Meridian Unplugged - Powered by MrTechGuy.co.uk Forums Discussion Meridian - Systems Real life Meridian configurations....

As the happy owner of my first Meridian component (DVD/CV 596) with which I'm extremely impressed. I'd like to move towards more Meridian gear as budget allows. Along the way a number of compromises will have to made as I simply cannot go the whole hog in one big buy. It's not possible to wheel my current speakers and amp (Mission 774s, 773s, Kef THX centre and Yamaha A1 ) into my Meridian dealer in order to listen to the 568 decoder (the A1 working as a power amp), then DSP5000, DSP5000c then DSP33 rears. I was wondering what Meridian users where actually really using (other than those lucky few with 800 series and DSP8000 speakers) along thier upgrade paths?
Thanks in advance.
PS. I'm in the UK (and France!) so lesser known US kit is probably unknown, butI do read Steriophile.

Addendum:
I listen to Classic and ambient music most, 75% and love DVD film with lots big bassy bangs the rest of the time. I have no interest in DVD-A or SACD at the moment (would have waited for the 598 otherwise!).

my first Meridian stuff was a 500/518/566 setup that i ran straight into an acurus amp to my b&w speakers.

i was so smitten i listened around and ended up tightening ye olde belt and went for broke.

so i'm not sure i can be too helpful for you EXCEPT to say that you can assemble a stellar Meridian system from used gear and dealer demo gear. audiogon.com has a vibrant Meridian marketplace, and the bigger Meridian dealers have great www sites and usually have some nice stuff available.

good luck.

sab

I've used hifi equipment from most of the major suppliers at the budget end of the market (arcam, kef, b&w, mission, rotel, marantz) and over the years refined the systems to my preferences and ears.

As I moved from low to mid-fi I demo'd lots of 'hi-fi' (the likes of Sonus Faber, Mark Levinson, AVI, Conrad-Johnson, etc etc) and found that very similar performance could be had at the mid-fi level (law of dimishing returns and all that). However the speakers remained the element which showed-up the most when compromising on price/performance (as every unit ultimately is, it just depends on your preferences) and - in defining the benchmarks for speakers the route towards active, then digital - seemed to always head in the direction of Meridian.

Meanwhile I moved into the world of 5.1 AV and demo'd alot of processors and found most of them wanting (sorry but Tag, Lexicon and Theta all give me a hard 'digital' edge) but the Meridian units were head-&-shoulders-better (and still are to my mind) the only ones with an almost 'analogue' sound to their processing. I therefore went for the 562v/565 combo and haven't regretted it for a moment.

The same couldn't be said of the Meridian speakers (dsp5k) which I eventually bought. Despite them being what I had always wanted (and the reason I demo'd their processors) I could only live with them for a year. The slam, impact, bass, and POWER were all there in abundance but I missed the high frequency detail, soundstaging and sense of 'space' I had become accustomed to from my 'hi-end' listening. I therefore returned to analogue for the amp/speaker combo (in my case rotel/martin logan's with a view to going bryston eventually) and the difference was night-and-day.

With that caveat - ie.Meridian SPEAKERS are not necessarily as good as other equipment in their price bracket - I would say that their processors remain the VERY BEST available on the market, and their transports are definitely up there AMONG the best.

Happy listening !

[This message has been edited by ijw (edited 05-11-2001).]

i have a 561 with an aragon 8008 power amp and magnapan 3.6 speakers in front - a martin logan center channel - two gallo subwoofers and a mcintosh set of rear speakers. i love it. i used to have a magnapan center channel but it wasn't great. i listened to the Meridian speakers and didn't love them

I listen mainly to music but wanted surround sound too. I have a 561 processor, M60 fronts, M33c Centre and M33 rear surrounds. The sound is awesome considering what I paid. All my equipment is ex-demo. The M60s were �1500 (�2500 new), 561 �2000 (�2850), M33c �550 (�775) and M33's �899 (�1500). I listened to the DSP speakers and didn't personally think they warranted the extra outlay over the equivalent non DSP actives. Likewise the 568; I'm sure it's better than the 561 but at �3800 plus the cost of a 562v I personally didn't think it was worth the extra cost.

I own a 861 and a 558. For my 7.1 setup (kef speakers) i will buy a 2nd 558.
i started with a Yamaha 2070 which i did upgrade with 5 channel input for AC-3 (back in the LD area) Although expensive, i never regretted buing Meridian gear.

Jaco

I have a 568, 596, 5K's l/c/r and Difinitive technology speakers at the rear.

I started with a DSP-A1, but once I heard the Meridian processor I had to get it, I also think that Meridian processors are the most musical available. I want to buy a 861 at some point, wife permitting(-:

I am very happy with the 5K's.

Martin.

I'm 50/50 Music / Movies.
System consists of Sony 7700 DVD, 565 processor, Rotel THX power amp, M&K speakers all round along with the M&K 350THX subwoofer.

I went this route after listening to a LOT of speakers (some cheaper, some more expensive). I was not happy with the way most 'large' speakers reproduced bass. It was a revelation to me upon hearing the M&K setup properly with a reference level subwoofer.

New amplification is next for me... or possibly active speakers. I must say that I did like the 6Ks when I heard them, but these are too expensive (for me) for something a little better IMO. I much preferred them to the B&W 802s, mainly because of the bass reproduction. This is definitely a 'taste' thing though. I'm keen to try the DSP33s or active M&K LCRs with my sub, as I think this may give me exactly what I'm after. If not, the Rotel goes in favour of something more 'tasty'.

Mark

My system prior to the latest round of upgrade-fever, consisted of: Sony KV-32XBR100 tv, DVP-S7000 DVD, B&K AVP-1030 pre/pro, AV-5000 amp, B&W Matrix 804/HTM across the front, Cambridge Soundworks Ensemble for the rears and Sunfire True Subwoofer (the original).

In the last 5 months I have:

1) Replaced the TV with a Pioneer Elite 510

2) Replaced the rears with B&W Matrix 805's

3) Replaced the sub with 1 SV20-39CS sub and Samson S700 amp

4) Added the ART351 EQ to the sub

5) Added a 2nd SV20-39CS

6) Replaced the B&K gear with Meridian 568, 562v.2, 596 and 558


That last step sure was the big one. I have to say I'm pretty happy with the resulting line-up of gear.

Of course, my upgrade fever hasn't quite broken yet, as this past weekend I went out and was auditioning various Aerial Acoustics speaker packages as possible replacements for the B&W's! Argh, will it never cease!?

Last night I was demo-ing Toy Story 2 for a friend and bottomed-out my SV subs at a measely volume level of -10dB on the 568. I do run my subs hot by about 4-5dB, so my solution to this embarassment is to either lower the sub calibration or pick up another pair of SV20-39's, not sure yet which way I'll go!

Regards,

Dan W.

I have an older Meridian system comprising of the 500/562V/565 (yes, ole 565 no DTS)/DSP6000/DSP5000C, and via an old Kenwood amp into Cambridge Soundworks surrounds.

I retired from active high end audio some 5 years ago with this Meridian system, which I use with a Sony DVP-S7000 (original version with the famous switches) and a soon to be replaced Sony VPH1000Q projector for both audio and video.

I used to be an upgrade a month audiophile junkie...latest system before converting to Meridians was the Esoteric P2 transport/Wadia 2000 (monster 7 piece system)/Jadis pre-power amps (Defy DP60/Defy 7) and Wilson Audio WATT-3/Puppy.

I found the DSP6k, especially with the rest of the system in Trifield mode to be better in resolution, soundstaging and imaging than most systems I have heard. Highly recommended!

861 processor, four 5500s for front and rear surrounds, three 5000Cs for center and side surrounds, Velodyne HGS-18 for LFE, Sony 7700 DVD player, Crystal-Image scaler, Dukane 9015 D-ILA projector, 66" X 122" (1.85 ratio) Stewart screen, motorized red velvet drapes, Acoustic Innovations home theater seats, popcorn machine, etc., etc .. Anyone in the Los Angeles area is welcome to come over for a demo ... just e-mail me