Meridian Unplugged - Powered by MrTechGuy.co.uk Forums Discussion Meridian - Systems Meridian Explorer

I've had the 800's and currently use the 650's the 800's are amazing, BUT they can be too analytical.

I found it VERY difficult to get an amp to drive them well, I tried about 5 or 6: Woo, Burson, Graham Slee and a few other high endish ones (both valve and solid state).

The 650's match well with any good quality amp, they love valves, I found their bass much better than the 800's but you do lose the Nth degree of detail and the better imaging of the 800's.

I would love to try an Explorer and will try get my grubby paws on one, none here in South Africa to try before I buy tho

I just got mine today. The I guess it brings the quality up a notch, but I think the 650HD is a bigger quality enhancer if you have limited cash. The 650HD sounds awesome even without the explorer, but with the Explorer it gets better.

One complaint I have about Explorer is that maybe the power is a bit low. I don't listen that loud and I have to put the volume up to almost MAX.

Another is that I can't hook it up together with my B&W MM-1 since it also has its own DAC inside.

Otherwise I think I got an awesome system to listen to right now while I wait for my new house.

Can't you use the 3.5mm in jack on the B&W?

My son uses an Explorer into B&W MM1s, very happy bunny.

I just tried both the Explorer and MM-1 together on same computer and works fine.

Sound quality comparison:
To be honest, I can't really tell a difference between using te Explorer and te B&W or even internal soundcard when listening to standard file.

However, other cards + B&W don't support 24bit, 192,000Hz then only support CD quality 16bit 44,100Hz.

So I guess the only way you will hear the big difference is through high quality audio files that are 24 bits.

For me, the biggest improvement in sound was from the HD650. Much better than my old headphones.

Songs tested:
Billy Jean - Michael Jackson (youtube HQ)
Tom Sawyer - Rush (youtube HQ)
Jim Guthrie - Sword & Sworcery LP - The Ballad of the Space Babies - 02 Lone Star (FLAC purchased download)
Jim Guthrie - Sword & Sworcery LP - The Ballad of the Space Babies - 09 Unknowable Geometry (FLAC purchased download)

Is there any way to tell if you have version 1 or version 2 by looking at the serial #?

No way to tell this as it was a "Silent" change by Meridian just after first release.
Only M know this by serial number, but according to Paul Webb and Chris Cope they do still have a quantity of version 1 available.
It is a matter of personal choice related to the headphones you have.
After initial purchase on Explorer release I auditioned version 2 but prefer version 1 with my Grado cans.
Hector

Thanks. I'll try e-mailing Meridian support and hopefully I'll get a response. The only info I have on-hand is the serial # since I purchased my Explorer used and the person I bought it from doesn't know when he acquired it. Hopefully that's enough information.

I'm hoping it's version #2 because my headphones are very low impedance (25 ohms.)

Hi,

I'm using the Explorer as a DAC for my computer's speakers. The speakers are connected to the DAC via the optical/line level output. Is there any way to control the master volume via Window 7's volume control? Adjusting either Windows volume control or the Meridian Control Panel volume control doesn't do anything. I'm updated to the latest firmware v1349.

The problem is that the Explorer is providing way too much gain to my speakers. I'm using Audioengine A5 speakers and the volume control pot at it's lowest audible position is barely audible, plus there's a channel imbalance.

When I turn the pot up a little so the imbalance is gone, the volume is way too loud (like painfully loud.) This requires me to set the volume of each source (like Foobar or iTunes) to about 10%. The problem is when someone else wants to use the computer and watches a video on Youtube, the video player volume is automatically set at 90% and the moment the video plays, it BLASTS sound.

Is there any remedy to this? I was able to set the master volume lower through the operating system with my previous NuForce uDAC.

FWIW.
I purchased a second Explorer stated to be V1 and found that with the latest firmware the volume control on my Mac was not functioning. This item was returned to the supplier as unacceptable. I have not upgraded FW on my first purchase for fear of loosing this fundamental facility.
Hector

Mine was originally on firmware 1345 and I later updated to version 1349. The volume control is non-effective on both versions. This is only through the optical/line-out by the way, I can control the volume of the headphone output just fine.

Is this normal behavior for the Explorer?

I believe this is normal behaviour - the combined optical/line output is fixed an 2V RMS.

I'm also using an Explorer as a DAC from my PC into a pair of powered speakers. I've connected via the headphone output in order to get the Windows master volume control, and this arrangement works fine

Steve