Meridian Unplugged - Powered by MrTechGuy.co.uk Forums Discussion Meridian - Systems Thinking about DSP again

I pretty much agree with Nick on this - I absolutely love my 5200s in my smallish condo - use 5000s for rears;

Chris - thanks for that thought; I'm thinking of that F80 for another application coming next year... may have to give one a try...

ken

The F80 is a superb product for both its size and its price. To use a sports analogy, it plays in plays in a division way above what you may think based on first looks.

That is can even enter the “game” or “conversation” with good floor and stand mounted speakers, speaks to how well it plays music from CD`s and many DVD-A`s. (Video is very average IMHO)

However, as someone who owns (and has compared it with) D5200`s, there really is a big difference. To continue with the above sports analogy, the F80 deserves to be in the game, but the D5200`s would be superior in every area of the pitch and would end out winning the game by quite a convincing margin. Having owned 96/24 D5k`s previously, I can tell you that the same would still hold thru for the D5k`s. Not as convincing a win perhaps, but still a win

Only in a room with Severe positioning issues (of the type that Joel mentioned above) would the F80 make for a better solution. In all other situations, the D5200`s or 2nd hand D5k`s would make for better sounding music

The above comments relate to comparing an F80 with a stereo pair. If you are looking for Surround from Movies, then the comments apply even more

One other thing to try is a different amplifier with your B&W`s. In the main, I think that B&W produce excellent sounding speakers, but finding the “right” amplification to partner them with can be an issue. And unfortunately, the “right” amplification can vary by B&W speaker and, most importantly, by room type and size. This avenue may also be worth exploring, but it could end out in a lot of trial and error

Good luck

Agreed. It wasn't clear when I posted that Chris wanted surround. We crossed posts. The F80 is not going to be a substitute for a fully blown DSP surround system. I'd love a pair of 5200s... Well, three actually!

Chris

Here's a list of things that helped me cope with harsh treble/digital glare in my system:

1. Squash balls.
I have squash balls under all my components. Rubber emphasizes the bass, points emphasize the treble. B&Q sell rubber furniture castor cups to stop your settee feet marking the carpet, they are just the right size to hold squash balls.

2. Power conditioning.
I use a 'balanced' power conditioner, it significantly reduces glare and treble harshness.

3. Cables.
A thorny topic but it works for me. I never imagined cables would make a difference until Tony from Coherent Systems came a demo'd a bunch of different cables in my system. Some were better than others, copper and silver sound different, alloys sound different again and screened cables seemed to lower the noise floor. Give them a try, the worst that can happen is they make no difference and you can cross them off your list of things to try.

4. Clearlight Audio Supper Position Platforms
They use RDC (Resonant Damping Compound) worth a try, I use them instead of glass on my Mana stands. Glass tends to emphasize glare and treble.

5. Speaker Crossover
Not for the faint hearted but if you're handy with a soldering iron you can solder a couple of bypass caps across your tweeters to reduce the treble. I started off with about 200nf and worked down from there. If you buy a range of cheap caps from Maplins it will allow you to combine them to get to the right value to just take the 'edge' off the treble.

Regards
Gary

thanks all. Surround is important so the f80 is out. The d5200s look great. I could tinker withcables etc but I'm not sure I'd get the sound I want. Perhaps the outlay would be worth it for the right speakers.

As an aside what does mrc do and would it help me any?

sns

I think Stillpoints would be more effective than apples or oranges. Like any other piece of hi-fi equipment the G68 has capacitors in it which are microphonic and therefore change their capacitance in tune with the vibrations from the music if you don't have effective resonance control. Squashballs work in a similar manner to Stillpoints and dampen resonance reducing the effects of microphony.


Regards
Gary

Gary,

G68 DACs are not used with his DSP5200's

Have you tried Meridian DSPs? No squash balls required !

Cables either transmit the signal correctly or they color it. So when hunting for cables are you hunting for the perfect cable or one that colors it to your taste?

ok a pair of 5200s represents a significant investment on my part. I guess I'm unlikely to see them on the s/h market yet. So lets talk about D5ks... aside from the aesthetic disadvantage (the 5200s look really good!), what are we talking about in terms of performance between 5ks and 5200s?

Lots (edit) unfortunately...

George

The criteria for deciding whether a component suffers from michrophony isn't just because it's digital.

With regard to DSP speakers, the last time I demo'd the G68 it was with 8000's. If I was buying on looks then the 8000's would be top of my list, but I'm not sure about the performance, they didn't sound as good as I was expecting, and certainly not as good as my analogue system.

I'm moving into a smaller house in the new year and will have to part with most of my kit due to space restrictions so the simplicity and WAF of DSP speakers may be an option.

Regards
Gary

Hi Chris,

Here's a pair of ex-demo 5200s in rosewood I spotted while on a wish-list surf a while ago...
Cheers,

Ed.

I agree with VK - significant performance differences (5200 vs 5K); Although I would caution against getting caught up in the upgrade-itous disease. Instead compare how a given purchase will change your existing situation relative to your available budget. The 5Ks are wonderful DSPs with a great sound for smaller rooms and can be had on the used market fairly regularly (from those disease infected).

I personally like the straight line look of the 5Ks - They also have a very neutral tonal quality (to my ears) - which means if you later upgrade to something else, the 5K rears will likely work for most any new DSP fronts you may get.

If you can (or choose to) afford the 5200s, go for it; But if not, the 5Ks (get the 24/96) are a great $ value / DSP sound today IMO...

ken