Meridian Unplugged - Powered by MrTechGuy.co.uk Forums Discussion Meridian - Systems Apodizing CD Players

I hear ya, but the main reason I don't like the PS3 is because it's damn noisy- it whirrs around, the HDD is constantly going, and I can hear the fan quite loudly during quiet passages. Also I don't like having the TV turned on just to navigate songs, etc? Even if I set it to 'auto-play' it only works 50% of the time! I also hate the way it looks- petty, perhaps, but there ya go

Open to suggestions for other good universal disc players!

I'll call my local Meridian dealer tomorrow and find out about the HD621 control...

Appears that you've stated that

a) you want to stay with CD's as opposed to Streaming Devices

b) That you have a Priority for 2ch Sound from CD's.........over and above DVD or Bluray performance

Given those preferences, I think you should look at a G08.2 or perhaps a G91/G92 Player

For a variety of reasons, the above players will noticeably outperform any of the Bluray / Universal players with CD's.......even after routing them thru an HD621

A G91 or G92 would also allow you to route other Bluray Players etc to your DSP Speakers

Maybe talk to Rick about any ex-demo Meridian CD Players he might have........for the moment, one of the cheaper Panasonic or Sony Bluray players will give a great 1080p Picture as well as good sound from the Lossy Soundtracks

Thanks for the perspective-

OK if CD will still sound better from a dedicated player that's the way I'll go. I did ask Rick, and my local dealers, about g08.2s but they hardly ever see them apparently- it's a great shame Meridian stopped making a lower priced CDP IMO.

Maybe my best bet is to get a decent universal player to use until a g08.2 turns up. There seem to be decent Denon, Marantz, Sony, and Pioneer players around the �500 mark which will probably be good for movies and listenable digital coax out? These http://m.techradar.com/reviews/audio-visual/blu-ray-players/denon-dbp-2012ud-981098/review can now be had from Sevenoaks for �449 new, which has to be a bit of a bargain?

Ronnies comment about G91/G92 is a good one. I'll also add G98 to the mix. There was one recently in restaurant (still there maybe) at an incredibe price. Also, 596/598 are great value too if you don't mind mix of styles - I had mine on open shelf whilst my G68 was out of sight.

The 598/G9x will only be bested by G08, 800 and 808 and if you like system integration, it's much more friendly than a third party player.

If you have a noisy one then totally understand.

3780 Vogon Civil Servant

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I'd be open to a Meridian DVD spinner, except that I'd still have to buy a Bluray player, so since it's 2-ch audio I'm fussy about, does it still make sense to max out quality on the CD front, and get a universal player for everything else, or am I missing something?

Gotta say, I'm really surprised that Meridian don't make a Bluray/DVD/CD player of some kind to allow better system integration and avoid what I've just been researching is potentially awful jitter problems for audio over HDMI. No matter how good the HD621 is at de-jittering, I was seeing test results reported of even reasonably good players in the *thousands* of ps over HDMI! In audiophile CD terms, we'd normally get worried if it was in the low hundreds. Just how much jitter and crud can even Meridians HD621 clear up?

The 598 is also a pretty good CD player, whilst you're looking for a G08.2. Not too expensive either. I'd be careful with the G-series DVD players. Good CD players themselves but not such good value-for-money IMHO, and any problems with them and repairs can remove the G98's ability to play DVD-A discs.

Do you have any DVD-A discs? The Oppo Blu-Ray players will play these as well as SACD, which is nice...

I'd be very surprised if Meridian made another video spinner. The licence is just too expensive to start from scratch, so they'd have to start with someone else's base player. With the world moving to streaming this makes little sense.

Plenty of debate about this on the forum previously, if you search for it.

Where in the IoW are you? I'm not a Caulkhead, but do spend a lot of time in East Wight.

I've been avoiding 5 series because I was told by Meridian a while ago they couldnt service the drives on the CD players any more- good players though.

I don't have any DVD-A discs, and only one hybrid SACD, so not too bothered about them. It's only Bluray stopping me getting a DVD spinner. Although I guess it's swings and roundabouts, I wouldn't not get a G91, 91A, 98, etc because of that, BUT, can they be updated to apodize?

Since I'm gonna basically have to buy a separate Bluray player anyway, it makes sense my main music source should be able to apodize. I may even go down the MC200/ Sooloos route if it's easier, and then upgrade to an MS600 later if I get better speakers?

I'm going to pop into my friendly local dealers, who have been very helpful over the phone and listen to some options in the next few weeks once I'm used to the 5Ks a bit, I think. In the final analysis, the ears must decide!

Thanks so much to everyone who has replied on this thread and in PM- really appreciate it!

Assuming that you're sticking with your stated priorities of CD's and 2ch Audio from them.........then the following remains true

For Good CD Sound Performance........then get a good (Meridian) CD Player.......Apodizing is nice but not essential..........Upsampling more important for Jitter related reasons

For watching Movies..........get a <�200 Panasonic or Sony Bluray player.......as this will produce an excellent Audio and Video Performance as long as you set to output Source Direct 1080p/24fps

Upgrading to an �500 Oppo BD93 will improve the CD Performance........but it will still lag noticeably behind a Meridian CD Player

Summary: With your stated priorities, you really need to think about getting 2 different players..........not just 1

Hi Ronnie,

Yeah, I think you're totally right about needing two different players, and one which plays CDs well. The only thing I might consider, as it seems rather difficult to source late model Meridian CDPs is moving over to Sooloos based audio sooner, and just get used to it- I'm sure it's the future - depends what comes up 2nd hand, unless I get an MC200 new!

Are the lower priced Sony Bluray players really that good? Any particular models in mind?

James

I have a G98, Oppo-93 and Oppo-95. Here are a few of my observations/opinions.

G98 - For CD's it is comparable to the Oppo's. For DVD-A's I have a slight (maybe not even real) preverence for the G98. There is a format called VCD (Video CD). Essentially you have both audio and video on a CD. The format is popular in Asia especially for concerts and Karaoke. As you might imagine this is not a quality format but the G98 does a great job bringing out the best in the VCD format.

Someone mentioned earlier that there may be reliability issues with the G series. My power supply went out but luckily Mark Koval was able to repair it at a reasonable cost (but it was inconvenient). Also the chip used for DVD-A in the G98 is no longer available so if it goes out the unit can be repaired but you will not have DVD-A capability.

Oppo BDP-93 - This is a fine spinner in all formats. It will do everything that the G98 will do plus Bluray and SACD. At $500 it's hard to beat. For me it's the Oppo BDP-93 to the HD621 to the 861 v6 giving up to 7.1 channels of great audio. My only issue with the Oppo is that it does not support 6.1 audio found on some movies such as "Star Wars" and "Lord of the Rings".

Oppo BDP-95 - I use this in an all anolog system. For analog The 95 has upgraded DAC's and is a clear improvement over the 93. However, in digital (HDMI) it is the same as the 93.

Since you have expressed an interest in Bluray, I suggest you get the Oppo 93 or some equivalent universal player. Later if the bug bites, you can consider an M spinner.

BTW I use a MacBook pro as a server from time to time but I generally spin a disk. It just feels right.

Regards,
Gary