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

After 24 hours, the 861 sounded a bit smoother; after 36 hours, quite a bit smoother. The 'feathery' top end that troubled me on first trying the v8 upgrade has largely gone, and a supreme sense of cohesion has replaced it.

Will update if there are further, significant changes. Hard to capture what it is that is so much better, without using non-sensical terms like 'organic', or 'more-ish'. To have such detail and such a natural tone is quite amazing.

A really worthwhile upgrade.

Next step is to try an MS200 with an AD88.

Richard

Richard,

I'm interested to hear more of what you hear with the 861v8.

Hi Carl,

The msl-file has been checked by Meridian.

My 861v8 upgrade went without a hitch. Firmware and config file loaded as expected. It is having a run-in overnight but my initial impression puts it near my experience with the original 818 with the ID41 card. It's quieter is the best thing to say at this point. I loaded my filters from MRC without re-running it. That will wait until the 7200VC is upgraded. I'm told that will be another couple of weeks.

I will chime in after a few days of run-in after I get to listen to some of my reference tracks but tonight's initial test to see that it all works was very enjoyable.

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

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.

Who ever said 192 KHz would be better? I have read plenty saying it is worse for very technical reasons and Meridian don't support it. They down sample to 96 KHz AFAIK.

Your listening tests may have just proved that point.

Great review though and glad your enjoying it. Chris

I can't quite see how you can expect to make reasoned comparisons between two totally separate recordings of St John Passion based purely on the sampling rate. Irrespective of your belief that Linn know how to record and master recordings there are simply too many other variables that would account for differences.

Sure, but I had always found the Eliot Gardiner recording harsh, or 'glassy', and attributed that to it being a relatively early digital recording. A Hi-Res recording 27 years later might be expected to show some advantage? So, despite all of the confounding variables that I cannot control for, I was rather surprised by my subjective response. But as stated above, I was more astonished by the replay of the Velvet's track, and take it as a tribute to Meridian that they can make weaker recordings sound really great. I find that a worthwhile improvement. Whether it is replicable, and other upgraders notice the same changes, I cannot know.

Richard

Curious how you were able to do this?

It's in the wiki ... Quite simple to do.

Hi Richard. Great review. Thanks for posting it. I am looking forward to hearing it soon.

Re: 192Khz files...I apologise for my lack of curiosity and investigation of this. I realised later that I can download a further 96Khz file of the opening St John chorus from Linn, though due to work, won't have a chance to compare it with the 192Khz until next week. I would like to know myself how Sooloos 'responds' to 192Khz, as there is no uplift in the cost on the Linn site (cf HD Tracks) when downloading 192Khz editions, and I thought they just 'must' be better than 96Khz. Seem to have a reverse-placebo problem.

Richard