Meridian Unplugged - Powered by MrTechGuy.co.uk Forums Discussion Meridian - Systems 861 vs MC12 thread, are either "really" needed over 568?

see the following thread please:
http://www.avsforum.com/ubb/Forum3/HTML/005842.html

As a Meridian 568 owner I would like to introduce a tangential question. If the audio quality of the 568 is considered very very close or identical to the 861 by some, and then let's say identical to the MC12 and the existing number of channels and DSP soundfields is considered not lacking by the owner, then does the 568 owner even need to worry about not having an 861 or MC12?
More specifically, how many "audiophiles" would set up a system with more than 7.1 channels? With the 568 I've taken it one step further with a 8.1 set up by doing the Meridian
three fronts, 2 sides, 2 rears, one LFE sub(.1) and using a circle surround decoder from Smart Devices, a rear center channel derived from the rear stereo surround channels. Now that's 8 speakers, 8 channels of amplification, so what that I can't have 12 channels like the MC12 or 16 channels from the 861!! 4 or 8 more speakers and 4 or 8 more channels of amplification plus all that extra cabling that it involves, let alone the lack of space to place these extra channels in an ideal radial pattern! And would anyone really tell whether all their channels are played back at 48khz or upsampled to 96khz? The deficiency of DSP power which won't allow DPLII playback of AC-3 2.0 may be an issue for some and the planned hardware upgrade for the 568 to occur after the 861 upgrade(when and how many thousands of $$$?) is something the owner has to decide if it's worth it. i haven't even done my free DPLII upgrade as I enjoy the other 7.1 multichannel DSP modes already present and usable for AC3-2.0 sources as well as regular PCM 44/1 and 48.0Khz sources.
So more with same quality may not be an issue and the enbedded hardware driven processors like the 568 may be true highend multichannel playback already!

At the end of the day, it all comes down to listening to the various processors and deciding which sounds best.

As to not downloading Pro Logic II, that's something you should address right away - especially if you own any 2.0 Pro Logic encoded Laserdiscs or DVDs !

Hi.
Norm is sending me the diskettes with the latest program and software loaded for the 568 so I can install it on my laptop which I haven't connected to the internet. So I'll install the latest software which comes with the newest 568's. I really don't know if I have any Dolby Prologic 2.0 discs that aren't also DD5.1
For DSS, I'll see how it compares to the Super preset I use!

I have spent quite a bit of time listening to and working with the 568 and 861. I have been asked a lot about the sound comparison between the two, and I must say that I can not hear any difference. What you get with the 861 is more flexibility and a longer life span. But if you are a value oriented person like myself, you have by far the best value with the 568 and IMHO sound quality that is no different then the 861. Lots of folks talk about how limited the 568 is in video switching and that is true. But I am always looking for the best picture quality and would never use a sound processor to run my video through anyway. I always run my video signals directly to the video processing equipment and/or to the display device. So it really does not mater to me that the 568 does not have much in the way of video switching. An 861 will cost 3 times what the 568 will cost once you put the cards in it.
I strongly recommend getting your software upgraded on the 568.

Hope this helps.

Al

That place seems to be a trap set up by those Lexicon'philes ready to jump out and bite your head off the monent you mention "Lexicon sucks."

"how many "audiophiles" would set up a system with more than 7.1 channels? "

Audiophiles don't use more than 2 channels. The extra channels are just a by-product of HT, and we sort of just use the multi-channel modes for music since it is there.


I am still waiting for Meridian to upgrade the 565 with DPLII (and fix all the little bugs that still exists,) but I am not going to upgrade to the 568 just to get that feature.

"how many "audiophiles" would set up a system with more than 7.1 channels? "

Audiophiles don't use more than 2 channels. The extra channels are just a by-product of HT, and we sort of just use the multi-channel modes for music since it is there.

Hello lwang
I guess I should have said just who would set up a system with more than 7.1 or 8.1 channels. So as Al mentions in his reply, the flexibility that the 861 has , is to me, irrelevant if the sound is to many regarded as the same! I'm curious to see how much it will cost the 568 owners to upgrade to the new DSP and input which will allow DVD-A digital input(not interested) and at the same time allow for 8 channel 96khz processing or 8 channel upsampling as well as DPLII DSP for AC3-2.0 source. I bet the charge is between $1500 and $2000 retail for that upgrade.

I bet most (but not all) Meridian 568 (and perhaps 861) owners would be happy with the front, center and left channels upsampled, but having the ability to at least have non-upsampled content coming out of the sides, rears and subs. Perhaps some would complain, but if you said the above upgrade would cost $1000, but if you want upsampled all the way around, it would be $2000, you'd have Meridian inundated with 568s for the $1000 fix. Of course, as my wife likes to remind me, I've been wrong before.

5.1 (plus a center rear channel!) is all I need. I too don't have room for properly configured sides.

Frankly, I wish the 568 had been a successor to the 561 rather than the 565, or put another way, an intermediate offering between the 561 and the 861. I need three rather than two analog inputs (TV, VCR and FM tuner) and two/three room capability (501 in the living room and 551 in the bedroom). The cost of an extra analog input and two/three room capability is a 562V.2 (or a 501, 501V, 541, 562 or 562V) and I don't need the video switching.

[quot]Audiophiles don't use more than 2 channels.[/quote]

I consider myself and audiophile and I listen to three-channels, never two.

OK, let me re-phrase it, audiophile don't buy multi-channel processors specifically to listen to music. It is usually because they get it for their HT, and maybe then listen to some of the music surround mode that is build into it.

lwang,

Your wait for a 565 DPLII upgrade will be long and in vain. Meridian has NO plans for further support of the venerable 565.

I wholeheartedly disagree. I have been an 'audiophile' and purist 2 channel fan for many years now. I have a taste of good multichannel, and I am bored with 2.0. Multichannel done correctly can supercede 2.0 in many ways. I look forward to the future of multichannel. I was not into home theater until reatively recent, when it was possible to have the best o both worlds. There are no compromises with the 861 IMO.

Lexicon bothers me very much in the sense of they think they know what is best or the customer. They like to forcefeed their opinions. There crappy history with terrible bass management says a lot. Lexicon would be very far down on my list.

If you were into multi-channel music more than 3 or 4 years ago or even as of now, there were basically nothing really out there that had the proper music surround mode, plus audiophile quality digital/analog section. Everybody audiophile company basically made generic THX/DD/DTS decoders with a custom DAC/analog stage. Anybody else who had special muti-channel music mode didn't emphasize on DAC/analog section. Even Meridian's analog stage is not of purist design.

Even with the Meridian, when I want to go play 2ch music, I long I had my Audible Illusion preamp hooked up, but to plug/unplug all the wiring makes it more of a hassle. Plus once you are use to a remote, 2 volume knobs becomes kind of klugy. I guess analog bypass would be ideal, but I just never got to that point.