Originally Posted by Kerry
I just wish Meridan would create some dedicated top of the line streaming equipment for those of us with non-Meridan DACs (e.g. a device with a digital output equal in quality to the 818v2 digital output but without the built in pre-amp and DAC).
I'm sure that Meridian could easily build such a device.......but how would you then feel if the Unit Price was higher than the current 818v2, due to lower Sales Volumes??

When one considers ALL the Costs that a Company such as Meridian incur in developing a High-End [and therefore Low-Sales count] device, you come up with the following simplified list

1) The Component costs for the Case, LPS, the Preamp Section, the Digital 'Engine'; the Digital Output Cards and the Analog Output cards

2) The Development costs involved in choosing the right components and the internal layout of the same to achieve low internal EMI / RFI

3) the development costs in building prototypes.......exhaustive listening tests.....tailoring and modifying the components to adjust for what they've heard.......more listening tests after those adjustments

4) Documentation of all of the above tests so that they have a track record or what has been tried and "failed"

5) and finally, Documentation and "Validation" of a Manufacturing Protocol that ensures that the Production Units match or exceed the performance of the Prototypes above

6) The extra stock costs of handling two distinct SKU's together with the possibility of manufacturing errors inherent in having two similar SKU's as opposed to one 'standard' SKU

So, if Meridian were to choose to produce an "818 No-Preamp & Digital Out only" model, they would 'save' on the costs of Preamp section and the Analog Output cards

But, their costs in all the other areas would actually increase as a result of having to develop two separate SKU's

When a manufacturer has a high-unit-sales item, the costs involved in 1) above may be the most important consideration in arriving at a 'Market' price, with the other 'development' costs being more easily spread over the higher-unit sales volumes.

However, when a low-unit-sales & high-end unit like the 818 is involved, the 'development' costs become the single biggest factor and cannot be spread over high-volume unit sales counts.......thereby leaving the "Component" costs as a relatively small amount of the final 'market' price

With the result that your desired 818-No_Preamp-Digital_Out model could actually end out having a higher 'market' price than the existing 818

Last edited by Ronnie; 2014-09-07 00:17.
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