Meridian Unplugged - Powered by MrTechGuy.co.uk Forums Discussion Meridian - Systems Impressions of the 861v8

Hi Dave,

Very difficult when you know something is unmistakeably better, and yet it is so hard to describe what is better! I'll give further impressions of what really impacted upon me.

For myself, there is an effortless portrayal of greater detail, but this is held within a cohesive whole. The sound is now sweeter, more transparent, possibly more tuneful and musical, and certainly more likely to encourage longer periods of listening to it. Tricky older material sounds compelling - a ropey live account of 'What Goes On' by The Velvet Underground became a window into a live event, bristling with energy. The sound facilitates access to a musical event, and is not just geared towards immaculately produced material; not like 'HiFi'. In that sense it was not suprising that the most recent 'St John Passion' by the Dunedin Consort (Hi-Res, from Linn) was not superior to the 1980s version by John Eliot Gardiner - does Sooloos really not like 192khz? But then you just start going through your albums, all 3000...

With movies, the soundfield is much more integrated and immersive - it feels like the whole room is a single, whole sound-space.

I find my 818v2 upgrade is going through the same 'burn-in' changes, and even the MS200 into an AD88 seems to be getting better! Not sure why this should be so, but it is all going in the right direction!

What I find so impressive is that even into old or even portable equipment, the upgrades or Sooloos products are really effective, and transform expectations of what is possible. If I get the courage, I may compare the MS200 with the 800; I suspect it may be really close now. The v8 or the latest 818 must be unreal with 8ks.

So, huge thanks to Meridian for making this set of upgrades and products so good and reasonably priced, and for ensuring that even the 861v4 is still a fantastic option.

Richard