Meridian Unplugged - Powered by MrTechGuy.co.uk Forums Discussion Meridian - Systems G68 vs 861v6 for digital I/O

I completely agree with you. If it really was only about 7.1 I would have backed out of my original purchase of the G68 and purchased the Classe SSP 800. But alas I like the M sound and it doesn't get any better than the 861 v6. I just couldn't resist one more sarcastic jab at my dealer for selling me the 7.1 G68. Sorry.

Sorry Gary, I remember where you're coming from now...

Terms like state-of-the-art, no compromises, better topology & technology may very well be true. But that in itself means nothing to me. I'm sure inferior sounding products boast the same marketing speak.

What about jitter data or whatever else that can be quantified and/or shown objectively? If indeed the 861v6 has lower jitter than the HD621, then I'm eager to listen to what anyone has to present.

But otherwise, I'm still trying to justify the price difference. Of course if I had money to burn, then I'd buy a 500K sports car too. It probably won't perform much better than a 100K sports car. But for the additional 400K I get bragging rights.

Sorry if I am offending anyone. You should enjoy your purchase, regardless of what it is and why you buy it. I'm just trying to convince myself that I have better things to do with my money.

Hi,

It is not so much a problem with the HD621, it is the fact that it is a HDMI source, with is inherently more jittery than SPDIF sources; and no matter how good the HD621 is, it is always better to start with the best source possible and minimise conversion.

I have compared, 800D direct to 861v4 and 800D via HD621 to 861v4; the direct path, for me, wins every time. Why (I suspect, as I have no means of measuring it) is because the coax output from the 800D has lower jitter than that of its HDMI output (even after being cleaned up by the HD621).

To be honest, forget all the data sheets and tech specs and go listen; this is the only way for to decide what is good for you and your ears.

Regards,
Carl

We M owners all have great systems. Once you are this good, any further audible differences become smaller and perhaps the money would be better spent on the room.

Another point for me is the lifestyle difference of having my entire library and component control in my pocket remotely with iTunes and the remote application, which makes a CD player obsoltete to me.

Hi Axle, luckily you seem to live in L.A. where I'm sure you can audition the 861V6 and perhaps compare your G68 to the highest end M. processor. IMHO, if 7.1 through the HD621 is not a huge priority, then you must make the decision on how you perceive the audio output and then, if the upgrade is "worth it" for you.

for many of us as well, CD spinners are obsolete. I believe this forced M.'s hand to buy Sooloos. They see the sales trends and hear the distributors pre-sales comments about components.

We should also remember that M got as far as showing a prototype 880 Reference Music Server so the whole Sooloos thing should not have been such a big surprise.

I hope the MS600 is a foreshadow of things to come: Meridian styling, Meridian analogue and digital design, rather than off-the-shelf sound cards like the original designs had.

What's to take offense at - you raise perfectly reasonable questions. I debated long and hard whether to upgrade my 861v4 to a v6 and, ultimately, felt that the benefits were worth the $$$. It has been a long time since I owned a G68, so any sound-quality comparisons from me are pointless, but I did have an opportunity to do a brief side-by-side between v4 and v6 and I'd make the following two observations: discrete 7.1 is a nice-to-have, though presumably will become more significant over time as more Bluray sources become available, and CD playback from my 800 has improved significantly. This second point is inarguable, but it is also not clear what in v6 makes the improvement. Presumably it is partly a result of apodizing being available on the SPDIF inputs, but also improved D/A cards?

My dealer has informed me today after verifying with Meridian US that the G68SL also upsamples and apodizes non hi-rez (which I interpret to mean 44.1 or 48 kHz data) from SPDIF inputs.

Hi Sanjay,

This is true, but this thread was discussing / comparing the older G68 which does not apodize and not the new G68SL which does.

Are you thinking of upgrading? If so please note, as others have been caught out by this, that currently only the 861v6 has 8 channel discrete digital input.

Regards,
Carl

Carl - yes I am thinking of buying the G68SL and HD621, with a trade-in of a G91 which seems to have been deep-sixed by a electrical surge or something, requiring a $950 (!) minimum Meridian US repair charge. It's a good trade in deal for a broken G91. I did not have any processor before so its not an upgrade per se. I'll intend to use it with an Oppo BDP93.

1. I'm expecting / hoping that for ripped CDs

SB3 lossless SPDIF > G68SL balanced > G57 > analog speakers
which will apodize and upsample

is an significant improvement over

SB3 lossless SPDIF > G91 unbalanced > G57 > analog speakers
even though G91 upsamples internally to 192 Khz before analog conversion

2. For my 20 or so for DVD-Audio disks that I have enjoyed with 2 channels, I'll be happy if

Oppo BDP93 HDMI > HD621 MMHR > G68SL balanced > G57 > analog speakers
is at least equal to
G91 unbalanced > G57 > analog speakers
but I'm uncertain about this based on everything discussed in this forum

3. I'm expecting / hoping that DVD picture quality
Oppo BDP93 (a Blu-Ray player with QDEO2) HDMI > Pioneer PDP-5010FD
exceeds
G91 HDMI > Pioneer PDP-5010FD

4. Of course I'll be thrilled with the Oppo's ability to do Blu-Ray video, streaming Netflix and SACD, none of which the G91 can do.

5. I'll look forward to 5.1 DVD-A music when I eventually get 3.1 more speakers and amps

6. I'm OK not having 7.1 digital input. I've no room to put 7.1 in, this is all in the family room and moving from Chicago to Silicon Valley, I'm not going to be in a bigger place....if I ever get to that point, I assume Meridian will take the G68SL as a trade against an 861v6.

7. I've had the G91 for 6 years and am only now getting a processor, and in the intervening period the death of DVD-A has radically depreciated the G91 even before it died. The original reason for the G91 was to be a great CD player and eventually to upgrade to the G91/G68combo with MHR, decoding in the G91 and upsampling in the G68 - there were no other digital out DVDA options back then. Now there is a $500 Oppo and a $3000 HD621. So making long term plans is fraught with risk, who knows what the situation will be if/when I'm ever in the market for 7.1

8. Prior to the attractive trade in deal, I would have bought a 2nd hand G68XXV for $3000 and waited patiently for the apodizing software upgrade for who knows how long.

Just one man's logic....

Sanjay