"Did you expect the C15 to sound as good as 808.3 which is double the price?"

Well, why not? The 808.3 is in fact a CD player, processor and preamp with high quality analogue output stages and associated power supplies so their cost must be factored in too... good analogue costs money - factor in the diminishing returns you mentioned and I should be about 98% there...

I'm concerned about the "significant" jump in quality that some have mentioned on the forums - it sounds like more than the 2% difference I had in mind and was prepared to concede.

My current system punches well beyond its price point - it already sounds superb using, for example, the Chesky Ultimate Demo CD as a reference point. There isn't room for huge improvement, the system is at a level of very subtle differences which are a matter of taste and interpretation rather than veils being lifted etc. Both the NAD M2 and the Quads are know for their ruthless transparency.

Listening to the various source options will be interesting - I have the Vaio via optical, a Squeezebox Touch (mini server) and a Transporter for comparison and by using the Chesky Ultimate Demo disk I should be able to do a real time A/B/C/D comparison blindfolded (if the Mrs obliges and doesn't get other ideas..)

In terms of the C15 price point, it doesn't compare at all favourably with the latest touch screen 16:9 HP all in one computers which retail around �900...

Sure, there's now a new dedicated Meridian output card (add �1k) and a unique software interface for which I'm sure Windows clones are being worked on as we speak...

Bitching aside, I bought one... My guests will certainly enjoy the focused swimming and meanwhile I'm hoping the net may provide some of the answers to extracting all of the performance the unit should potentially be capable of...

As soon as a decent Sooloos touchpad control app appears then it may be time to rethink the system... this is a hobby after all smile