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

I can't remember in what thread this was covered but an article was linked to which discussed the technical issues for and against higher sample rates.
The marketing men do like to push bigger numbers means better and on the surface it seems logical but apparently things are not that simple.
Meridian down sample to 96 KHz anyway and, as I understand it, there is nothing to gain going higher, in fact this can degrade the sound.

I am certain someone will point us in the relevant direction, perhaps I need to re read this. Chris

An interesting read

Coding High Quality Digital Audio by Bob Stuart

TL;DR

This conclusion has the following obvious implications:
� The CD channel with 44.1kHz 16-bit coding (even with noise shaping to extend the resolution) is inadequate
� Even 48kHz sampling is not quite high enough
� Sampling at 88.2kHz or 96kHz is too high, and therefore wasteful of data
� The use of sampling rates above 96kHz to convey a wider audio bandwidth cannot currently be justified

Cheers
Greg

Assuming everything in the recording and mastering chain is done correctly.

You left out the bit depth part ~ 24 bits not needed for replay channels....

Had my 861 upgraded this week. Still getting my head around sound differences, recognizing the need to let the unit burn-in and that I will probably need to rerun room correction (as opposed to just copying in the v6 settings), but everything works fine. low bass seems better, but mid-bass worse - again, probably just need to rerun RC. No problems with ID41.

Biggest pain was probably rebulding the v8 Mconfig profile. I just don't go in there frequently enough for there not to be a new learning curve each time. But it's done.

One thing I did find was that the weight balance in the unit has shifted due to the additional weight of the LPS - took me by surprise when lifting the unit and expecting the same rear-inclined weight balance. I almost dropped the damn thing.

Burn-in complete and room correction rerun. Upgrade, inclusive of ID41, appears to be quite worthwhile. As others have noted, clarity is improved, as is low bass. The bass balance change I noted before has been largely remedied by rerunning room correction, although I have found it necessary to back down a bit on the amp that runs the bass towers in my main speakers. I also find, curiously, the need to select a slightly higher width setting on Trifield (1.3 rather than 1.1). Can't really explain that one.

The best barometer for me for an upgrade is to play something I'm familiar with, think I hear something amiss with a tweeter in one of the mains, only to realize it's a recording flaw I've never heard befor. This has happened twice today.

Actually, for this procedure, I just entered the filters manually in the room correction tab because I just wanted a rough pallet with the new unit. I have followed the procedure in the wiki after I've actually run the MRC routine and it works like a champ.

I can appreciate moments like that.

Just burning in and getting used to the v8 upgrade, still some tweaking need with Movie sound (I think the re-run MRC didn't bring the best results). Voices have a tonal accuracy and weight that seems much improved even when using the Centre Elevation feature. Already this seems a very worthy upgrade to me.

Music is stunning, as others have said. Poor recordings need some help but great recordings have incredible grip and presence possibly aided by the new tweeters in 7200.2s/HC. Another reason why I want Lossless 5.1 in my Sooloos System.

The other real bonus for me was the surprising sound quality from my v4 and 'recycled' ID40 with DSP5000s. In a different, smaller room but, really enjoyable and a great use of resources. Thank You M!

An especially BIG Thank You to Rick and all at Audio Images for an exemplary install. 'Premium' in every way possible.

M

DS from Natural Sound, Framingham installed the hardware and firmware upgrades to our 861 (now v8) and 7200s (now .2) yesterday. All went smoothly. Still within burn-in period, but can easily hear significant improvement. Warmer, more musical and natural, great separation between instruments/performers. One minor but cool feature on the 7200.2's - upon powerup, the display first shows "Meridian" for a few seconds, then "7200.2" for a few, then normal source and volume indications.

What is the center elevation feature? I have my center on the floor below my screen, so I'd love to make the center sound like it is in the center of the screen - I hear trinnov can do that.

You can buy Meridian Speakers and get center elevation. Try Google

Link for a review here