Meridian Unplugged - Powered by MrTechGuy.co.uk Forums Discussion Meridian - Systems Is the 861 a dead end?

Cliff I do agree with that as well. There are a lot of very well respected high end brands out there that do an amazing job! One of the best parts of this Higher Fidelity industry today is the broad aspect of kit and technology available to us consumers!

The term other brand was in reference to the fact that righty or wrongly my ears tell me what I like and that I personal would prefer a good M system with its limitations over a fully spec'd system from another brand regardless of make.

Kind regards
David

We regularly see comments on here along the lines of "We don't know how long X will take / What it might do / What it might cost".

A couple of years ago (or more?) there were quite major changes to this forum, the big (supposed) advantage was that there was going to be a lot more input from Meridian & HH was going to be more involved / consulted. Did that just fizzle out? We seem to have no more insider-knowledge than anyone else. At least that's my feeling.

I suppose it depends to a certain extent whether you want your viewing and listening all in the same place or can separate them, and which aspect you value more. Much as I love my v8, if I was mainly interested in home cinema I would probably consider other options. If I was mainly in it for the music, then wanting to keep my M speakers, I'd likely go 818 even though I'd miss Trifield. As I value both aspects roughly equally, what I have now works well for me. Some future MQA passthrough option would be nice though.

I suspect that if people were not locked into DSP's, the 861 would be a value option on Audiogon. For that reason alone, I struggle to see how M cannot produce an 861 replacement. M even continues to perpetuate its connection to cinema, with alliances to Barco, etc. I know if I had a sizable investment into DSP speakers, with a passion for cinema, I would be fighting mad right now.

I have said it a couple times, why doesn't M just license a manufacturer, while using M DSP connectivity?

They want to be part of the CI business and the crown jewel there is the Home Cinema. That is where they have the oppurtunity to sell 2-3.5 more speakers. Atmos could mean adding ceiling speakers as well if the client wants it.

The 861 user base deserves a modern upgrade for todays highres music and cinema. And usually when such a product is delivered add-on sales for speakers are happening and considered.

Have you guys ever thought about why Meridian is so proud over their Home Cinema Demo room in the CI media?

Now remodel that room to a single 2ch system and the fantastic appeal is gone.

There are alot of 861 systems out there and just crossing over that business area is something that would make many question their loyalty to the brand.

It certainly looks that way. However, unless you have technologically competitive producs, I don't see how that can be a valid business model in the longer term. At present M are a long way behind the HT curve.

Yes I have and have posted about it. The investment in the room and the links to room treatment and projector companies etc. and even the new 200 series makes little sense without a new processor.

Dolby Atmos was launched in 2012. This gives an idea of how behind Meridian have fallen when they used to be on the leading edge.

At the very least Meridian should update the 861 with the ultra-low jitter architecture of the 8x8 and provide 2ch MQA.

I'm about to build a new home and thus am designing a new listening/watching room. I like listening and watching in the comfort of my favorite surrounds. I'd really like to remain on the leading edge in terms of the movie experience and M has been a big supporter of Atmos, though they do not seem to be big implementer. I'm growing tired of waiting myself. I checked around with some of the other brand options and Theta Digital has a nice upgrade path for their top of the line Casablanca. I am completely amenable to sending my 861 in to M to get it upgraded, as Theta requires.

Please M, bring on an path to prevent my unit from becoming obsolete and providing an upgrade that enables MQA, Atmos and DTS-X to be utilized in my Meridian Digital Theater

All good points and an interesting debate. Making me think even more!
I do love the sound of my set up for movies and music but I think if i were starting from scratch now the 861 wouldn't be considered.

If Meridian wants to keep (some) existing owners from moving on and bring in new ones then more info is needed on the future of the 861.

I think Meridian should be keeping us better informed of their roadmap. Its a long ago time since they announced there would be an 861 MQA upgrade, but still nothing, not even an update on progress.

Similar thoughts about the state of Sooloos on the streaming forum: Meridian Sooloos Update 2017.
The silence on these issues is deafening and worrisome.

Beyond the economics, I wonder if implementation isn't the other issue.

Processors in the 861 $ range offer 16 to 32 channels, all of which are adjustable via RC. That simply doesn't work with M DSP's.

Sticking one 8000 at the end of one channel would defeat some of the benefits of Atmos and RC. If SpeakerLink provided different connectivity to each driver, then it would be a different story.

I don't really see a problem if you had a 16 or 32 ch Meridian processor. Why would RC be an issue at all? You scale up the processor power you have more filters to distribute around them. Besides, ceiling speakers might not need a whole lot of RC

More & more of us are thinking alike.

Referring to the Meridian website and the "861v8 REFERENCE DIGITAL SURROUND SOUND CONTROLLER", can it still be titled as such? If there are state-of-the-art features that are conspicuous by their absence & have been for some years now, shouldn't the 861v8 be renamed?

But diverging AND contradicting myself slightly, to be honest I'm not greatly interested in Dolby Atmos & the other (additional) surround modes, or >7.1 channels, but I AM interested in MQA. However, the Custom-Install market most definitely is interested in that kind of p***ing-contest, so what's being done to keep-up...?

I totally "get" the complications of adding MQA to a beast as complex as the 861v8 but I would be quite happy to add a card which enables 2-channel MQA pass-through. It appears that the "218" might be this "fudge" in disguise, but it's a shame there's not a neater or sooner-available option.

So, my 861v8 isn't a dead-end, yet, but it's a very frustrating and expensive box of electro-trickery that really isn't living up to its potential at the moment...