Meridian Unplugged - Powered by MrTechGuy.co.uk Forums Discussion Meridian - Systems Stereo or Trifield ?

What I am curious about is -- how does hi-rez STEREO (2-ch DVD-A or SACD) sound in Trifield? And vs. multichannel, if you can also comment on that comparison.

JM,
When I play the 2 channel track on DVD-A's the result via Trifield seems very similar to that of a CD- but there is greater clarity to the sound, that being the benefit of a higher res format. In general playing back discs this way compensates for bad multi channel mixes. That said- my recent DVD-A listening has been mostly Yes' Fragile and Fleetwood Mac's Rumors and I have found in this scenario, if I turn off the side channels and just use the rears as surrounds, the multi channel mix is very compelling.

David,

What is the worry about the decibels additional surrounds would add? Hearing the sound from another room or for your ears. I am sure the processor would compensate in terms of your hearing/ enjoyment.

7.1 seems to me to be a benefit for Trifield and movie playback- if your room is large enough to merit it. but for 5.1 DVD-A surround mix plaback, I have found its best to have the surround channels behind you and not to use side channels- so a 5.1 setup is best. for movies, if you have a 5.1 setup, the rule of thumb is its best to have the surround channels just behind you to the sides. So with the M gear, in a 7 speaker setup, you can tell it for DVD-A to only use the rear surround channels, and for movie or Trifield playback to use all the channels- and get the best of both worlds.

I dont agree with your concern on the M33s- in terms of time alignment, thats done in the surround processor. I think it would work out just fine.

SmoothSound,

Ambisonic was designed so that the recorded information could be played back so that the original ITD cues are preserved, no matter what speaker layout you have. It in effect attempts to recreate the original wavefront from every sound source that was at the original recording.

If you have an Ambisonic encoded disc, you could play it back and swap between 4 and 5 speaker output, effectively allowing it to attempt wavefront reproduction with the front 2 speakers instead of 3 (it also does it with front/rear, but you are keeping those variables constant).

Iwang,
Intersting remark on ambisonic. I tried a UHJ encoded disc. That sounds good with 4 or 5 speakers, but 6 or 7 goes wrong. The voices are draw to the sides it seems.
It seems to be those 2 extra speakers do not belong at the side position in ambisonics.

Jaco

jaco,

My experience with Ambi and 6/7 speakers are different. Soundstage gets a little wider, with instruments that are usually on the edge of the soundstage sometimes appearing beyond the main speakers. But what is most significant is that first reflection becomes noticable, meaning I hear the accoustic of the original recording venue more. Instead of just some ambiance extracted for the rear speakers as in a 4/5 channel setup, now the side of the hall becomes defined, not just where the side speakers are, but where the first reflection regions roughly occurs.

Ambisonic could have any number of speakers, Meridian gears are optimized for 4, 5, 6 and 7 speaker ambi setup (maybe there are others, like 1 rear surround, but I haven't configured those setup for my environment). The Aspect Ratio setting is for the sole purpose of ambisonic decoding because it has to know what signal to send to each speaker so that the resultant sound would simulate a wavefront as much as possible.

I have to admit, I didn't listen to much voice recordings, mostly just orchestral recordings from Nimbus.

To all, Frank means playback via Direct V.S. Trifield. NOT the Stereo preset.

I use Trifield also for my 2 channel playback. I had it wrongly configured i found out yesterday evening. It seems i need -1 Depth to get the center to intergrate better with the Left and Right.
Now it sounds even better.

Jaco

I have depth at -1.5

I just listened to a few songs off Michael Jackson's History Disc 1.

Every one of them sounded unbelieveable in Trifield. "Dont Stop Till You Get Enough" sounds like a dance party going on all around you.

I honestly think I could fool more than a few people into thinking it is a special surround sound mix.

I was wrong, i have +1, so push the center back electronicly.
-1 would mean the center is physically too far away it seems.

Jaco

Jaco,
thats right- technically speaking. I was advised by a Meridian installer to try a negative setting. In my setup it really improved the sound- vocals seem so much more focused. all you have to do is put on some good vocal music and play with the setting until it seems right. I dont get hung up on what the - or + mean, just which produces the best result.

Seems rather odd advise from the M. installer, as the default depth setting for Trifield is +0.5. My best reaults seems to be around +0.5 to +1.0. I recall seing a review sometime in the past where Bob S. tweaked a reviewers kit by adding (i.e. going more +) to get a 'better' result. I do agree with Jerry L's method for setting - using a vocal source is a lot easier than instrumental music.

Andy

PS has anyone noticed the change in default depth setting for PL 2(x) Music with the PL2x/861 updates - it's gone from 0.0 to +2.0.

I think this is why you can adjust the depth - some CD's/music are better integrated with the center moved up and some with the center moved back. I find the vocals can sound out of balance with the music when brought forward. On other CD's I find the center gets *lost* at +5 and moving it closer (-5) snaps the vocals into position. I really depends on the recording.

I had my center depth set to +1.5. This is the best compromise between sharp imaging, correct tonal balance and bringing the image back to ear level, which on some depth settings, would drag the image toward the floor due to my center channel sitting there.