Meridian Unplugged - Powered by MrTechGuy.co.uk Forums Discussion Meridian - Streaming Meridian 218 Zone Controller Announced!

218 does get you a current Meridian up-sampling implementation and MQA decoding, of course.

Hello Bruce,

I have been reading your excellent commentary on the 218 zone controller and other comments on the AC200 and MC200. Much of the advice is directly relevant to my own plans.

I suspect I am not alone in believing the present situation obstructs purchase decisions as follows:

• M is restructuring and augmenting much of its product range
  
• We are not told authoritatively which products will be partially or wholly replaced.
  
• There is no quantified definition of audio output for specific items. For example, what is the quantified difference between the audio output of an AC200 compared to a MC200. Here I am ignoring other capabilities.
  
• MQA capabilities are not specified for individual units. In some cases this is not relevant but the information would still be useful.
  

When a product becomes obsolete there is a major fall in resale value over night. Hence until the product line up is significantly more settled my purchase decisions must be deferred.

If you have information as to when matters may become more settled you have my every attention.

Very best wishes,
Geoff

Let me respond first to the bullet points.

All companies are constantly revamping and augmenting their product lines. Not all tell everyone of their plans. Enjoy the music now and stop worrying about what might come next. With that attitude one would never buy a new car as the next year might be better.

I am not sure what you mean by quantified definition of output. Are you looking for detailed specifications such as THD? Or, are you speaking of sound quality which is subjective?

As for MQA capability for individual uints, this is quite clear in that either they do or they don't.

As for resale value, traditionally electronics resale values are under performing at best. At least Meridian products are well know for outlasting their peers many times over. If I ever based an electronics purchase mainly on concern about obsolescence or resale value, I would never buy anything and where is the fun in that? Our audio hobby is about passion and our love of music, not about investment value.

Of course things move on, but I'll just say that considering a product's position in its lifecycle and potential obsolescence are important purchasing decision factors for me. Meridian has a history of making upgrades available; I hope this continues.

My shopping list includes QNAP/MS200, but with limited budget I'm not committing until Meridian's MQA hardware choice is clear. IIRC, the MS200 is 4 years old. I suspect it's role is only a conduit for Meridian MQA enabled Processor's/DSP's. Thus, it won't be replaced/updated.

I would buy an MC200.v3 if it was MQA capable.

Surely, the 218 can't be the only (custom install) option for Meridian customers (ignoring Prime/Explorer)?

If you are looking at a MS200/QNAP solution, substitute the 218 in place of the MS200 and you have an MQA solution. The 218 and MS200 are currently the same price.

Oh, really?

My understanding is that the MS200 is £499, while the 218 is £750.

In the US they are $1000.00

So, my question to Meridian: why the price difference between the two items in the UK compared to the US?

Are we getting a better deal on the MS200 in the UK?

Aside from this; some time ago I purchased an AC12 ready for future linking between an MS200 and my G95. Presumably, the IR control in the 218 makes the comms capability of the AC12 redundant?

Has anyone any ideas as to how the 218 will be 'limited'?

I'm assuming that since it has a Digital output - there will be some set of limitations with MQA output.

Does it output MHR only?

Can it be used to get MQA into legacy DSP's?

Will it enable >96KHz into legacy 24 bit DSP's? (after all - they were sold as compatible with 192KHz - either future update or on request depending on model)

Would be nice if there was an accurate manual or datasheet available.

Matt.

Good questions but don't hold your breath.
It would be nice.

Hector

My experiments have led me to conclude that v2 comms over SpeakerLink are required for ANY Meridian source to send 192k or higher. Basically, the SpeakerLink mechanism is needed for the loudspeaker to let the source know what it's capable of. No v2 comms = 96k max. End of story.