Meridian Unplugged - Powered by MrTechGuy.co.uk Forums Discussion Meridian - Systems Meridian Event in Bristol

Ian, Duncs and ncpl still aiming for 3pm.

See you all there.

Just wanted to say a big "thank you" to Richard, Roland and everyone else who helped make the visit yesterday a very enjoyable time.

It was great to have a chance to listen to the whole speaker range - the 3200s were amazing but then moving to the 7200s and then the 8000s just blew them away (as they should considering the price difference). It was also good to see how a large multi-zone Sooloos system can work with Control 15 and multiple iPod touch, iPad and iPhone controllers.

Thanks

Chris

BTW - the stereo width control on the AC200 is very effective at spreading the sound stage...
BTW2 - the Trifield width on the 861 V6 is also effective... but more subtle
BTW3 - width and apodising for older equipment are "coming" but M still won't say when

Before I knew about the AC200 width control, I was looking round the room for the other speakers, convinced that one of the other brands speakers was accidentally left on.

Ditto on thank you to all that facilitated yesterdays event.

Enjoyable, right down to the slap-up pavement meal

+1

Thanks HQ, Richard & Co for putting on very impressive line up. Anyone wondering what the DSP range does as you move up/down will have had no issue working it out.

Sooloos certainly had a good workout.

cheers

Sorry I missed it. Photos?

I was really hoping to come to this, but frustratingly I'm laid up with the flu.

I was (also!) really hoping for some detailed write-ups / impressions of the new kit / titbits for the future (ha!) etc., but to date the new Apodizing upgrade seems to have stolen all the limelight!

So, once you've all got over that excitement, can someone post up some more stuff about yesterday...

...please!

Neil

Thanks for the feedback so far: please keep it coming. I am sorry that I could not be there.

Please can someone post Meridian's playlist of music and films.

I finally got back home.

The only negative thing I can say about the whole trip was the Bristol Sound Show. It was exactly as the HH�ers suggested it would be.

However from every other aspect the trip was great.

My wife (and I when I joined her) had a most pleasant time touring Bristol and Bath.

My heartfelt thanks to Richard and all the guys at Sevenoaks. The Meridian display that they put on was brilliant where one could go up the ladder from the AC200/DSP3200 in increments to the 8k room. Whatever level you were interested in was on show. I was as impressed with the AC200/3200 system as my first listen to the F80. How did they get such a close approximation of the Meridian magic into such a small/entry level package? And having all the staff there that knew about Meridian was a real eye opener for me. A superb show.

The event was jokingly referred to as HH2.5 by one fellow HH�er, but for me it was a full blown HH3. I spent more time with Roland, Ben, and Paul than I was able to do at HH2. They answered ALL my questions and with genuine interest listened to my constructive feedback. I cannot think of any more that I could possibly have asked for. What an event!

I am having trouble putting all the HH�ers names to the handles to the faces, but I am making progress. It was a real treat discussing with my fellow fanatics without the limitations of trying to put things in writing and having a social event. I enjoyed watching the senior HH�ers playing with the systems and testing Roland�s expertise, although at times for all I knew they were seeing if it could make a cup of cappuccino. The only suggestion that I would make for the whole event is a group picture at the end to allow me to recall who I met and the names.

The thing that I learned that was the most significant for me at this time I will pass on to those less technically inclined as I. A music server is inherently much more difficult to get sound quality from than spinning a disc. The server is basically a computer where all the various functions are spewing noise. The Meridian solution is the MS600 or ID40. With these goodies the upstream Sooloos is doing the noisy computing, but only passing the raw packets of data (whatever they call that) downstream. Then in the anechoic MS600/ID40 the actual sound processing is done where the sound data is converted to PCM and whatever other magic Meridian does.

This suddenly explained my experience that I was hoping for an improvement in SQ with my C15 due to the apodizing and other improvements, but the noise made a net result of approximately even. If I want to improve the SQ of my discs in the G91 I have to look at the Meridian server system as a package with the Sooloos AND a MS600 or ID40. Darn the 8k room was almost my system except for the ID40 in the V6 and it blew me away.

In hindsight I was very naive in that I was hoping to get some answers and do some tweaking without spending any money. This happened greater than my hopes, but then I learned what I could do with a MS600 or ID40. That became a need for me and I have to do some hard thinking of the relative cost benefit of each � not whether to get one of them, but which one to get.

Aloha,

Glad you got home safely , Dolf . Our next outing will be a wallet-free ' Hitchhikers Annonymous ' day where we can counsel each other on the side-effects of Meridian advice :D) We often complain about not hearing enough from M but it can be very expensive when we do hear from them

I too liked the layout and gradation of the different systems . Each one sounded great on it's own terms .

Might I suggest that if you decide to go for an ID40 you may get a ' Special Offer ' at the New York Hikers day out ? You never know ........

M

I visited Sevenoaks on Saturday and was delighted with the entire event. The Sevenoaks staff really had gone to great trouble to make it an enjoyable occasion, with unpressured advice and refreshments to hand as required.

The Meridian team had prepared all the goodies, answered my technically naive questions, and certainly helped me to focus on the most valuable future upgrade path for my 5.1 system. If I recall correctly they explained that apodizing is most valuable closest to the source and dejitter and FIFO furthest away.

I said hello and chatted with Dolf, Duncan and Meridialien although I am sure other HH's were there; it just felt odd to walk up to a stranger and ask if they HH'd. Two unidentified attendees kindly discussed the relative merits of SF Cremona and Amati.

I took time to listen to the AC200/DSP3200 stereo, DSP3200/G61R cinema, DSP7200 stereo, and 8K cinema. Most impressive for my taste was the 7200 stereo with a fluid natural sound, and the 3200 cinema with impressive scale and accuracy for its size. Perhaps the future lies with a combination of both.

On Sunday I spent a short morning in the Bristol show with the hotel foundations tested to their limits by subwoofers. Highlight was REL's demo of the G1 with SF Guarneri Homage and AR amplification; lowlight the waft of stale pasties through claustrophobic rooms.

Thank you to Sevenoaks and Meridian for organising such an informative, relaxing and comprehensive event.

Mat

Dolf,

Very interesting report. I hadn't paid much attention to the MS 600 but now I'm wondering if it and an iPad might replace my SB Touch and give me something close to the ID40 results. I'm running RIPNAS>router>SB Touch>DSP52k's (non sl) in my two channel office system. Am I missing something here?

Ken

Be careful about mixing apples and oranges.

Using a computer DIRECTLY to SPDIF vs a SqueezeBox/Sonos/Airwave etc. are quite different.

The SqueezeBox/Sonos/Airwave model is EXACTLY what Meridian is doing. Basically the ID40 is a SqueezeBox inside the 861. What many suggested Meridian do many years ago.

I'm sure some computers are better than others and their MS600/C15 *IS* a computer (running Linux or Embedded Windows).

Overall I disagree that CD is easier. CD drives make physical noise and raise the noise floor of your room.

Meridian is playing games with terminology. Meridian has been moving towards the "Computer" model for years starting with ROM drives. It's cheaper, more powerful and better performing when done right.

To me a requirement of an ideal solution has 0 moving parts in the listening room. No fans, No Hard drives, No CD Drives.