Meridian Unplugged - Powered by MrTechGuy.co.uk Forums Discussion Meridian - Systems Wanting it all (digital)

I would love the convenience of the Sooloos combined with the sonics of the 808.3 (particularly the benefits of the filters). It would be ideal if they would make an "audiophile" Sooloos, adding the filters to the bit-perfect CD copies. Direct connect via SpeakerLink to the DSP speakers, and it's perfect. Any word on such a development?

I agree, no such animal.

A 2 Channel 808.3 (without the spinner) plus 518 type tweaks would be ideal.

You could get pretty close with a 518 feeding any of the DSP's with apodized upsampling.

Let me see if I have this correct.

1. Sooloos reads and stores bit-perfect CD information at 16/44. No higher res. disk formats (SACD, DVD, DVD-A, Blu-ray) supported.

2. Sooloos can accept and store 24/96 downloads (but not 24/192).

3. Output via SpeakerLink RJ45 or SPDIF of whatever is stored, up to 24/96.

4. Meridian DSP7200 and DSP8000 speakers have the same "apodising" digital filters used in the 808.2/.3 CD players, which largely remove pre-ringing and ringing from the CD information (which largely don't exist in higher-rez files).

5. The DSP7200 and DSP8000 speakers accept over SpeakerLink whatever is sent "perfectly" from the Sooloos (again, up to 24/96).

If the above is all accurate, shouldn't the sound of a bit-perfect stored CD played from the Sooloos' hard drive through the DSP speakers (with the same filters and DACs as the 808) sound at least as good (and possibly slightly better) than the same CD played on the 808.3 over the same speakers? If I can live without the ability to play a new CD without ripping first, and I don't need the extra inputs of the pre-amp version of the 808, why do I need the 808 at all (assuming I get the DSP speakers)?

Please advise!

itunes on a mac
24bit optical or firewire outs

Thrasher: Your 1-5 is a very good summary to me.

I also wonder what Meridian's intentions are with the 808.2, 808.3, and Sooloos. That included the significance if any of why apparently the 808.3 does not, like the 808.2, have the option of an 808.3i as well as just 808.3. Apparently also the ID40 is standard in the 808.3.

The Sooloos FAQ at on page 8 answers the question - Why is importing a CD and playing it back from a hard drive superior to playing it from a transport?

http://media.Meridian-audio.com/datasheets/Sooloos/Sooloos-FAQ.pdf

Answer - superior playback from the hard drive because of better clock/timing issues than playing from transport.

However, did Meridian eliminate the timing problems in the 808.2/808.3 or is this the admission they had not?

Also consider there may be a substantial limitation to Sooloos. Because of copyright it cannot import SACD and maybe also Bluray when Sooloos may get to storing video. What happens therefore if SACD and Bluray become more the standard release?

Minor point... DSP8000 doesn't offer SpeakerLink/apodising. The DSP8000.2 does.

I think the chance of SACD becoming the standard release is so infinitesimally small it approaches zero. Given the prevalence of high resolution downloads, the chance of the release of any significant amount of music on Blu-ray is, at best, remote.

Hi Thrasher,

It not quite that simple as not all apodising filters are equal even those by Meridian.

We don't know for sure but we suspect that apodising in the 808.2(3) is a "better" implementation than that in the HD621 or DSPs.

Meridian have stated that from their testing the better apodising filters require more MIPS / Memory to implement.

It will be interesting to "see" how the new 861v6 stacks up.

However, with all that said, a pair of 8k2s and a Sooloos sounds stunning.

Regards,
Carl

#1 is pretty much true for any Music Server (once setup correctly).

DSP speakers do not have the "Special Sauce" an 808.2,3 has.

You don't need and 808, but if you want the best 2 sounding 2 channel "Music Server" Meridian can offer. Then you probably need an 808.

How much value that gives someone is each individuals choice.

The next best is probably a 518 feeding DSP speakers with Apodizing.

If your speaker doesn't have Apodizing then probably a 518 + HD621 + Plus SPDIF to HDMI (Yuck) is needed.

A 518 is not required but I think it's the cheapest way to take the edge off.

I have tried a transporter direct to DSP-6000's and for "DEMO" purposes it was great but it got fatiguing and now I strictly listen through G68 (which applies a "fixed" 518 like processing and does take the edge off). A real 518 would be more flexible and cheaper, especially with a 2 channel only setup.

5200's also have apodising. The 5200.2 has speakerlink.

'bit perfect' is not the same as perfect audio. Various filtering and other processing also takes place. Bits of kit do this different ways and ultimately may sound slightly. With M kit in the wild, 808.2 / 8000.2 is the current champ combo. Until users start to audition the new pieces, who knows how the new kit will tip the balance.

Meridian are quite clear: in order to get the best sound from Sooloos you need to route the signal through an 808.2 / 808.3 to benefit from the superior processing.

Why do they imagine this is an acceptable proposition?

Why have they not revised the Sooloos to include extra MIPS and processing?

Is this just a cynical attempt to sell extra 808s?

Is this a cynical attempt to sell extra expensive boxes?

Why The word Cynical?

I have found Meridian will do what they consider best for very good reasons (With their whole Customer base in mind) and never cynical.
I think people should have a listen to the options and note any real world differances they percieve before making cynical acusations.

Its not a good tone of argument IMHO.

Cheers, Chris