Meridian Unplugged - Powered by MrTechGuy.co.uk Forums Discussion Meridian - Systems Does the HD621 make sense in my system?

I recently rebuilt my basement after a terrible flood last year and have moved my Meridian gear into a dedicated home theater. I had previously only used Meridian for audio. My 800 player is giving me some trouble, disc tray not openong, lots of skips, and will definitely need to be sent in for repair. I am waiting for an Oppo 93 which will be delivered next week.

My projector is fed by 2 HDMI cables from a DirctTV DVR and my current Bluray player. All sound is handled by the 861 and, of course, no video is handled by the 800.

I am not clear as to what benefit I'd get from the HD621. It doesn't bother me that I can't use the 800 for video.

Please help me understand what are the benefits this unit in my system.

Thanks

If your system will stay this way then you will just keep listening to standard DD/DTS.

A HD621 will bring simplicity with 6 HDMI inputs and switching controlled by the Meridian remote.
Next, audio quality will improve via HDMI as your Oppo decodes the new Lossless movie and concert formats.
Also i've found that the HD621 is excellent at driving 15m HDMI lengths. It seems to have a much better output than standard HDMI sources.

If you for example want a third HDMI source you are out of luck without the HD621.

Also with the new 3D update it was kept up to date and the audio signal detection was improved which I noticed with some misbehaving material. I don't have anything bad to say about it actually and that is unusual in the HDMI world.

Thanks Crion

Will the HD621 connect to my 800 player? Will it connect to a Squeezebox touch? Or is it only for sources with HDMI out?
Does it make the 800 obsolete if I use the Oppo for music as well?
Alan

The Oppo is a very nice Bluray and DVD player. It is not a replacement for a top quality spinner like your 800.

In general I would try and keep your music as far away from from HDMI as possible ! Stick to video sources for the HD621. In my system, I use the HD621 to switch between my mac mini, the Oppo and my xbox 360. Using a Meridian system for gaming is a really cool.

Cheers
Greg

EDIT: Use the Google Search link at the top of the page and search for "HD621 jitter" - you will get a lot of useful reading material from there. This has been covered quite comprehensively in the past

Another nice feature of the HD621 is that it will act as 'sink' which will allow you to switch off your display if you should ever want to listen to music from e.g. Bluray source.

The only negative characteristic of the HD621 (apart from its single HDMI output) that I've found is that is does appear to fussy with respect to the qulaity of the HDMI input signal. I have had problems with a 6m cable between a satellite source and the HD621. Easily solved by adding a signal booster.

I'm about to order and have run into a few more questions.

I assume I'll have to use the SmartLink connections to the 861v4 because I have no MMHR connection. Is this a disadvantage?

I assume I'll still be able to connect the 800 via the adjacent SmartLink connectors on the IE42 card.

Thanks

Hi,

A1)
MMHR supports 8 channels of discrete audio.
SmartLink supports 6 channels of discrete audio.
Only a disadvantage if you have a 7.1 system and are playing a 7.1 Blu-ray disk.

A2)
Your 800 should still be connected via SmartLink.

Regards,
Carl

MMHR allows for native 7.1 material to be passed from a Bluray player to a current gen 861v6. If you have a 7.1 channel speaker setup, owning an 861v4 which only accepts 5.1 and then synthesizes the additional channels would be seen as a disadvantage. If you are a 5.1 guy then using the older 3xS/PDIF smartlink connection it is no issue at all.


Yes.

Happy Trails!
MTB Vince

With both of your SmartLink MC inputs utilised on the 861, you will need to add an ID20 card if you want any additional digital sources connected via coax SPDIF.

Cheers

George

I will plan to connect my Squeezebox touch using the optical input on the 861.

Right now, I do not have the video from the 800 going into the 861 via component connection. With the HD621, will I be able to send the video from the 800-861-HD621-prjector?

No, the HD621 simply splits audio out from the six HDMI inputs to send on to the processor, whilst providing one HDMI output for the display device. It doesn't have any other video switching capabilities or connections.

Cheers

George

OK, then is it possible to purchase an HDMI card for the 800 which would run video into the HD621 while keeping the audio out from the 800 directly into the 861?