development being stopped. I listen to Tidal MQA through Roon, so the older models wouldn't work so well with my setup. Was hoping to find some thing <$4K.

I think I remember mention previously that the 218 sits between the MS200 and MS600 for sound quality, so perhaps a used MS600? The gains may be modest though, I can't imagine that it would be a significant step up from the 218, but possibly more so on the analogue outputs?

Cheers

George

The 818v3 is an amazing machine. I’d be surprised if you could pick up a second hand one for £3-£4k, but it’s worth the extra if you can justify the expense.

I sold my 818v3 (not an upgraded v1,v2) 2 years ago for £4k, so I think the price is pretty accurate.

Thanks @Mr Meridian, I took a look at the MS600. I would consider it, but realized I would lose MQA and, as you mentioned, not sure it will be a large enough step up to the 218.

Sound like the 818v3 would be a major step up, I will try to demo it with my local dealer!