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

Frank,
Exactly! Thank you.

UA,

Yes, I definately pushed the argument- but thats what making an argument is all about. And I'm sure your hearing is no better or worse than mine is. Just like Frank illustrated- we all prize different things- hence why some people "cant" listen to CDs and "have to" listen to vinyl.

I am merely showing what the guts of the speakers have and trying to make as equal a comparison as possible. Turns out, that is very difficult to do- which is one of my points: The DSPs are pretty unique.

I agree you have to go with final results. Thats exactly my point. With the DSPs everything comes together in a package that has top level performance, ease of use, and fit and finish. The downside: price of admission.

I dont think the N801s compare very well- I find them to be too slow in the bass department. I actually prefer the 802s. But I dont think the 802s play as well as the 8000s. Its not a very fair statement since the last time I heard a pair of 802s was in 1998- same for the 801s so maybe they have been updated.

I also think you need those seperate amps because bi/ tri amping is important to many audiophiles. It does make a difference. Many audiophiles go bananas trying to do this. The 8000s are probably very close to the ideal tri amped setup, the only issue is the likely the common power supply (I dont know if its common or not). And the seperate amps are necessary because we're trying to make as close a comparison as possible. We've got to keep the power similar- in your example thats 200wpc for each speaker vs. 500 for the Meridians.

If you want to talk about long term stability- we should be careful actually of ML and Revels since Madrigal seems to be undergoing some changes- who knows how long it will be around.

I also doubt the VK6200 will be enough power for those 801s or 802s- you are probably at the bottom end of whats acceptable. My experience is you want 350wpc @8ohms with speakers like those. If you want to try that amp- there will not be enough power for really deep bass so you will want to crossover and get a good sub. What do those go for now? I shudder to think of the price of the Krell Master! lol

I also think the BAT amps are overpriced- like all high end amps are. If we look hard enough we probably can find someone who will build you an amp that will perform the same or better for half its price. Point here is you really cant argue "bang for the buck" with this stuff- its all too expensive- they all have high margins- because the volume is low.

You will also have to address cabling because anyone shelling out for 801s and a BAT amp will be given the dog and pony show on cables. In all likelihood, they will spend $1k per pair for speaker cables and then another $1k for interconnects.

It seems to me from our discussion- and I appreciate the fact that we've kept it civil- the "comparative value" of the digitals doesnt compute for you- and theres nothing wrong with that. I want to say that I've taken this stand point more for the sake of the debate than for the sake of "I'm right/ Youre wrong".

As mentioned earlier, with any big purchase, one has to make the right choice for them. We're talking about pairs of speakers for tens of thousands of dollars and there are many choices for a reason.

I think we are talking about the same thing when it comes to the investment in digital speakers but we're just saying it differenly. Put another way, Meridian in all likelihood will offer upgrades to the hardware inside the speaker (D-A, processing) and they periodically offer software upgrades (some of those are so big that it seems like you got new hardware). If you had a 5 series processor + analog setup and wanted to change the d-a section, you couldnt do it yourself- and the upgrade will have to be done by M at their HQ for a decent cost. In a more traditional stereophile setup with a 2 channel analog preamp you could. So yes, with so much technology in one box, the digital speaker risks technological obselence much more than your typical analog speaker.

At the same time, I would say that the digital speaker is so far ahead of anything in the analog world in terms of offering that sophicistated power in an easily accessable package that I wonder if its possible to catch up. Thats all technically speaking. Results wise you have to decide for yourself. When I listened to those 8000s back in January 2001, I knew how digital speakers operated, but I didnt know it in such detail and I didnt care- I was very impressed with how they sounded. Throughout the show my wife and I went to various demos and I asked her what she thought the best was- without my ever telling her my opinion, she said it was the Meridian setup. By the time youre in your mid 20s, female hearing tends to be more accurate than male hearing, and I often find that people who arent as much into this stuff can offer a good "non-biased" or non-jaded, viewpoint. Given that we are the 2 primary listeners, the decision was made.

You could have a pair of speakers from the 60s that you like better than anything out today, and if thats what you like, who cares if its outdated, so long as they work- and we're right back to the Apple IIe example.

[This message has been edited by JerryL (edited 11-24-2003).]