Meridian Unplugged - Powered by MrTechGuy.co.uk Forums Discussion Meridian - Systems 568.2mm & HD621 - a few basic questions

Dear Experts

Thanks to all those who've assisted (particularly VK) answering my questions on dedicated CD vs G98 for CD playback into HD621 & 568. Im going to do my own tests but initial findings are that I prefer the sound "with."

Right, back to basics. My lovely Dealer has loaned me a HD621 to play with and I "think" Ive configured it right.

Its connected to the 568 using a recommended MHR-to-3xspdif connector
However :

Only getting 2 channel sound from my G98
Assuming Ive set up the G98 correctly.....which means Ive turned MHR off in all the different places and set the HDMI to the only PCM setting I can find - PCM 2CH.
.........but doesnt the HD621 just pass through Dolby Digital and DTS ? So should I have it configured differently ? Or, should I ALSO run a digital cable into on of the digital inputs on the 568 and use that for DVD ? And if I do, what about the fact that the HD621 is set up for DVD on input one ? Aaragh !

Should I be doing something to the 568.2mm ?
The 568.2mm is used to getting its signal from the G98 via MHR. Now the signal on MHR is from the HD621.

Im not getting any sound whatsoever from my Sony 970 DVD Recorder
Not 2 channel. Not multi channel. Not anything. Ive gone into the menus and again set them all to PCM. Should I be using bitstream for some ?

I had such high hopes for this solution.

Pat,

On the Legacy programme, you will also need to select multichannel for any audio source being fed into the 568.mm2 from the HD621 on MHR.

I set up a HD621 with an 861 and you have no sound until you right click the source properties and choose MD1 or MD2 in the audio input tab, depending where your HD621 is connected. These are not changed automatically simply because you are changing things in the HD621 settings. Many people have wasted lots of time due to this and it SHOULD be mentioned in the manual but is not.

Linear PCM should be selected with 6 channel and you don't need the separate coax connected to the 568.2mm. If Dolby Digital or DTS is not decoded by the player, it will just pass through on the 1/2 connection and be decoded by the 568.mm2.


Cheers,


Steve

Quick update - thanks to VK & Steve and several hours of playing, I now have my G98 running 2 Ch PCM (ie, as a CD player) into HD621 and from there to 568.2m
and my Sony DVD/HDD recorder sending Dolby Digital, DTS and freeview into the HD621 and from there to the 568.2mm
Im still bewildered why the G98 cant send multichannel via HDMI but Im told that "it simply doesnt".

With everything set up I performaned the now de-rigeur CD test in order to add my tuppence to the collected wisdom on whther apodizing and upsampling "makes all things equal" (and can "polish a turd").

With typically "Hi fi" Female vocal (My fave test disc - Fumbling towards Ecstasy by Sarah Mclachlan)the difference was in "emotive power." The Sony via HDMI into HD621 was undoubtedly, astonishingly much better than even via super expensive digital cable straight into the 568.2mm and in fact, it was on a par with the Meridian connected straight to the 568.2mm by MHR.
..........but it still painted a somewhat two dimensional picture. Everything was there in the performance including exquisite detail and yet it somehow just "didnt carry you." How on earth that could be measured in a lab, Ive no idea. You just didnt hear or feel her emotion. With the G98 connected via HDMI something was just right and you felt moved and convinced by the lyrics.

Moving on to mainstream pop with my wife's Take That album highlit the inferior quality of the recording on both machines. Again, the Sony gave a very solid and listenable account but somehow the Meridian version was "more honest".

I dont really know how to feel about these results. Part of me wanted the HD621 to be so good that it would render the G98 obsolete in my system....and then another part of me was rooting for the G98 because its given me 3 years of listening and viewing pleasure. In the end the G98 is the loser in spite of its better 2 channel audio performance because its simply not capable of multichannel via HDMI. It somehow seems profligate to keep a DVD player for CD duties, when its no longer capable of functioning in the way it was intended.
........I also need to be able to fund the loaned HD621 and save up for the Panasonic 850 Freesat/HD/Bluray recorder which will replace both G98 and the Sony...........not to mention the G08.2 which I`ll end up buying sooner or later to get back my CD sound.