Meridian Unplugged - Powered by MrTechGuy.co.uk Forums Discussion Meridian - Streaming Sooloos Control:PC User Guide and Volume Levelling

I wonder if the other Successful users also implement Crossfade in order to get their Volume Leveling to work???

Hi Ronnie,

To make that information usefull, I think you might also have to ask if they have ID40, MSx00, or do they run straight into the processor. This may be an ID40/MSxxx issue? I don't suppose that it would be reasonable to expect that M might actually give us an explaination?

I've only had 25 minutes with the volume leveling working, but it is great for the way I like to listen in the morning with background music while I catch up on all my computer work. I was taking this glitch pretty low key, but it is wonderful to hear my own eclectic radio station without alternately getting blasted or wondering if someone turned the music off.

Aloha,

Hi Dolf,

Glad to help. You can vary the length of the x-fade. So, if you don't want much then do 1 sec. I actually like X-fade when I've built a playlist so I go for 5+ secs. There's something about the continuity...

See how you go with some critical listening and see if you feel the SQ has changed at all.

Cheers

I don't use cross fading and I don't even know what it is!

Jack,

Have a read at Ronnie's post in this topic , you must have missed it.

Regards
Carl

Oh Drat!

There is a reduction in SQ. Given conditionally as the comparison is a bit tricky as it takes a volume adjustment to try to keep the comparison apples to apples, my wife with the more critical ears than my older models says there is a slight reduction in detail. I would describe it as if someone put a cardboard box over my speakers. Not a huge difference, but noticable. Darn it, after all the expense of my last tweak to get that last bit of SQ, I just can't cut it back. But now that I have heard how useful this levelling is for me, the cat is out of the bag and I don't want to be without it. Darn, darn, darn.

Turn it On for Ambient Listening

Turn it Off for Critical Listening???

Hi Dolf,

I am happy because it means I wasn't going mad. Subtle changes to systems can often fool us. But, this one is not so subtle. You describe cardboard boxes; I said taking the shine off. Same thing I guess.

I am unhappy because I suspect that M have simply implemented the same technique as we un-did with the +3dB fix. Their response IIRC was that we're mad and it's just louder.

BLLX to that notion. You cannot and must not cut resolution to achieve volume changes.

I must have spent a week wondering why my system didn't sound like it should until I 'discovered' the levelling.

I'll be delighted to be educated should M feed any details through if I am mistaken. It seems so bizarre that with the brains, research and critical ear that HQ don't spot this (again).

Where did you hear the above Meridian response to the +3dB Tweak Nick???

I sent them several emails thru my Dealer, but he never got ANY kind of a response

I think it was the comment that a local dealer had from M a few months back when I was asking for clarification about the subject.

Yes there is and as I said it's significant

Here's my theory for how the volume leveling is accomplished: It seems to me that there are two ways to change the volume heard from a Meridian system: alter the gain of the analog amplification between the DAC and the speakers or modify the amplitude of the digital representation of the music.

The Sooloos volume leveling must do the latter 'cause indeed, we haven't bothered to run a comms line from our MC200 to our system. (Thus the MC200 via the iPad app has no way to communicate speaker volume changes to our system.) That scaling of the digital data must result in some loss of resolution for loud tracks that are leveled to be played softer. But that has me wondering what happens to a track that needs to be scaled louder?

More fundamentally, what sets the basis for all the leveling: the first track in a queue? If so, what happens if that first track is a really loud recording - do all subsequent tracks get boosted in the digital domain and so enjoy improved resolution?