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

Thank you Rick. Hence why I positioned my comment against the need for HDMI switching.

Your earlier comment was perhaps a little ambiguous by suggesting that "apodizing is best done earlier in the chain, the HD621 is the best place for it". The qualifier is that it is the case when getting audio from HDMI.
Without the need to strip video and audio apart then as you say, and hopefully soon to be demo'd, the 861 should be king.

Thanks again for your efforts to help the HH community here.

Hi Rick,

Glad you mentioned the 800....

What is the best way to connect and configure an 800D to a 861v6?

This is how I see it but I'm not sure the 800D can be configured this way (yet):

800D outputting to 861v6 via Coax/SmartLink with MHR

CD Redbook ---> 44.1k (no upsampling)
DVD-A MLP ----> 96k pass-though (no upsampling or downsampling)
DVD DTS -------> Decode only, (no upsampling or downsampling)
DVD DD --------> Decode only, (no upsampling or downsampling)

Regards,
Carl

Does anyone know the exact number of MIPS available in a standard V6 ?

The Data Sheet mentions a 150MIPS processing engine ( which seems to me to be a cut'n'paste re the IE42 card on the V4 Data Sheet ) and then under the heading ' Processing ' states 2-10 cards possible " each offering 300MIPS " !!!!

This kind of clarity should be forthcoming from M . Perhaps a questions-only ( Q+A )based on VK's earlier thread should be formulated ?. Bob Stuart did kind of state in his post that they would be open to one rather than ill-informed half-truths and guesses becoming gospel .


~M~

With the new information here - thanks - I can see the way forward for me. VK and Rick confirming the role of the HD621, when to use and not to use, was most helpful.

First:
Trade-in 808.2 for 808.3
Digital SPDIF and optical inputs to 808.3 (eg TV, Bluray, Sat)
HDMI direct to screen
SpeakerLink out to DSP7200s
Now who would have thought that a “CD player” would do so much!
I will not need a HD621

Next:
Sooloos to ID40 in 808.3 for best possible audio from Sooloos

Finally:
Multichannel and therefore 861v6 without an ID40

Confusion to clarity. Nice.

The Specs on the 2010 G68 says: "Central to the G68 is a powerful DSP engine made up of five Motorola 56367 devices and one 53671, running at 150MHz and delivering 900 MIPS (million instructions per second). "


In the 861V6 we have:
[i"]CD20 & EF20: Internal (no rear panel) 48-bit DSP cards each containing two Motorola 56367 chips running in dual precision mode, each card offering 300 MIPS (million instructions per second) capability."[/i]
IE44 6x Digital Audio Inputs, Phono, D1 to D6 can be configured as 2x six-channel digital inputs with Meridian SmartLink performance. 2x Optical Audio Inputs, Toslink. SpeakerLink Input, RJ45. Meridian Multi-channel High Resolution (MMHR) Input, RJ45.are upsampled to 24-bit, 96kHz sampling using Meridian`s unique ‘apodising` filter and de-jittered by a powerful 150MIPS DSP processor and FIFO memory buffer.

If I�m not mistaken each input card has a Motorola 56367 running at 150MHz?

If u want the best out of your Blu-ray player u need the HD621 and HDMI or you will just get the "core" of Dolby True HD and DTS Master HD when using Coax:
From Dolby http://www.dolby.com/uploadedFiles/zz-_Shared_Assets/English_PDFs/Consumer/avr-connection-guide.pdf
Depending on the model, Blu-ray Disc players can output internally decoded soundtracks as follows:
• As a multichannel PCM signal via HDMI
• As a multichannel analog signal via analog connections
• As a Dolby Digital signal via coaxial or digital connection.
Many Blu-ray Disc players offer the choice of all three.
The coaxial or optical digital audio output enables 5.1-channel playback through A/V receivers and home-theater-in-a-box (HTIB) systems equipped only with Dolby Digital decoding. While you won`t realize the full high-definition capabilities of Dolby Digital Plus and Dolby TrueHD soundtracks, the sound quality can be better than standard-definition DVD, because your Dolby Digital receiver can take advantage of a higher 640 kbps core Dolby Digital signal often included on Blu-ray Discs.

Using internal decoding and coax will only give you access to the 640 kbps core!
The same goes for DTS
use a coaxial digital audio connection between player and receiver. Remember: because movies and music with DTS-HD encoded content contain a DTS Digital Surround “core”, your older receiver will play back DTS-HD material with DTS surround audio at twice the data rate of other DVD video surround formats. So, you`re still going to get higher quality sound than you`re used to hearing.
Same hoes for internal decoding in your BD player if u don`t use HDMI!

So to sum up:
HDMI(BD player) to HDMI(HD621) gives you Full Dolby True HD and DTS Master decoding in the BD player for multichannel PCM signal. Bit Perfect.

Multichannel analog signal out from the BD player into analog input connections (5.1) in the Meridian
gives u access to the full Dolby True HD and DTS Master decoding in the BD player

From the BD Player via coaxial or optical into the Meridian product will only give DTS and Dolby “core” for the 808/2 & 3 that means 2 ch PCM of the Core Audio on Coax - Not full high resolution one gets with HD621.

Just my 2 cents

PerS

And the 808.2 or 808.3 have no DD or DTS Decoders either, so even feeding the core DD / DTS Streams to the 808.3i won't do much good.............

Sorry one has to downconvert to 2 ch PCm inside the BD player!

From the BD Player via coaxial or optical into the 808/2&3 will only give DTS and Dolby “core” Audio, but first the palyer has to down convert to 2 ch PCM of the Core Audio on Coax - Not full high resolution one would get with a HD621 in the chain.

I`ve talked to one of Meridians programmers when he was in Norway and he told me that HD621 worked with the 808i`s. So from the BD player 5.1 - 7.1 CH LPCM HDMI into the HD621 and from The HD621 (downconvertet to 2 ch 24Bit / 96Khz )L/R Smartlink into 808i coax input !

DTS-HD supports variable bit rates up to 24.5 Mbit/s on a Blu-ray Disc`s
Dolby TrueHD is an optional codec. Dolby TrueHD audiotracks may carry up to 24 bit audio in up to 8 discrete audio channels at 96 kHz or up to 2 channels at 192 kHz. The maximum encoded bitrate is 18 Mbit/s (the same as the uncompressed rate).

Sorry Pers
The Core DD 640kbps and DTS 1,504kbps Tracks on Bluray Discs are Lossy 5.1 Multi-channel and Encoded. They are not 2-channel

My point was that the 808.3 will not "understand" or be able to Decode / Process these Core Audio Tracks, as it doesn't have DD or DTS Decoders built In (as it's primarily a CD Player.) The 861 and G68 obviously have these Decoders already built-in

It would be possible to ask the Bluray player to Decode and Down Mix these Encoded Tracks down to PCM 2.0, and send that Stream to the 808.3, but they will still be only 16/48 streams and at obviously lossy compressed bit-rates

As you say, if one wants the "full fat" experience from Bluray, then obviously the best way to achieve that is for the Bluray player to decode the TrueHD and DTS-HD MA Tracks to 6-8 Channels of 16/48 or 24/48 PCM and send this to an HD621

The HD621 will then do its thing and send the Multi-channel streams on an 861v4 or v6

This is only true if the implementation of the apodizing filter in the 861 is the same as in the HD621. There is a lot of speculation that the implementation in the 861 is superior to the HD621, up to the same level as the 808.3. I guess the speculation is just based on wishful thinking?

My understanding is that the HD621 can downsample LPCM audio but it can not itself downconvert multi-channel to two-channel. That is, if you want two-channel out of the HD621, you have to feed it a two-channel source having performed any necessary down conversion within the Bluray / DVD player first.

By all means tell me I am wrong here, however, I could not find a way to get the HD621 to downconvert to two channel.

John

Here is how it workes:
The second row, “MHR Connection” offers “SmartLink”, “SpeakerLink compatible” and “None”. Select “SmartLink” to feed a Meridian processor such as the C61R, G61R, G68 or 861, and select “None” here to feed Meridian DSP Loudspeakers directly.
The next row determines the number of output channels. The options are 8-, 6- and 2-channel out. This will generally be determined by the capabilities of your system. Note that the HD621 advertises how many channels it wants to receive. For example, in the case that 6 are chosen here and 8 are available from the source, then the HD621 will instruct the player to output the 6-channel version.
You only need to make physical connections between the HD621 and the system that correspond to the number of channels selected here. So, for example, if you have a 2-channel system and limit the PCM output here to 2-channel, you only need to connect the “1/2” SmartLink output from the HD621 to the system.

The “Output Rate” row determines the capability of the product fed by the HD621 and whether the unit outputs high sample rates (88.2 or 96kHz) or standard rates (44.1 or 48 kHz). Check the box to set this to “Yes”: in this case the unit will always output high sample rates, by upsampling standard sample rates or downsampling super-high sample rates (176.4 or 192kHz). If set to “No”, all outputs are at standard rates, with higher-rate sources downsampled accordingly. Set to “No” for early DSP loudspeakers, D600s and the 561.