Meridian Unplugged - Powered by MrTechGuy.co.uk Forums Discussion Meridian - Systems CES 2010 speculation thread

I quite agree. It is a funny world where a $20K investment (OK, investment is now clearly the wrong word) less than 4 years ago no longer gets one state-of-the-art performance, or even a cost-acceptable upgrade path. And we wonder why the hiend is in trouble!

Could be, but I'd expect second hand prices for 861 to plummet if a glut of them hit the market. A wonderful opportunity for those who has aspired to a 861, however!

North of $10k...ouch, and then add cost of 3 AC12's to convert SpeakerLink to SPDIF to hook up older M DSPs. Might as well just replace the whole thing with the latest M gear, right?

I don't understand what all the fuss is about with this trading!

If the rumours pan out:

New 861v6 �11.5K
Trade in deal for used v4 + �6.5K = New v6

M is giving effectively buying back a used 861v4 for �5k.
The price of v4 circa �8k when new.

So you loss �3k on it, a bit tough if you purchased a new one 6 months ago but otherwise it sounds like a good deal.

Some salient points to take in to account.

The 861 is what 12 years old now it`s architecture was going to become out of date one day.
High end HiFi is never cheep.
How much of a hit is Meridian taking offering this deal?
How much is a v4 really worth in the used market?


Finally, this deal and pricing are all just speculation at this point in time.
I have contacted my dealer; he will call / email me once the options are published by M. I don`t know if I`ll upgrade or not, I need the facts and a v6 audition to make an informed decision.

Regards,
Carl

JerryL: Appreciate the sentiment but like you and many others here I will consider the price/performance of the move to V6 and unless there is unanimous consensus that its is HUUUUUUUUUUUGE then I will hold off...

The other point that I would like to make is that even if the improvement is huge I will still be considering my options because the long run economics may not justify the move (i.e. it may make better sense to move to a Bryston, SimAudio of other piece of equipment) given the current "assumed" upgarde policy...time to think, time determine what makes the most sense in the long run...with that, I will be disappointed in M (and likely leave the M brand) should they make it impossible to get 8 discrete channels from an HD621 into a 861V4 given that it was sold as being modular (i.e. which is MUCH different from exchangeable)...

Yes, I have so say I'm really starting to sour on the hi-end. I mean, really, $10K+ now, after $20K three years ago sunk into one component - its lunacy. If $20K doesn't buy you some kind of cost effective upgrade path then why bother. I'd have been better of going with something like the Anthem D2 at less than half the price.

And its not just Meridian, Krell are now asking $15K for their new Bluray player and yapping on about future upgradeability. Maybe so, but I'd bet dollars-for-donuts nothing ever materializes.

Bah humbug!

Joel, what is the obsession with 8 channels? How many 8 channel sources are out there now? Yes there are some but I have to say I think if you want to be on the cutting edge, you have to be prepared to put up with things like this. No one ever promised me I would be able to get 8 discrete channels into my 861. Yes it was sold as modular, and modular it was. And it was upgraded for 10 years. Perhaps V6 should be called the "961" or something else as suggested, but thats just us splitting hairs. And to bring up VK's point on how to qualify a "huge" or "dramatic" increase in performance. We all have different systems and different rooms that will highlight different things and we all have different preferences and probably by the time we are at whatever ages we are, we have different stages of hearing loss. So the point is I could rave about it and you could find it to be a nice improvement but more subtle and we would both be right. I think in the end we will have to make our own judgement calls.

Simon as for 20k for being on the cutting edge, welcome to anything involving technology. You could buy a brand new 911 Turbo today and tomorrow Porsche announces they are coming out with a newer version with improved turbos, improved other stuff and your car is now "obsolete"- yet it still drives with all the zest that you liked it so much for. Of course the car is worth 65% of what it was when you walked out the dealer lot but it still works and is still a rewarding drive. Its not like our V4 861s have become poor sounding. I wouldn't get too worked up. The 861 is not obsolete.

As to the high end prices, I think they have inflated quite a bit and thats too bad. I think its the reality of a shrinking market, the ability of the affluent to pay more as the gap between rich and poor widens. Times like these sadly accelerate that gap.

Friends,

I have been informed by multiple dealers this week that the U.S. price for the 861 v4 to 861 v6 swap is $16K.

Re upgrade cost (which is all spec at this point). A reasonable hope IMHO is that when you first get on the train, then you can afford the ticket to the next station. It's in M's interest to keep us on the train. Will they? JimK

It is clear that there are a few posters currently who feel a bit peeved/upset. On occassion I have also been in the same position.

However, a couple of statements jump out at me for being somewhat odd in the context of where we are right now.




Really???.....since when do 'we' buy something based on consensus? Use you own ears and decide based on what you hear and not what you read on HH or in a spec sheet.

I don't recall anyone actually buying an 861 before now based only on it's spec sheet. It was about how it performed - surely. i.e. DEMO. Sure additional tech info may help inform for a decision IF that makes you think it sounds better, but, it must surely come down to the exerience regardless of the specs.

e.g. (with tongue in cheek)...wow...these 391 extra cycles of apodizing in .3 more than .2 really sound good. Ooooh those MIPS are really sounding sweet.

I exaggerate but what is a spec really going to do for your purchasing/upgrading experience ?

If M actually wrote about specs and chips and such I am sure there'd be as many whinging about the 'marketing hype' (as has already been done above).

Doesn't seem much like a speculation thread...just a whinge thread.

Flame suit on if required but have a think about it at least chaps.

Don't disagree with anything you say, although for the record, I didn't suggest the 861v4 was obsolete. And you are quite correct, my 861 has not suddenly stopped working, nor has it lost any of its performance, but $16K for the upgrade. I don't think so! Perhaps in retrospect I was a fool to think that 'investing' in the 861 with its modular, card-based architecture gave me some kind of hedge against future developments ('a fool and his money soon go separate ways'), but would it have been too much to ask to get a MMHR input board for the older vintage units? I certainly do not begrudge Meridian's decision to modernize an architecture that is fundamentally 12 or so years old, nor differentiate newer units with things like apodizing, but again, why not design a single new input board for v4 in the $2K range. I'd be in for that.

It is also my understanding that the $16K upgrade cost is regardless of 861 vintage, so even a crap-heap v1 would qualify. Might be worth keeping an eye open for one and then sell the v4 privately. Hmmmn!

I'm probably over-reatcting (my wife says I tend to do that) and perhaps with a bit of time to think it over and with fuller, official details I'll feel differently, but I do think my days of spending money on Meridian gear may well have ended with last years purchase of the HD621.

I made no reference to "specs".

Instead I want from Meridian for a start confirmation of what is actually upgraded in the 808.3 and the 861 v6 and therefore where and in what use environments audible improvement will be apparent. For example, initially with the release of details about the 808.3 there was no reference to an improved filter/apodidising but subsequently there was, but not directly from Meridian.

I repeat that such basic issues should be made clear by Meridian. Then it may or may not be relevant to be disappointed or pleased about the trade-in or new purchase price. Also there is no need to audition to consider buying if what you expected in the upgrade is not present or does not apply to your AV environment.