Meridian Unplugged - Powered by MrTechGuy.co.uk Forums Discussion Meridian - Systems Should I get the 588 CD player?

Got fed up of waiting for DVD-A & SACD to get properly establised (ie lots of new software to be available), so am going to get a new CD player. Listened to the 588 which I like (better than the 507). Will use this into the 502 and 557 all in balanced mode. Should I hang on a while to see if anything better comes out? Is the quality of the 598 just as good as the 588 on standard CDs? Will Meridian do anything with SACD?

MCN,
I haven't done a comparison of the 588 vs 598. However, I can say that the 598 is very very good with std CD's. A bonus is that you can do DVD-A also, although it sounds like that is not important for you at the mo.
It would be worth getting a dealer to set up the comparison for you. In the meantime, the new range should have emerged and you will see if there's anything else to look at.

Rgds

Nick

Does the 598 sound better than a 596 for CDs?

The reason I ask is that I have done a comparison between the 588 and 596 when I wanted a new CD player a couple of years back.

I bought the 596 because I couldn't hear a difference between the 2 for CDs and, for a little extra cash, I got one of the best DVD players around as well!

The only advantage of having the 588 over the 596/588 for CD playback is that the 588 has balanced outputs.

Thanks guys - my wife got me the 588 for my birthday. Already had a DVD player so didn't want the 596 and the 598 was out of budget. The 588 in balanced mode sounds nice and refined (wife says like a fine wine compared to a cheaper one - you can really appreciate the difference!). It's so smooth and well rounded that I forget about the hi fi and get engaged more with the music. Perhaps should have waited for the new series, but I gather the equivalent will will be more expensive still - and the 588 is well tried and tested, matches my 502/557 and I suppose holds its value well in the second hand market if I do want to move to DVD-A / SACD or whatever comes along in the future.

Good Girl !!!!

I did a back to back of the 598DP (digital interconnect) and 588 (analog interconnects). I was intending to replace my 588 with a 598. I now have both. The 588 is much better than the 598 for CD replay. On this comparison the 598 is still very good but not in the same league as the dedicated player. Once I get the smart link organised I will re-do the comparison

Trumper I'd be very intrested in your re-evaluation of 588/598 with smart link as I have done this and found the difference between them very very small with the 588 mayby slightly better at redbook CDs but the DVD and DVDA playback of the 598 tiped the balance for me.

BTW I use a 568.2 the rest is none M stuff.

Skooby

Trumper,

i didn't understand:
- 588 connected analog - this one i get
- 598 connected digitally? this way it worked ad transport only, doesn't it? what did a DAC job?

MCN,
i own 588 and it's very very good.
i really afraid to let it go and loose its RBCD performance. G08 perhaps? ;-)

anyway, for SACD you can later add dedicated player as i did (i checked scd-777es but on RBCD 588 blew it away).

Yes, that's why I went with 588. I figured that it's been well established and tuned for RBCDs - and I have hundreds of these. Video is much less important for me - I have a reasonable DVD aleady. DVD-A/SACD is still lacking in good quality titles - I guess when more become available I'll look towards adding a separate player - perhaps upgrading my DVD video at the same time - and see how I get on. In the meantime the 588 works fine through a balanced setup into 502 and 557, feeding B&W Nautilus 805. Would have been nice to wait for the G-series but these are new on market and from what I hear would be more expensive than 588 (for same equivalent). One thing I've learned about this hi fi game is to go for the best unit you can afford that is optimised for most of your listening habits. Getting something that caters for all formats tends to be compromised and ultimately (for me at least) becomes a disappointment (although Meridian are much better than others at producing these boxes). I do think the next 2 years will start seeing higher-quality cheaper mass produced multi-format players but until then I'll carry on with getting the best of what I already own.

Croc,
The 598 is connected to my 568 via a digital connection, so in effect using it as a transport and the DAC's from the 568. It is currently with Meridian for the .2MM upgrade.

Trumper

so, what basicaly you're saying that 588's DAC is better then 568's DAC in stereo?

how your 588 is connected? via analog cables to what?

The 588 is connected to the 568 via analog (Red Dawn) interconnects. I originally had this connected with a digital interconnect but have found that its sounds much better this way. My conclusion is that the DAC's are better in the 588 than the 568. The soundstage is bigger and there is slightly more perceived detail. My dealer usually connects this way for his dems.