- Meridian Prime Headphone Amplifier - Audio Core 200 - Meridian Director DAC - Media Source 200
Given there are five power sockets on the Prime PSU, would it be too much to assume that there are other products or uses?I don't see someone having all these products connected, but I guess they could.
Primary: MD600, MS200 (SpeakerLink to AES), Trinnov ST-2, Ayre V6-xe, Salk SS8 3x LRC. Secondary: MC600 (whole house). Zone one: 568.2, G57, MS200, Spatial Hologram M2SE. Zone 2-6 (Awaiting assignment).
I see there's some interest for having a SPDIF input, the major problem with this is that it would introduce constant digital noise to the analogue circuitry harming its performance. best results are achieved with multiple boxes to isolate noise, this is reflected by the double skin design of Prime.
I assume that powering up the digital side could not be achieved by the input selector?
Another option is a USB output on a Sooloos piece of kit - MC200 (and I am sure other cores) have an unused USB output.
Can a Sooloos software upgrade turn the USB ports into to a USB audio output? Oh, I think I have been there before with same question regarding using Explorer direct into MC200 etc. I'm sure one of the Meridian boffins could add a USB audio driver to the Linux/Busybox based Sooloos systems in their lunchtime
Meridian owner since 1992 Prime & PSU, Focal Elear headphones, Roon (ROCK 8Gi5 NUC), Explorer 1 & 2, F80. 200/203, various Sonos (via Roon).
If the thing has a DAC then it's pretty useful to make it actually useful to those without USB output - especially to get apodising or to maybe just piggyback off a DSP speaker's or processors digital output.
If it's a headphone amp with a DAC as an afterthought, it's very expensive.
Roon/Tidal, SBT, Trinnov ST2 , Twin Devialet D premiers, Vivid Audio Giya G1 Spirits, dedicated and treated room. Meridian gear: 568.2mm and DSP5000's acting as TV speakers.
I see there's some interest for having a SPDIF input, the major problem with this is that it would introduce constant digital noise to the analogue circuitry harming its performance. The best results are achieved with multiple boxes to isolate noise, this is reflected by the double skin design of Prime.
USB is also digital, so the noise is already in there.
Last edited by K. Tsai; 2013-11-2123:12. Reason: forgot to quote
1. Trinnov Alt32, Meadowlark Semi-custom 4-way Digital mains, Custom 3-Way Digital center, M6, DSP420, HSU VTF2 2. G68D, DSP6000, DSP5kC, DSP420
Thank you for all the comments so far today. We thought you might like answers to a couple of the questions and comments about the Prime Headphone Amplifier, so hopefully this post direct from HQ will be helpful.
The Prime Headphone Amplifier is, at core, a pure analogue product and in designing it we considered four targets:
a) The headphone enthusiast b) An �up-and-coming� audiophile who starts with a desktop system c) A high-performance system owner who wants to add headphone capability (e.g. owners of Meridian 8x8 or any high-end CD/streamer) d) The �extreme� audiophile with a penchant for analogue only
Why pure analogue? To satisfy the target customers we put our full analogue design skills in the Prime Headphone Amplifier and that is why the USB section powers the digital stages and DAC. In other words, if there is no USB connection then there is no digital circuitry in operation, reducing background noise to its absolute minimum. It would have been 'natural' for Meridian to do the volume control and Spatial Processing in DSP but here it is in the analogue domain.
Why no SPdif? As mentioned elsewhere on this thread, adding SPDIF would have added permanent digital activity in the headphone amplifier and the majority of �desktop� listeners have either analogue sources (sound card, iPod, smartphone) or will use USB. There is not much need for digital (SPDIF) in the desktop environment but where it is desired we feel most listeners would use a dedicated DAC.
Balancing Act The reason why balanced outputs were not considered for this product is that there is no performance benefit given USB and unbalanced inputs plus the fact that most headphones are three wire. For headphones with "twin wiring" (using a separate cable for L/R transducers) we have compatibility and that is identical to balanced.
About those LEDs Based on user feedback (thanks VK et al) we actually implemented a change to turn the intensity of the LEDs down before going into full production.
Future Firmware We also have an upcoming firmware release for 8x8 to enable DSP speakers to mute when using the analogue out to make integration of the Prime Headphone Amplifier even easier.
Hopefully many of you will take the opportunity to audition the Prime Headphone Amplifier very soon. We look forward to reading about your experiences.
About those LEDs Based on user feedback (thanks VK et al) we actually implemented a change to turn the intensity of the LEDs down before going into full production.
Glad to be of assistance! That is really good news!
Roon Developer and ex-moderator of this Forum I am #25 in the HH1 photo of fame.
Thanks HQ for the informative post! It's great to see this sort of interaction and information flow.
Originally Posted by Meridian HQ
Future Firmware We also have an upcoming firmware release for 8x8 to enable DSP speakers to mute when using the analogue out to make integration of the Prime Headphone Amplifier even easier.
This is very interesting, and it's really heartening to see added value for headphone users spreading from the Prime outwards to other components!
About that 8x8 firmware, are you able to offer dither appropriate to headphone listening? (Minimum Audible Pressure curve, as detailed on p. 17 of the 518 User Guide.)
And for me a HRTF/ASP-equivalent in the digital domain would be a really big deal, as I already have a full headphone setup. I'm sure that would make the 8x8 even more attractive to other headphone listeners too.
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