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

Well it's certainly got me back in the Meridian corner, it may look like 3com switch from the 90's but it ticks the boxes for me.

I for one am happy they didn't drive up the price with a fancy box!

As far as I can tell, this is the best deal in audio land, for a full fat MQA device.

Would love to know what is taking so long.

Nah. I want a fancy box to go on show with the rest of my fancy gear, with a proper UI and a display and a decent PSU and more inputs.

Stop taking the Michael, Meridian, your wanton ignoring of the middle ground is looking like you just don't care about the guys who got you where you are - middle of the road with more-than-average amounts to spend but not enough to justify high-end premium prices.

The Just Above Just About Managing? Look what they have been doing to the world recently...

Ian I can hear the tears. Just like all good things teasingly far away.

+1
Couldn't agree more. Two years after first hearing MQA and no line of sight to a mid-range replacement for AC200, MS200, MS600. The 218 is not really designed to replace these products given their custom install focus.

What's worse is that we don't know whether they have just abandoned the market or whether we have to wait 3 months or three years for an MQA based mid range solution.

There also seems to be more of a bias towards dacs for analog set-ups with an under-serving of the customer base that has bought into their DSP philosophy.

Personally, I have started to wonder whether I would be better off with an active based speaker solution as it would be easier to tap into a wider DAC market where most of the innovation seems to be.

Some communication is all thats required - come on Meridian - you invented mqa yet loyal customers who have bought into Sooloos based DSP solutions are no nearing being able hear it, without spending 8000 pounds on an 800 series or without purchasing 3rd party solutions like Roon.

You are not the only one; I've been hitting the likes of the Genelec and Mackie websites recently...

And I've been looking at ATC...

When I worked in IT we were always told how it took much more effort and cost to get a new customer than it did to retain an existing one, maybe Meridian are leaving domestic audio and moving to custom installation so our loss is both inevitable and not something to be concerned about?

The silence from Meridian has gone on so long now that we all just accept as the norm, even dealers with the notable exception of Bruce and to a lesser extent Rick only ever submit 'for sale' posts, try doing a lookup on their username and then select posts! All quite depressing considering how it used to be in the not so distant past.

I agree with Carrart, VK and Ianm in questioning my investment in DSP and looking wider afield for my future audio purchases.

Russ.

All of you who are (understandably) complaining about Meridian's behaviour should look at their latest accounts and directors' report (available for free on the Companies' House website). I'm sure opinions will differ, but it seems to me that M are finding times hard, and hence much belt tightening has been taking place. This might also explain recent discounting - perhaps to get much needed cash through the door - and cost saving by limiting representation at industry events. Just theories, but plausible.

I like Meridian stuff - as much for its technical elegance and its design as for its sound quality - and I want to support them as much as I can, recognising, obviously, that we all have our financial limits and also limits to our patience.

Please let's give them some breathing space. I know we may feel a bit let down, but, if my theories are right, they need our support, not complaints.

When times are hard and in Meridian's history that seems to have been the case quite frequently it would seem to me that keeping your loyal owners onside would make good business sense?

This does not mean they have to tell us all their future plans but ongoing communication with users and owners takes many forms! This forum and the highly skilled highly knowledgeable people on it (myself excluded) provide free of charge an excellent first line/second line support resource for Meridian but we are getting precious little back in return.

Have a look at other forums, for example PS Audio, Roon where the manufacturer actively participates and supports their forums, it used to be like that here.

Alienate your owners at your own risk.

Russ

+ very well said.

I agree very much with what you say about communication, but it may not be correct to imagine they are just being cussed or contemptuous of the forum. They may just have not much to say that can be usefully said publicly without making their situation even more challenging (if it is indeed so).