Meridian Unplugged - Powered by MrTechGuy.co.uk Forums Discussion Meridian - Systems G98 vs. BDP-LX52

The point being that in both cases the DVD player is not doing any digital conversion of its own and is being used essentially as a transport (from the audio point of view). If the G98 could output the same digital formats through HDMI into the HD621 the result might indeed be better than the Japanese player: but it won't output the right thing for the comparison to be made (and nor currently will any Meridian player).

Nic

Hello and thanks for clarifying. I have got G68 and HD621 on order and was planning to add an Oppo for Bluray and a G98DH for music/DVD. I was led to believe by Kris Deering the USA review guy for HT that the G98 was so fantastic for CD and DVD, that it was virtually the ebst. There is a new one available for �1200 in Brighton which is a prety good price. Now I feel obscure and confused! Is there a better way to spend that �1200?

Thanks

Dave

Can you sit on it until you have the other gear, then test the Oppo/HD621 against an unbought G98?

Your ears should be the judge...

Nic

If it was my money and I was wanted the very best in CD replay, I'd start saving for a G08.2 (assuming a 808i.2 is out of the question).

However I think you will be very surprised with what the Oppo and HD621 achieves.

So, just to clarify:

DVD - There is no question that the G98 is one of the best DVD players around. When playing DVDs, the LX52/HD621 combination is no match for the G98. The opening sequence to Stealth clearly demonstrated that the difference was night and day in every possible respect. The G98 was engineered to squeeze every last drop out of the format and it seems to do so with the greatest of ease. On the other hand, as we would expect, LX52 plays DVDs only because this was in the design specification.

Bluray - When playing a DVD and Blu-ray of the same film, unsurprisingly, the picture quality of the LX52 is far better. This is due to the technology rather that the LX52 specifically. I`ve seen budget players produce pretty much the same in terms of picture quality. With regard to sound, the LX52/HD621 combination has a head start as the bit rate is so much higher. This, along with the processing in the HD621, means that the sound quality from the LX52 (except for parts of the Matrix) is also much improved. I`ve gone into the differences in quite of lot of detail in previous posts. Note that, when playing Blu-ray disks, I have only used the LX52 in conjunction with the HD621.

CD (LX52/HD621 vs. G98) - With the additional processing of the HD621, the LX52/HD621 combination produces a quality of sound which is even better than the G98. As VirusKiller has explained, the HD621 contains Meridian's apodizing upsampling technology which is why CDs sound so impressive from the LX52/HD621 combination. Not that I know what apodizing upsampling technology actually is or what it does!

CD (LX52 vs. G98) - Without the additional processing of the HD621, there is a significant drop in sound quality from the LX52. Overall, as a CD player, the G98 gives a better quality of sound than the LX52 but not by a huge amount. Certainly not to the degree that I was expecting. In my opinion (and remember this only my opinion) this ‘middle-of the-range Japanese Bluray player` is actually a very impressive performer and gives the G98 a run for its money. At the end of the day though, when it comes to playing CDs without the additional processing of the HD621, it is not quite as good as the G98.

Finally, Dave, congratulations on ordering your G68 and HD621. I recommend that you add either the Oppo or LX52 and wait before rushing out to buy the G98DH for music/DVD duties. When you have experienced your Blu-ray player in action, I doubt that you will be watching that many DVDs anyway. Yes, I know you probably have lots of DVDs but once you have got used to Blu-ray it is difficult to go back. With regard to CD playback just trust your own ears. The Oppo or LX52 partnered with the HD621 will provide the sort of sound quality which will blow you away. CDs through the HD621 really do sound that good.

Oh, and yes there is a better way to spend the �1,200 and that`s on building up your Blu-ray collection!

Regards

David

When talking about the better DVD performance of the G98, is this mainly audio or video related (or both)?

Regards,
Bob

Hi Bob

When it comes to comparing DVD performance, the G98 does seem to produce a better sound and picture quality than the LX52 even with the extra processing of the HD621. That's not to say the LX52 and HD621 don't put in an excellent performance when playing DVDs - its just that the G98 is such a good DVD player that it manages to extract the very best sound and vision from the format.

However, the G98 won't be used quite as much over the months and years ahead. Whilst I have built up a large collection of DVDs and I don't have many Blu-ray disks, I'll probably spend more time watching Blu-rays and only rarely use the G98. Rather than spend a small fortune on building up my Blu-ray disk collection on movies which I'll probably only watch a few times, I'm thinking of renting instead.

Regards

David

I'm guessing it's that special sauce in Meridian's own DD/DTS decoding algorithm. This is exactly why we need DD/DTS decoding in the HD621, assuming it will fit in FPGA.

One of my sources at Meridian told me a while ago that (i) decoding in the G68 and *not* upsampling would probably sound better than (ii) decoding in a device using a stock decoding chip and upsampling in the G68. Which is another way of saying that Meridian does something when decoding that stock chips don't.

After living with the Pioneer LX-52 for six months I have sold it on eBay. Whilst it was an excellent Blu-ray player it was just too slow. So slow in fact that it became irritating to use. If all the players were slow then I probably would have just accepted it as there would have been no option. However, there is a much faster player available so I have ordered the Oppo BDP-83 which is on its way.

It is unlike me to make a mistake when purchasing consumer electronics equipment. Oh well, nobody is perfect.

Pity my wife isn't so philosophical about it!

Hi David,

Thanks for the long term "road test" update, I to demoed the LX-52 and also concluded it was too slow.
For now at least I'm sticking with the PS3 which being a fast games console has the power required to load Bluray discs without becoming tiresome.

Regards,
Carl

FWIW, I only bought an Oppo because my PS3 isn't multi-region...