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Joined: Feb 2002
Posts: 8,816 Likes: 87
President of the Imperial Galactic Government
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President of the Imperial Galactic Government
Joined: Feb 2002
Posts: 8,816 Likes: 87 |
Boru, that's unfortunate for you, but, it is helpful to others to know this. The pecking order that puts MS600 above MC200 seems to be very valid and obvious for you.
Rgds,
Nick
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Joined: Jun 2012
Posts: 245
Hitchhiker
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Hitchhiker
Joined: Jun 2012
Posts: 245 |
Well my system with the MC200 sounds BLOODY BRILLIANT to my ears. Yes I know it could all be better and one day it will be but I have never had such easy access to all my music with sound quality well up, if not better than my 596, and as such I listen to so much more music.
System symmetry can often be overlooked which will lead to unfair criticism of individual components. To be clear, by no means am I saying the MC200 is a poor piece of equipment. It is stellar! Considering all that it can do for the price point I would recommend it without reservation! For me the biggest pluses are the ease of set up, incredible tagging and library management system, and the core control app. I have never listened to as much music as I have since I got my MC200! Although Meridian's apodising filter is not my preferred "flavour" of sound, it is high quality no doubt. This is strictly personal preference! Since Meridian intends for users to use their apodising filter, and given the price point of the MC200, I'm not surprised that bypassing the apodising filter does not lead to equally top notch sound. Adding an MS200 may improve this situation... I also agree 100% with Chris that system synergy is critical. This is the case for all audio equipment and why I would always take any review with more than a few grains of salt. What I hear in my system is not necessarily what others will here in their systems. For whatever reason, I get better results with the previous generation Ensemble than with the MC200. I don't think anyone could have predicted this based on the system specs. Like my dealer says, mixing different component/cable brands together is like making soup - you never know how a new ingredient will impact the overall flavour until you try it! Going with a 100% Meridian system, however, would be like following a tried and true recipe with no time consuming trial and error!
Last edited by Kerry; 2012-10-21 15:15.
Roon, MS600, Simaudio 780D, Simaudio P-8/W-8 and Revel Studio 2s
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Joined: Jul 2007
Posts: 1,053
Pan-dimensional being
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Pan-dimensional being
Joined: Jul 2007
Posts: 1,053 |
That you can hear the drummer move suggests that something is very *right* with the filter. In fact, I would have expected the opposite based on certain commentary: that the linear phase filter led to better spatial awareness and that the minimum-phase filter led to better high frequency instrument reproduction. This comment rings true to me (pardon the pun!). When I compared the Sooloos Ensemble's digital out (linear filter) to the MC200's digital out (upsampling apodizing filter) into my Simaudio 650D DAC, the former sounded much more open and live, with more decay and spatial cues. The latter sounded more direct, with less decay and a reduced sense of the recording space and a greater focus on body and tone. Of course some of these differences could be due to the pairing with the Simaudio DAC but I noticed that the same sonic traits of the MC200 filter when using the MS600 as the DAC. Another thing I would add based upon my comparison of digital outputs between the Ensemble and MC200 is that the up sampling/apodizing filter in the MC200 does impose a strong sonic fingerprint on the digital output signal. This is not the case with the linear filter in the Ensemble. Using the digital output from the Ensemble, I was hard pressed to distinguish differences from CD play through the Simaudio 650d's on board transport. The Ensemble may have sounded a bit better specially and a tad smoother but it was a tough call. Digital output from the MC200's up sampling/apodizing filter sounded distinctly different than CD play through the 650d, however. Subjectively for me, the difference was not an overall positive one as it sounded like the MC200 was altering the music but I'm someone who likes the sound of the Simaudio stuff so it may just be my preference. The point is, though, that the Meridian filter does have a distinct impact on the sound in my experience. Whether that sound is for the better or not is up to the listener and probably depends on their associated equipment. A few weeks ago I borrowed an Ensemble and tried it vs my Squeezebox Touch in my 2 channel system. The SBT runs into D1 on the 6ks and the Ensemble into D2. I imported a couple of my albums onto the Ensemble and, while they weren't perfectly synched I got them pretty close. Switching between the SBT and Ensemble I had a distinct preference for the SBT. Obviously there were no filters or upsampling here, just one on one. My network is hard wired. The Ensemble sounded brighter and actually had a bit more gain so I had to drop down a couple of points in volume but it really wasn't much of a contest. The Ensemble was not any more detailed at the top, just harsher. So if you prefer the digital out of the Ensemble into your DAC your DAC might be adding its own "special sauce". Ken
Main: G68J, 5K2s, 5Ks, HSU subs, Pio 151FD, Dish VP722, Roku, Wadia I70, Anti Mode Dual Core, Oppo 103D Vanity Lite
Office: SBT, Berkeley Alpha DAC 2/MQA, Magico S3 Mk II, Boulder 2060, Lumin U1 Mini streamer, Roon.
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Joined: Jun 2012
Posts: 245
Hitchhiker
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Hitchhiker
Joined: Jun 2012
Posts: 245 |
[quote=VirusKiller]That you can hear the drummer move suggests that something is very *right* with the filter. In fact, I would have expected the opposite based on certain commentary: that the linear phase filter led to better spatial awareness and that the minimum-phase filter led to better high frequency instrument reproduction. This comment rings true to me (pardon the pun!). When I compared the Sooloos Ensemble's digital out (linear filter) to the MC200's digital out (upsampling apodizing filter) into my Simaudio 650D DAC, the former sounded much more open and live, with more decay and spatial cues. The latter sounded more direct, with less decay and a reduced sense of the recording space and a greater focus on body and tone. Of course some of these differences could be due to the pairing with the Simaudio DAC but I noticed that the same sonic traits of the MC200 filter when using the MS600 as the DAC. Another thing I would add based upon my comparison of digital outputs between the Ensemble and MC200 is that the up sampling/apodizing filter in the MC200 does impose a strong sonic fingerprint on the digital output signal. This is not the case with the linear filter in the Ensemble. Using the digital output from the Ensemble, I was hard pressed to distinguish differences from CD play through the Simaudio 650d's on board transport. The Ensemble may have sounded a bit better specially and a tad smoother but it was a tough call. Digital output from the MC200's up sampling/apodizing filter sounded distinctly different than CD play through the 650d, however. Subjectively for me, the difference was not an overall positive one as it sounded like the MC200 was altering the music but I'm someone who likes the sound of the Simaudio stuff so it may just be my preference. The point is, though, that the Meridian filter does have a distinct impact on the sound in my experience. Whether that sound is for the better or not is up to the listener and probably depends on their associated equipment. A few weeks ago I borrowed an Ensemble and tried it vs my Squeezebox Touch in my 2 channel system. The SBT runs into D1 on the 6ks and the Ensemble into D2. I imported a couple of my albums onto the Ensemble and, while they weren't perfectly synched I got them pretty close. Switching between the SBT and Ensemble I had a distinct preference for the SBT. Obviously there were no filters or upsampling here, just one on one. My network is hard wired. The Ensemble sounded brighter and actually had a bit more gain so I had to drop down a couple of points in volume but it really wasn't much of a contest. The Ensemble was not any more detailed at the top, just harsher. So if you prefer the digital out of the Ensemble into your DAC your DAC might be adding its own "special sauce". Ken [/quote] I looked at measurements for my DAC and it does roll off the high frequencies slightly so it probably likes a little extra hit in the ultra high frequencies. I didn't hear graininess in the high frequencies in my trial of the Ensemble but maybe my DAC takes care of that? Time will tell when I trial the Source One. Could be that both the Simaudio DAC and the Meridian apodising filter are both trying to provide a more "analogue" sound, each in their own way, and together they are too much of a good thing. Or maybe the rest of my system is less bright/darker sounding than yours. Back to Chris' synergy comment again... Choice of a variety of filters in the Meridian Sooloos equipment (at addition charge, if neccessary, to keep costs down) would be a nice option for those who want to take advantage of all the great things Sooloos has to offer and have a better chance of system synergy with their existing (expensive) downstream equipment without having to go to an all Meridian system.
Last edited by Kerry; 2012-10-21 14:42.
Roon, MS600, Simaudio 780D, Simaudio P-8/W-8 and Revel Studio 2s
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Joined: Jul 2007
Posts: 1,053
Pan-dimensional being
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Pan-dimensional being
Joined: Jul 2007
Posts: 1,053 |
As they say, "different horses for different courses". A while back I changed to the older 00044 firmware in my G68. I've stayed with it because that system is 95% video and I like it better, especially for dialogue, than the latest M firmware. On the other hand, when I listen to music with that SBT at first I thought I was hearing more high end detail but after extended listening I find it fatiguing.
Ken
Main: G68J, 5K2s, 5Ks, HSU subs, Pio 151FD, Dish VP722, Roku, Wadia I70, Anti Mode Dual Core, Oppo 103D Vanity Lite
Office: SBT, Berkeley Alpha DAC 2/MQA, Magico S3 Mk II, Boulder 2060, Lumin U1 Mini streamer, Roon.
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