Meridian Unplugged - Powered by MrTechGuy.co.uk Forums Discussion Meridian - Systems Is it my imagination or has the latest 861 upgrade lifted yet another veil?

So we finally got there - hi-fi is better than real?

absolutely it is!

but its also missing the social element of being at a concert or movie. that is until the holographic audience is invented- they will throw popcorn at you.....

Concerts vs home listening - an interesting topic.

Granted there is no substitute for the excitement and enjoyment of a great concert. Trouble is, that of the many I've been to, not many are truly memorable or great. I'll still attend any good concert if I have the chance, but sadly, live in a (lovely) spot on earth where such enticing events are rare.

However the negatives re concert attendance are numerous -

* they can be expensive, wickedly so with opera

* attending can be a hassle with travel (sometimes in inclement weather), parking, ....

* you might not be in the mood for the particular music being played

* the hall acoustics vary a lot so seating positions offer different experiences

* not all seats are very comfortable and not all neighbours add to the experience

So, I'm happy to be hearing great sounding music (with or without great video) of items I'm in the mood for, at a time convenient to me, in the comfort of a lounge seat, with or without a nice red wine, courtesy of Meridian & others.

Yes, home entertainment is a more "artificial" experience than going to a concert or the theatre but that is not really the point. The point is to enjoy the music, even if it is sometimes less than the absolute sound (IMO this is a pot at the end of the rainbow anyway but Meridian has brought me closer than any other componentry).

John

Live music is no substitute for the real thing ..

Hey! A word from HQ! The first of many I hope!

Best regards

George

What do you do with all of the veils that have been lifted? I use to store them in a box, now I just sale them on eBay.

[This message has been edited by sspears (edited 12-13-2003).]

Those veils are great for Bose - they cannot get enough of them. Look out for their "7 veils" series. They are proud of getting down to single digit numbers :-)

John

As J-P Sartre said, hell is other people.



[This message has been edited by gianni (edited 12-15-2003).]

Tassie,
I think you're just dancing around the issue with Bose.

I suppose the "lifting of veils" does seem to get overused when talking about audio improvements. It is, however, what I hear with 4.1 vs 4 firmware. I spent the weekend listening to Trifield 4.1 firmware and definitely heard greater clarity/transparency. I also agree with the statement that the 861 sounds smoother and more seductive. I can't put my finger on why this is so as the sound is not rolled off in any manner. It did make for great listening in any event!

Others have really covered the "lifted veil" explanation but I'll add my thoughts to echo them as my faceciousness re Bose seems to have been regarded as a cop out.

First up let me repeat that I was not expecting any obvious jump in the sonics so I was rather startled to hear it - hence the first post in this thread. So what I heard was not wishful thinking - an easy disease to catch around here.

1. More precise imaging with individual instruments clearly defined
2. Softer, more appealing sound
3. Greater emotional involvement in the music
4. Better surround sound clarity on movies

As previously stated, I'm not so sure this all brings us to "The Absolute Sound" as precise imagery and softer sound is not what I hear at live concerts. But is this really so important? IMO what is important is the above mentioned emotional involvement with the music and the latest upgrade achieves that remarkably :-)

John

Tassie,
I was just making a joke about the dance of the seven veils...