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

Good stuff, though it does raise other questions (which I'm not going to go into now).
That's very nice to know for HD621 owners! Of course, using the HD621 as the upsampler/apodizer for anything other than HDMI from Blu-Ray (or other video sources) would probably be sub-optimal. If you have a coax or optical output, feed it straight to the 861v6.

Hi Rick
Again, many thanks for your answers and contributions here. As has been said already, I just wish that Meridian were as proactive on this site

Having said that, I have to admit to more than a little surprise to Meridian's answer that Apodizing / Upsampling is best done in the HD621 rather than the 861v6.

Meridian have told me directly in the past that the Apodizing implementation in the 808.2i was superior to that in the HD621 and the 808.2's Apodizing performance itself had been even further fine-tuned by much more listening tests than the "fit for purpose" HD621. This made sense to me, given the objectives and price disparity between the two products

Likewise, I had recently been led to believe that Apodizing performance in both the 808.3 and 861v6 was a step up from even that available in the 808.2i, mainly due to more MIPS being applied as well as further fine-tuning and listening tests???

Meridian's answer ("let the HD621 do the Apodizing") also leads to the following inconvenient question

As an existing 861v4 and HD621 Owner, why should I Trade-Up to an 861v6. From a Technical View Point, what can I hope to gain???

Further background

** I use an Oppo BD83 for CD Replay which obviously outputs over HDMI. Likewise, I also use a Network Player / Music Server with an HDMI out for Lossless 16/44 replay

** The Data Streams from both of these are fed to an HD621 over HDMI

** The HD621
.............De-Jitters the Audio & Video Data Streams
.............strips the the Video from the Audio
.............Apodizes / Upsamples the 2-channel 16/44 material to 24/88
.............Encrypts the Data Stream to MHR 24/88 on Output
.............The MHR encryption Randomizes the Data Stream, which in turn dramatically reduces any negative effects of Jitter on Output and Input connections

** The HD621 passes the Data Stream over SPDIF into the 861v4

My undertstanding of the main benefits of the new 861v6 are Improved Clocking and FIFO Buffering as well as the inclusion of Apodizing

If I were to Trade my current 861v4 in for a new 861v6, then what benefits would I see??? Especially when the HD621 is doing the Apodizing and then minimizing any jitter using its own FIFO buffers as well as employing jitter reducing MHR encryption

In other words, I may not see any benefit, because the improvements in the 861v6 are already being implemented in the HD621???

Hence my surprise at Meridian's answer.............

I have been told by a dealer that (putting analogue and Sooloos issues to one side), the improvements in the 808.3 compared with the 808.2 are down to the completely new architecture (i.e. similar story to some of the changes to the 861) and improved clocking. There are no extra MIPS, so extra processing power is not affecting the apodizing.

Standard digital inputs such as DAB radio (i.e. not high resolution) are upsampled / resolution enhanced / apodized. I have been told this by a dealer and I presume the confirmation lies with the yellow light on the 7200s.

I am assuming that it is a similar story for analogue such as iPod via an analogue dock: the yellow light is on.

Ronnie, I'm not sure you're going to get an answer that satisfies you. I'm sure that the Meridian staff performed a lot of listening tests, but I seriously doubt they considered all scenarios.

Having said that, I too am surprised that the 861v6 cannot deal with the jitter from the HD621 when it is outputting standard-rate audio, because that is the implication. Unless I'm missing something obvious, it also goes against the claim that the 861v6 is virtually immune to jitter.

My information didn't come from a Dealer.

It came Directly from Meridian!!

Doesn't mean that either of them are right!!!

Maxed Missages!!

Sorry Asa
I don't get why you're quoting my post regarding Analog Inputs into the 861v6 or 808.3

Analog Inputs will be ADC'd to 24/96 at the Input Card. They will not be Apodized as they are already High Res

Most Digital Inputs will be Apodized ranging from
..............DAB Radio at 124kbps and 16/48
..............CD at 1,411kbps and 16/48
..............High Res 24/48 at 2,304kbps

Not sure about why you quote me???????

Agreed Joel,
But wanted to see what the answer was, if any................

If all my Sources were HDMI for 2-channel and Multi-Channel, and the HD621 is doing the Apodizing and Jitter Reduction, then what benefits does the 861v6 bring to the party over an 861v4

Possibly lower output jitter to DSP speakers.

I agree with all the above and have been puzzling this one all afternoon. If one didn't necessarily need HDMI switching then to learn that a HD621 is better than a 861v6 at certain tasks is bonkers. We're talking about the flagship processor here....it has to be better at everything. Period !

In a HH world where fact and fiction co-exist with all the best intentions I have to assume the info is not quite correct.

Time for an intervention from HQ I think. This is definitive info that will have significant impact on potential sales.

I'm not saying that the HD621 is better than an 861 at all..
What I am saying is that IF you NEED a HD621 in the chain, because you require its ability to strip the audio off the HDMI from a source, then letting it apodise/dejitter/upsample is better than letting the signal pass unprocessed onto the 861, purely because it is earlier in the chain.

However IF you can get the digital audio straight to the 861, because you have a digital out direct from the player, like an 800, then this would be better still. You wouldn't connect 800 via HD621 to the 861.

Rick