Meridian Unplugged - Powered by MrTechGuy.co.uk Forums Discussion Meridian - Systems Worthwhile trading-in 808.2 for 808.3?

My 808.2 is about 2 years old but I cannot see the worth of a trade-in to 808.3 for the cost involved. I am not expecting many or any to trade-in but maybe I am missing something.

I can see benefit for trading in an 808.1 and 861 versions because they are much older. The soon to be released Meridian Sooloos 2.1 will be available as a free upgrade to current Meridian Sooloos owners. No need to ask Sooloos owners what they will be doing.

Has anyone seen benefit in the 808.2 --> 808.3 trade-in to justify the cost?

What of the relative benefits of instead keeping the 808.2 and getting 861 v6?

What about Sooloos?

Only you can answer that question. If you really want to know then you'll have to get a demo aranged.

Any other answer is just speculation and opinion.

cheers

My 808i.2 is 18 months old. To answer the question I need an extended side-by-side demonstration, preferably at home and over at least a weekend.

My upgrade order has been placed. My 808i.2 is going back for the 808.3.

I'm loading a Sooloos system right now and I will be pleased not to have to handle the CDs anymore. I ususally make a mess of my listening room because I don't put the CDs away. While I consider the 808i.2 to be a CD player with preamp functions, the 808.3 flips it to being a preamp with a CD player in it. I have a Marantz DVD-A/SACD player that is hooked up via analog so the reported improvement in analog to digital conversion was intriguing. The Sooloos ID40 card pushed me over the edge. Otherwise, I don't think I would have done it.

I'm not sure if I'm going to get the opportunity to try the 808i.2 and the 808.3 side by side. I hope so.

Slightly OT, I won't be upgrading the 861 v4. My speakers and room setup don't justify it even though I'd love to have the ID40 card for that system. I'll have to "suffer" with SPDIF out of the Sooloos ensemble.

If you`re feeding your 808i.2 with analogue, you will not get any benefit from the 808i.2 apodizing. Have you considered switching this to a digital feed?

Regards,
Carl

The Marantz does not put out SACD or DVD-A digitally.

Thanks all for your ideas.

Bill, your reasons for ordering the 808.2i --> 808.3 trade-in are sound. You have Sooloos and as you say the ID40 in the 808.3 adds to the value, and more so because you are not relying on an ID40 from an 861 v6 purchase.

Yes a store or home demo/comparison would help. I will look out for others impressions and arrange for my comparison.

My biggest doubt about the value of the trade-in is the price. In Australia, where there is low inflation, I paid about $20,000 (Australian) for my 808.2. The trade-in price is a hefty $17,500. The UK trade-in price of �6,250 equals on conversion only $11,275 (Australian). That substantial extra beyond the conversion rate is always an issue in Australia that causes some to buy from Singapore.

A big question to answer for me will be the consensus on the relative audio quality from 808.2, 808.3, Sooloos, and Sooloos via 808.3 or 861 v6. If Sooloos via 861 v6 was about the best then I would probably get a new 861 v6 with an ID40 and not get an 808.3.

To what extent do you think the preamp part of the 808.3 and 861 v6 should influence the decision?

Any idea if there's any difference between the 808.2 and 808.3 regarding straight CD playback?

I'm not interested in the Sooloos at all and have no use for analogue inputs on the 808, so if CD playback quality would be identical between the 808.2 and 808.3 it would be an ideal time to get one now. Lots of dealers seem to have them listed as clearance items now.

Stephan that's a very important question when considering a trade-in from 808.2 to 808.3. Meridian's February 2010 details would mean "yes" to better CD playback from 808.3 than 808.2, such as from the 808.3 new clocking system and apparently also better apodising.

Listening tests may confirm audible improvement and the worth for 808.2 owners to trade up.

I am hoping to get a chance for a side-by-side comparison with the 808.2 and 808.3 for CD playback. I'll post as the time gets closer. I'll be playing them through DSP8Ks in a dedicated listening room.

Regarding the difference between the 808.2 and 808.3. I have just received the following info from my dealer that came from Meridian.

For a start Meridian will not release a new version until significant and real performance improvements are produced. The specifics are as follows.

Not changed/improved:
1. The apodising filter.
2. The FIFO buffering system.
3. Error handling correction.

Improved:
1. Completely new analogue input card results in improved timing and imaging, particularly in the low frequencies. Therefore a much better pre-amplifier with higher quality analogue to digital conversion and signal integrity.
2. The CD player benefits from new master oscillators and clocking system.
3. The Sooloos ID40 card passes the audio signal from the Sooloos network to the same processing in the 808.3 that the signal from the CD (player) goes through. That gives the highest performance option for listening to Sooloos.

Now that's a great help for our decisions. There is also some relevance for 861 v6 regarding apodising and the ID40.

Personally, I still fail to see how the ID40 offers better performance over the Speakerlink Input.

Whether Inputting the Sooloos into the 808.3 or 861v6, the Data Stream will go thru the Same Internal Processing and Apodizing, whether it comes in via Speakerlink or the ID40.

I strongly suspect "Meridian Speak" is at play again here

More importantly, I had been told from Meridian that Apodizing had been further optimized and indeed that was one of the main drivers for the Redesign of the 861.

The usual Meridian case of "Maxed Missages" is at play here