Meridian Unplugged - Powered by MrTechGuy.co.uk Forums Discussion Meridian - Systems 7.1 input on G Series

Hi, I wrote an email to Meridian but to date there was no reply to this topic. Do you think there will be a chance for an upgrade in the future? Otherwise why put in the HD621 sound output for 8 channels?

Thanks,
Andrea

Well, the HD621 was designed to work with as broad a range of Meridian surround processors as possible. The 861v6 will be able to take advantage of the 8-channel capability, the older processors will be limited to 6-channel. I do not recall if a new version of the G68 was announced, and whether it has 8-ch or not, but I'd think the chances of a 7.1 input upgrade to older G units is highly unlikely.

So far as I understand the new G68 does have eight-channels of discrete output via SpeakerLink, and balanced analogue output for up to eight discrete channels via XLR connectors.

But not 8 channels of discrete input.

Well, the pics of the back of the new G68 and G61R are on the Meridian website and while they both feature speakerlink cat5 outputs, neither have cat5 inputs and it looks like the multichannel digital inputs are no bigger than in the old G68's so they'll only be 6 channel, not eight.

it seems odd to me that they'd put a 4 channel smartlink on the HD621 and then have no compatible devices to use it with. wouldn't that just scream the most terrible planning?

we know that the G68 can cope with 6 channels of digital input on the main zone, and simultaneously another 2 channels via a zone, and the DSP's are supposed to be programmable for all sorts, rather than just following what was thought about years ago.

as someone who has no inside Meridian knowledge, or even any in-depth knowledge about DSP programming or audio processing.. it seems eminently possible

dave

Folks would B$tch if they didn't think ahead and put on a smartlink output.
And they do have a product coming, it's called a 861 V6.

yes, but the 861V6 takes the MMHR input doesn't it? I'm referring to the four coax sockets. if they put four on, then surely they must be expecting that fourth one to be used somewhere, otherwise why not just put three coax sockets on? and they can't seriously expect users to be using a HD621 to directly drive a 7.1 setup without a processor. For them to put that fourth socket heavily implies (to me) that they intend to release/update a processor than can accept all four.[1]

dave

[1] also, isn't it embarrassing that the cheapest modern AV receiver can do 7.1 input from a Bluray player but not Meridian?

I think they'd get fewer "help desk" type calls if they included a MMHR input on every new processor - one cat 5 is much easier to plug-in in the dark than 3 or 4 different blue cables. Heck, they'd probably even save money by not having to buy/package 3 or 4 cables in the HD621 box :-) .

i think the architecture was never 8 channel on the input side...

Are you 100% sure of this?

The G68 has a limited number of 'digital receivers'. There is some confusion whether there are 3 or 4 2 channel receivers. My understanding was that there was only 3 which excluded the use of a non copy zone when using multi channel input. Having only 3 would also prevent 8 channel discrete input.

Happy to stand corrected or know whether the number of receivers have changed.

I'm not at all sure, alas. never even used the MD inputs on my G68 yet...

today there are 200 movies with 7.1 sound and I think they are destined to increase in future. if i can not have 8 discrete channels whit G series (861 is expensive), I will think of other alternatives.

Andrea