Meridian Unplugged - Powered by MrTechGuy.co.uk Forums Discussion Meridian - Systems Which Other Meridian CD player Come Close To 808.

At the moment I can't afford the Highly rated 808 but wanted to know what other stand alone Meridian CD player would do the job.

Some folks are buying the Toshiba HD DVD player not only for HD DVDs but as an audiophile CD player.

Below is a post from the High Def Forum:

http://www.highdefforum.com/showthread.php?t=25018

Your link is no good maan.Now it's OK MAAN.

Never really considered the 808 myself as it does not handle multi-channel DVD-A - so went with a used 800v4 which sounds as good to my ear.

Also, previously owned a G98 with which I had no problems and sounded great. Not quite as good as the 800 series players, but pretty close - and a wee bit cheaper.

No wanting to sound a snob, but I didn't bother reading past the bit in the first post that described Cambridge and Marantz as high end.

I would like to know what sonic improvements the 808 makes over an 800(v4) as a digital transport. I'm really struggling to thing of possible mechanisms to improve the data stream (but then I'm not an electronic engineer...).

Me think Meridian using this new thing.

http://news.com.com/2100-1006_3-6124451.html

G'Day...

Going back to the original question: alternative Meridian CD players to the 808? 800 if you really want DVD video as well. Otherwise, none! Because once you've really listened to the 808, IMHO, you won't go back !! (That assumes decent gear at the back end, of course, and preferably DSP's).

I had a 602/603/605 setup into a pair of Spendor S100's for a LONG time and was very happy... Changing that lot for the 602 directly into a pair of 5.5k's made one hell of a difference in detail and clarity. Nirvana (no pun intended) I thought.

I've listened to 500 series and G series transports both in the original "passive" setup and also with the DSP's. The 808 is the only machine I'd heard on demo that I actually was prepared to spend $$$'s on compared to the "native" 602..... and even the first few hours of unpacking the beast confirmed that decision for me in spades. the 5.5k's are "big" speakers, but they effectively "disappear" when the 808 replaced the 602. The soundstage is seamless; incredibly detailed, rock-steady and extends beyond the speakers themselves. The balance of the sound is greatly improved (yeah - it was pretty bloody good anyway) - the blend between the mid and treble is far smoother, far "sweeter" and lacks that "gloss" that is prevalent in a lot of digital rendition. Bass was never lacking in the 5.5's - and it's still there, albeit faster and far better controlled. If anything, it's considerably more solid. Even at low volumes, you feel it's presence without the walls being rattled off their foundations.

Female vocal is far more breathy; piano (ie the real ones!) sounds as though the hammers have hard felt heads (which of course they do) rather than solid hammers...

Perhaps even more impressive is the amount of detail that this animal extracts from "good" red book CD's.....I find myself re-listening to stuff, simply because I'm hearing detail that just wasn't there before.

Was it a good "spend"?? Without a shadow of a doubt. Imagine all the BEST aspects of vinyl through a topfilght SUPEX or better? Blend that with all the BEST aspects of RBCD...... THAT'S what Uncle Bob and his team has achieved. So heaven alone knows what it'd sound like through 8k's !!!!!!

Don't get me wrong - the G's are tremendous pieces of kit, particularly when compared to non-M offerings, but to my ears at least, I preferred the sound of the 602 which lacked the "glare" and hardness that IMHO comes through on some of the later kit.

And to pick up on V-K's point as to what makes it different to the 800 - I don't know. I'm a Red Book dinosaur so haven't compared the two side by side. But an e-mail from Mr Bob himself declared the 808 circuitry thus "....part of the reason 808/i is such a good CD player is we made sure that it was only doing one thing, well."

But whatever you choose, R-A, ENJOY !! Good luck.

George.

George. Have you compared a G08 in upsampling mode vs. an 808 in a blind test and in an all digital (i.e. DSP speaker) system? Just curious.

If your speakers are analogue, then I expect significant differences.

Hi V-K,

Yes - and the difference was very clear. I'm afraid it clarified my view that it was either the 808 or staying with the 602 and not spending the cash !! To my ears at least, it was as clear-cut as that.

Geo.

Interesting. As I said before, I'd love to know WHY...

I think it's made by hand compare to 800. :rolleyes: