Meridian Unplugged - Powered by MrTechGuy.co.uk Forums Discussion Meridian - Systems DSP speakers? Worth it?

Curious to see/hear peoples opinion on the Meridian DSP speakers with cost vs. performance etc when it comes to some of the other big names etc like Martin Logan, B&W, Linn, Sonus Faber, etc and some other names that I can't remember at this time.


Thanks

Well just remember that amplifiers are taken out of the equation with DSP speakers.

I'd say that Ms DSP speakers compete with these names head on, at comparable price points. Speakers are (IMO) the most subjective component of all, and one mans extended HF response is anothers bright.

Cheers,

let your ears decide.

doody.

I know you guys say let your ears decide but are they worth the additional money. For instance..... DSP speakers are in the digital realm etc and regular speakers are in the analogue realm. Is there a benefit for going digital? I know that is part of the price hike due to the fact that processors, amps, metal cabinets etc go into the cost etc.

The DSP7000 are like $25K vs. say Martin Logan speakers that are $10K plus some "high-end" amplifier that is $7K that is a total of 25K vs 17K. Do you guys believe that there is a 8K difference in the DSP speakers.

Let your ears decide...I understand that but a general consensus can still be made for buying 25K speakers vs 17K speakers. Just like many, many, many people say don't spend $1500 on Bose because they are not worth the cost associated with the performance that you get.

That is the basis of my question.

cue,

There isn't a right answer.

The value add of DSP speakers is considerable -- between features like Axis, Boundary setting, ease of wiring etc etc provides a tremendous ease of use that can't be underestimated.

If you are constantly tweaking amplifiers, it might drive you crazy though

Cheers,

one might argue that there is no price delta for DSP speakers. i don't feel i spent more on my DSP speakers than i would have on analog speakers + amps + cabling.

only you can put that math together and make a judgement call.

is digital better? i sure think it is (6Ks, 5500HC, 5Ks, 33s). but you really do have to decide for yourself.

you can spend more. you can spend less. but in the end we all know that price is not always proportional to performance. this is a way-weird market segment.

doody.

Thanks guys. What type of music are you DSP owners listening to?

Also if you have HT what configuration are your running for front/center/rear/surround/sub

Thanks.

6000 5500HC 6000 across the front. 5000s for the rear. here's a picture on AVS:
http://gallery.avsforum.com/showphoto.php?photo=640&size=big

the 5500HC needs to be up on a stand or cabinet. it's on the list. but no way i can get tweeter level matching for my center. the equipment being up about 11" from the seating area doesn't help. for now i use the speaker controls to tilt the images quite a bit (center up a tad, fronts down a lot).

doody.

nice pic you got there doody. Are you using a subwoofer with this setup or do the 6k's go low enough not to need one?

Any Trifield drawbacks by using the 5500HC as a center channel and not another 6k? I saw in another post that the Trifield works "better" if all front speakers were the same.

I'm not using Meridian DSP speakers so I don't have the luxury of tilt setting but I do have L/C/R actives which use the same drive units and amps to produce accurate timbre matching. This is important for Trifield as noted above.

I have a horizontal centre for the same reason as most people - screen height - and thus my center tweeter is about 12 inches lower than the tweeters on the L/R pair. I am pleased to say that despite this the integration of the system is very good with clear imaging on music sources. The effect of mis-alignment is very difficult to judge on films anyway.

I put this good performance down to wide and even dispersion of the mid and treble rather than the beaming effect from some systems. You retain good image specificity over a wider listening area.

Malcolm

The best way to resolve your query is to view "Meridian Loudspeakers: The DSP Path" in the library section of the Meridian website. Once you've read it, you won't want to buy analogue ever again.

Spinaltap, reading material is a good start but it really comes down to listening to the speaker and deciding if you enjoy what it has to offer. Non-DSP speakers can offer the user something that appeals to their ear. For example, I listened to Meridians 8Ks and found that they were not for me. For my tastes I choose the Verity Parsifal but also enjoyed several others including some from Kharma and Gershman. Meridian speakers would have been easier but it was not to be.