Meridian Unplugged - Powered by MrTechGuy.co.uk Forums Discussion Meridian - Systems Exciting Opportunity - Meridian HQ Visit

Glad you all had a great day.

I'm going to wager the F80 is some kind of bedside alarm clock.

You could do that Daniel. (Gettting warm)

This is like the 'Give us a clue' game.

Well, apart from thanks to all involved in getting this day out together, what are my main impressions?

- The F80 is a product that must be demonstrated before prospective buyers will "get it". I was certainly surprised at its performance in the more realistic demo given by Bob in a regular sized room. I can't say a lot more until the public release.
- The in-wall speakers are much better than I expected and, for centrally positioned listeners, produce great imaging. I was told by another HHer that off-centre was not so good, however.
- At last, it may be that digital projection has overtaken CRT. The MF1 was certainly very good given the huge screen size. Interestingly, I thought the detail in dark scenes was no better than CRT but the brightness and resolution were very good.
- Meridian don't look lke a company going broke (as was worryingly discussed on this forum) and have clearly invested a lot in the F80. Let's hope that its sales justify their efforts and that they haven't bet the farm on this diversification.

More chat later, I think.

id like to add my thanks to all involved in making this day happen
my interest in Meridian is home theater only , and what we saw and heard yesterday i can see it being in my house forever

if i wasnt so far down the naim/b&w path id have a pair of those 8000 tomorrow

once again thanks

neil

Wonderful day out. Many thanks to Nick (ncpl) for liaising with Meridian/Bob to make this happen.

For those that weren't there, yesterday was piggy-backed on to three days of dealer presentations. Consequently, we had all of the royalty in town including Bob, Alan and several of the top brass from the States.

The F80 is the single most astonishing audio product I have ever come across. Not because it's the ultimate in high fidelity, but because it simply sets out to achieve the very best within the confines of an "impossible" set of physical design parameters. What it achieves is quite astounding. Your first response is to think that it defies the laws of physics, but then you realize that what Bob and the team have done is to push the envelope of what is possible within the those laws.

Put it this way - I play the sax and one of the demo pieces would have convinced me (with my eyes shut) that there was a real sax in the room.

Meridian Audio are so far in front, it's amazing!

Can I just add my thanks to Meridian for putting on a superb day and it was a great pleasure to meet my fellow HHs also.

It was very clear that Meridian have serious ambitions and I think our audio and video aspirations are in very safe hands at Huntingdon. From the spoken words their intentions on video processing and projection seem particularly stretching. They clearly feel they can take the technology and performance onto new levels. The comment about 1080P not being the limit was dropped in several times during the day. If they can deliver equivalent video performance to their audio standards we have much to look forward to.

The wall speaker demonstration re-affirmed my view from the Manchester show that they have a real design and commercial winner on their hands.

To coin a popular phrase "The future's bright, the future's Meridian".

Did I mention I had a great day out yesterday?

Thanks everyone- any sense of a time frame on this F80?

best regards,
Jerry

What a superb day, The Mothership was everything and much more than I anticipated, the hospitality, the people, the whole experience has impressed me more than any other audio manufacturer could, the fact that our knowledge and opinions are highly valued by Meridian is a priceless thing in todays disposable culture.
The F80 was astonishing, and I confidently predict that there will be many new converts/forum members once people get to hear this revolutionary product....

March

2007 ?

I think I've sold 3 F80's already

We'll see the F80 in various boys toys and lifestyle mags in the next week or so.

I'm much with VK in that the F80 is probably the most astonishing thing I've seen/heard for quite a while. It simply defies normal expectation.

Mr Meridian is very kindly working on a write up of the Q&A session and that will be up here as soon as HQ have given him the nod.

It was a great fun day. I'm sure that there'll be another at some point. Well worth the effort if you can get there.

Bob, John, Des, Ed, Rhonda, Robert, and all the team there....thanks for giving up your time.

Brilliant !!

Guys, it was a pleasure to meet you all there, and sincerest thanks to Bob and the team, and Nick for organising the event.

A superb day on many levels. To see such enthusiasm and committment from everyone there was inspirational. The R&D team and technical support staff were all there along with marketing and senior management. There was input throughout the day from all of them, and despite already being a Meridian fan, I left feeling a strengthened bond with the company. (oh dear, I arrived as a fan and left as a Fanboy! )

We were there from 11.00 to 5.00, and despite having over run by an hour (and the M staff having lives to get on with), I'm sure many of us would have happily slept over at the factory, ready to enjoy a second day !

The F80 is an astounding development. I'll be having one. "Ye canny change the laws of Physics, Captain" appears not to apply in this instance. Despite rotating the shield frequency of my wallet, resistance was futile.

The inwall speakers far exceeded my expectations. They are indeed a serious proposition, albeit with some differences to the DSP house sound, down to the ribbon tweeter. I could well imagine having these incorporated in a future set up (as an addition, not a replacement, for the big boys!)

The factory tour was fascinating, and the full theatre dem with 8ks front and rear, 7ks on sides and a 5500 centre was impressive indeed.

So the Q&A? I recorded the session, and will be submitting a transcript for approval before I post back here. But regarding that most contentious of questions...

"Do you really think we're stupid?"

Once again, thanks to all for the tremendous effort which went into really excellent day.

Cheers

George