My assumption: A high quality, semi-permanent, small form-factor, audio player for non-critical listening.

As Ronnie has said, for use as a Sooloos zone, wired and wireless networking are mandatory requirements. MC600 owners need SpeakerLink. Can the RJ45 connector be shared? Would this be wise? Is there any way of intellisensing ethernet vs. SpeakerLink?

Audio quality must be commensurate with the price. Would a lower quality than M80 be acceptable if the price point was �1000? (Probably not, but you get my point.)

CD important for non-Sooloos zones.

FM/DAB+ important for non-Sooloos zones, but also as a backup to internet connectivity.

iDevice dock important (with dedicated digital+analogue input).

3.5mm analogue input important (for devices which can't be docked).

SPDIF input important (for non-Sooloos applications - yes, they exist...).

Some non-Sooloos means of connecting to streaming services important to hook non-Meridian customers. AirPlay makes sense, but it might be possible (for instance) to manually enter internet stream URIs.

Roon Developer and ex-moderator of this Forum
I am #25 in the HH1 photo of fame.