Meridian Unplugged - Powered by MrTechGuy.co.uk Forums Discussion Meridian - Systems IA45 card-make sense now or not??

As it seems we keep waiting for M to come out with a HDMI solution- does it make sense to go to this card- I know it has been discussed but we keep waiting and I would like to take advantage of whats out there-IF it makes a difference in sound and also if M is not coming out with a solution in the near(???)future- thanks for your thoughts- gary

I see it like this:

1) The IA45 card is expensive ($1995).
2) You are limited by the quality of the jitter performance and analogue processing in your player.
3) Once the Meridian HDMI solution is announced, the used value of the IA45 will plummet.

The Gefen TV Home Theatre Audio Processor is due to ship at the end of this month. If it can be successfully modified to output 3x SPDIF, then we have a means of getting multichannel LPCM into our Meridian processors (including the 568.2MM). Hopefully the PCM will be stable enough that it will be within the operational bounds of the 861 and G68 FIFO buffers.

It will cost $400 (the Gefen) + $165 (modification card) + $150 (modification) + $10 (shipping to the US) = $725. That's less than half the cost of the IA45 and presumably a lot less than the Meridian HDMI solution whenever it comes...

And when the Meridian HDMI solution does come (and offers decoding of TrueHD and DTS HD MA bitstreams, as well as handling LPCM), I'm sure you'd be able to sell the modified Gefen box on to someone who wants a cheaper solution.

So I'd say wait a month or two and see if the Gefen works.