Originally Posted by Ratbert
I was kind of hoping the 818v2, 808.5 and 861v8/ID41 would be equal as the best sources depending on the individuals requirements?
Hi Russ,
I admit that my "ranking" such as it is may relate to the 818v1 v 808.3 v 861v6 as these Products were on slightly different Release Dates, with some improvements included in one product and not the other e.g. the LPS and ID41 in the 818v1, which were not in the 808.3 or 861v6

Now with all units having the same LPS and also many of the same Cards, it may well that the 818v2, the 808.5 and 861v8 may be even closer in overall performance to each other. However, I still think will maintain what they've said about this are for years and years i.e. that the less going on within a particular box, the less "Noise" is created, and thus it will sound a little better than the box that had more going on.

Difficult to compare the 818v2 and the 808.5 as they will be so similar in terms of what they do so likely only Meridian can comment on that.

Comparing the 861v8 with the 818v2 is easier the 861v8 has to be able to process up to 8 Channels of Sound at any one time and has all the extra cards and processing to do that as well as the extra power consumption likely to do so. So I think Meridian would likely argue that for a 2-ch System, then the 818v2 is the best Source or Endpoint.

However, it must be noted that the 861v8 has an opportunity to "Catch Up" with 2 significant features.

1) Trifield can in the right Room and System make a tremendous addition to 2-Ch Music many wouldn't do without it and I do feel that Meridian's new Centre Level Elevation will help "cure" my long held belief about Trifield i.e. that it really only works with 3 identical Front Speakers Meridian's Centre Elevation DSP will help with this, as reported by anybody who has heard it at recent Demos / Shows.

2) Meridian Room Correction is desirable, if not necessary, for optimum performance in many rooms.

So, the comparison of 800 Series units for Sooloos Replay is not necessarily cut and dried or a One-Size-Fits-All statement.

Coming back on topic though, I do think that the MS600 is regarded by most here and those at Meridian as their Premier Source outside of the 800 Series boxes hence my encouragement to Huw to try it, especially when it such an easy thing to do.

Likewise, Meridian have been deprecating C15's as Endpoints for quite some time now, due to their inherent Design and Noise as essentially a Custom WIndows XP PC with all the Noise and Compromise that accompanies that.

The C15 UI is still the best and most "powerful" of all the Sooloos UI's and many swear by it but as a Primary Endpoint for a Main Listening Room, the MS600 sounds much better to most users.

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