Meridian Unplugged - Powered by MrTechGuy.co.uk Forums Discussion Meridian - Systems The new Meridian M6 loudspeaker

The color of the ruby 808i.3 in the close up is a little off. It is closer to that of the DSP8000s in the big picture. It's a nightmare getting the color balance in the photos correct under show conditions.

I know the 8k's were not plugged in but from the size of the speaker cables in the other photos, you can really appreciate how "neat" is the Meridian philosophy.

I'm a little bit taken aback by the snobbery here; I have been a Meridian owner for 15 years and have owned 800s/861s/8000s/7200s etc. etc.

I am not a 'lifestyle' audiophile, but I do need to be pragmatic depending on the room I am outfitting.

The M6's actually solve what seemed an intractable surround speaker issue we have in our Hong Kong apartment.

Rick@audioimages - we've found the rear speaker solution, count me in for a pair.

Marc

Well, I just bought a pair of M6's and an Audiocore 200 for my 12' x 12' open plan study. In this environment, they work quite well. In fact, in direct comparison with a pair of Epos mini-monitors, they shine.

I think they are intended for developing a more diffuse omni-type soundfield as opposed to a classic stereo pair with THX-like / highly directional characteristics. As such they may seem a little "soft" sounding in comparison, however that characteristic is easily corrected with the Audiocore 200, which provides the same controls for the M6's that the larger DSP speakers have in their head units.

I intend to set them up in my ITU 5.1 room which uses a G68XXD in conjunction with a BAT VK6200 and a full Vandersteen-based surround system, and compare them to Vandersteen's Quatro speakers which are quite competitive with Meridian's 7200. I expect they will compare quite well, and I will report my observations here.

Side notes:

1) These speakers are now selling in the used and demo. market in the US for about $ 3000.00 USD. At this price, they are a very good buy, in fact maybe a best buy. They are also very cool looking - kind of like fuzzy artillery shells.

2) They are making a believer out of me for the soundness of the Meridian DSP approach - they are VERY smooth and coherent.

3) They seem to be very sensitive to power issues - they do not like to come on BEFORE the Audiocore 200 - they blow fuses fairly easily. A switched power strip seems to be called for. Not sure if the bigger Meridian speakers have the same issue. I recommend stocking up on T5AH250 ceramic fuses for when the power goes out and comes back on unexpectedly.

Hi Don, welcome and thanks for posting your experience with the M6. We haven't seen too many users with these.

Regarding fuses... these shouldn't blow. It is very unusual. If they are both blowing then I would seriously look at your mains. Something isn't right. Alternatively, check with a dealer or with Meridian directly for advice.

Enjoy the listen.

I would second Nick's comments. I have M6's as rears and they get switched on and off for film/music listening. I have not had any problems over the last year since I bought them. They do a great job for me and They are easy to accommodate in my listening room (sorry our shared living room!)

Best,

Actually my dealer, Walbrandt Technologies, warned me about the M6 fuse issue. He recommended putting the Audiocore 200 on an APC uninterruptible power supply so that in the event of a surge or outage, the Audiocore stays on, even if the loudspeakers turn off. The problem seems to be when the Audiocore 200 comes on AFTER the M6's - it must send something out to the M6's on the Cat5e cable that they don't like and it blows the fuses. Got me on why this happens. In any case, after I put the Audiocore on my AT&T Uverse power conditioner / power supply, I haven't had any issues.

Right now I am listening to a Reference Recordings record ("Yerba Buena Bounce") on my restored Denon DP-75 direct drive turntable with a Mission Mechanic tonearm (Mick Gray's masterpiece), and a Clearaudio Maestro MM cartridge driving a Rega phono preamp into the Audiocore. This is a really good live recording, and the presence these loudspeakers convey is very impressive - as good as my big rig. These little guys are not lacking for bass either. I'm not sure how they stack up against the bigger Meridian DSP speakers, but in my study they seem to be very happy.

Would it be worth trying one of the ethernet isolation transformers that sparked so much interest about 6 months back?

I have 4x M6 plus DSP5200 LCR +G61R in 7.1 cinema format.

I also use one of the M6 pairs with an AC200 and/or MS200 from time to time. Not blown a fuse to date.

Blowing fuses = safety concern (or bad batch of fuses)
Get them checked over.

(Assuming 110V speakers)

If the AC200 is toggling the power to the speakers quickly a few times on start-up, even if the fuses are the correct time/amperage rating for 110V, the fuses could still be blown on a healthy piece of kit.

Does anyone know what sort of surge current a healthy M6 pulls when coming out of standby?

Comparing with 240V speakers/AC200 might not be appropriate - this could be a combination of design (what the AC200 sends out on start up and how the speakers respond) being tickled by the slightly more than twice the Amps needed for a 110V device

Are others with 110V speakers connected to an AC200 reporting similar issues?

Matt.

True the 110V primary current will be just over double that of the 230V designs and the US fuse appears to be double T5A v T2.5A

I2T may be the problem if it isn't solely transformer inrush blowing the fuse (which given the problem description it doesn't sound like a pure inrush problem).

The rapid switching of the load by the AC200 being off / coming on late (if this indeed what is happening) may be causing transients in the fuse which if still stressed from the inrush current may be pushing it thermally over the edge.

If the speakers can be in standby for ages and then turning the AC200 on causes the fuse to blow (so that the fuse has definitely recovered from the transformer inrush) then that's a pretty nasty load condition if the fuse blows in that scenario.

I have to say that in my system the G61R is always powered when I power the M6s so it's not fair to definitely say this doesn't happen on 230V.

I'd offer to try powering them on with the G61R off but I don't have any spare fuses to hand!

One for the Meridian design engineers or UK dealers to try!