Meridian Unplugged - Powered by MrTechGuy.co.uk Forums Discussion Meridian - Systems Previews of new products

I Cant help thinking the DSP3200,s bring Red Dwarf to mind. Cryton's cheeks never looked so good. Smeg!!

gizzE, don't the latest DSPs still carry an SPDIF input?

I can't believe these 3200s only have SL in and no display. If anything, that lowgrade slanted box should be included with the price................ what the hell is M doing? And why compete with B&O when their actual sound repro, tacky design notwithstanding, is quite poor.

If redesigning cases why go 1/2 a step backwards from the G series? Why not get creative and create something fresh?

But then again we are ultimately the minority that actually understand the products and require no dealer assistance; that is, we can't be talked into inferior M designs.

How will quality control be? I've ragged on Chinese products but have never had any issue w/ Asia as I had the most grief w/ British made ultra-outrageiously-priced electronics................

I wish M well. I really do.

Not these ones, and I would guess these are the ones that need it most, an entry speaker that you can (well should be able to) plug any CD player/Media player straight into.

My point was that Meridian should be making the entry point as painless as possible and they are making it harder and harder.

gizzE, sorry I misunderstood your previous point and agree wholeheartedly with your comment above.

Yes, 4 AC12's for an existing 7.1 DSP-system is not encouraging and M introduces more and more boxes to the chain, including the HD621. The new AC200 will probably include all kinds of inputs except HDMI (the most common one in the current market). So, let me see: HDMI-Source(BD-player) -> HD621 -> 7.1 Processor -> 4*AC12 -> DSP-speakers (or 4* AC200 -> 3200's), means 5 elements in the chain.

@Gianni, qoute:"don't the latest DSPs still carry an SPDIF input?"
No, as fas as I know, M is eliminating SPDIF from both their speakers (DSP420 is stripped a year ago and only sports SpeakerLink, and now the 3200's), as well as their sound processors (the $25K 861v6). I don't see M abandoning the chosen path to eliminate SPDIF more and more and, therefore, I have my eye on the $15K Tact-MkIII that has both HDMI and SPDIF all-in-one, which cuts down the 3 elements in the chain between the source and the speakers (HD621+861+AC12) to only 1 element (as it should be, in a minimalist approach).

Interesting discussion so far- I think the idea here is for an entry-level system that is really made to be sold as a set. I don't think this was designed for any of us "enthusiasts" who can generally set-up, upgrade, and optimize our systems without dealer support. I don't think Meridian had in mind all of the applications we are suggesting as we are fairly sophisticated users of their equipment.

I can easily see this being sold to wealthy individuals for an office or bedroom system. I was in NYC recently talking with a Meridian dealer who told me about a customer who purchased 3 F80s (each one in a different color) for each of his children when the F80 first came out. Even in a tough economy there are plenty of rich people out there who will drop serious money for something new from Meridian. I look forward to hearing/ checking these out, but I don't think I would buy it, as I would prefer full DSPs and a real processor.

I really don't get eliminating SPDIF from the DSP speakers. If the SPDIF input wasn't there I could/would never have got into them, regardless of sound qaulity, because I needed an entry and upgrade path. And where is the "just add any transport/music server" solution?

Is the new customer proposition really a complete closed system from pre-amp/processor input to drive unit output?

Much as I love this stuff that would immediately alienate and exclude me as both a new product and second-hand buyer. New stuff is a closed system, old stuff will not interface and, as we see, legacy product support is becoming a less significant part of the proposition.

My B system (see below) has value - and is thus resellable - as individual components while my A system is just not that dependent on Meridian. A full current Meridian system with SPDIFs eliminated has zero flexibility, tying the purchaser to dealer trade-ins or high resale loss because you are only selling to purchasers who are already committed to Meridian.

It is such a bizarre design choice if it is so. I can't even see that it was a cost issue to eliminate SPDIF when it retails at $6000 (if that is the case)

So bizarre in fact that I suggest we wait for the spec sheet to surface....

A lot of interesting discussion both on these new products and Meridian in general in some other threads.

As someone who's just dipped a toe into Meridian but is potentially about to plunge head-first, it makes me begin to worry : I invested heavily in TAG McLaren Audio literally a couple of months before they "closed" and I'd be extremely concerned about the direction the company's (Meridian) potentially taking with respect to the high-end gear - I don't want to be left with an unsupported & no-longer developed product again.

I've also spent a lot of money on the latest B&W range and had such an appalling customer service experience that I'm almost certainly going to walk away from them - because they're almost totally focussed on lifestyle products too now and have IMO definitely dropped the ball with their high-end range.

More food for thought ?

By look at the picture in the UltimateAV link on page 1. The A200 shows G-series like soft buttons named 'CD' 'Radio' 'DVD' and 'SLS'. The fifth name I could not read.

Looking at the display and the remote, I very much believe that the A200 is an F80 derived product.

I see the DSP3200/A200 combination as a step up from the M80. But can only guess why they left out an integrated iPod dock. To be sold seperately ?? Or is Meridian afraid it will canabalize Sooloos sales?

A number of points:

1) Yes, the inclusion of an iPod dock built into the AC200 might have been a good idea...

2) I don't think that the AC200 is derived from the F80, but the display might be. If the photos are representative of the finished article, I am still astonished that users will have to make do with "SLS" rather than "Sooloos".

3) Lack of coax SPDIF inputs on the DSP3200s has not yet been confirmed.