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

It is clunky - you are right.

You need a preferences option in the 218 that says MQA = Analogue or SpeakerLink out and everything else via Coax.

It should be possible.

Cheers
Tom

But your reply to Chris(as I interpreted it), that caused my comment, referred to pass through being an option. If the 218 is downstream the processor, what are you talking about "passing through"? Sorry if I am being dense😳

Well, depends on what RC processor your using....

Touché, Mr Trinnov. Probably true with Cary processors?

It may be me being dense, not sure.

If you put a 218 between the G65 and the front two speakers, you have your normal system apart from fact you just put a 218 between the G65 and the speakers.

If the 218 passes through its input (SpeakerLink in), this can carry left and right signals on one cat input from the G65. It also has the two outputs (SL master and slave). Read the thread I linked to, somebody was explaining it to me.

Can anyone confirm this? I am at the point of nearly handing over money, is this going to be possible, what is the point of the SL in and the 2 x SL outs if it is not for the purpose I am describing?

Sounds perfectly logical to me

That's exactly what I intend doing too....

Hi there,
I thought that the SL input on the 218 was from the network where you would get data from Roon or Sooloos and Tidal and that the out put SL should go to the speakers, and that this would totally bypas the processor. And then a network switch of tipe A/B to out could let you have only two longer home run cables to the speakers. For this setup the 218 and the processor need to be controller when they are used and the switch need to be placed in the right A/B position.
If there is a simpler way to do this i would happily take it.
Christofer

Sooloos and Roon will come into the network input. The Speakerlink input is for The Speakerlink output of another Meridian component.

It's a good question. The user guide does show the separate SpeakerLink Input in the back panel diagram and also lists these specs:

- One 2-channel Meridian SpeakerLink input, 44.1kHz to 192kHz and up to 24-bit precision.

Curiously, none of the sample applications documented show the SL input in use.

Soundserge

Normally you might connect a SL source (e.g. a MS600) to the SL input on the 218. However, there is nothing to stop that source being the L+R SL output from a Meridian processor. The idea is that, the 218 can be set up to allow that (SL) input to simply pass through the 218 and on to the SL input on the DSP speaker (or the SL inputs on both L & R speakers, depending on how you have things configured). Doing that would allow you to run a multichannel set up, or to use DSP processing for (e.g) Trifield. Otherwise, if you want to play MQA material (which is stereo only) then the 218 is set up to default to the 'network' input which bypasses the processor completely.

Just my thoughts _ although I haven't got one on order yet.

I think the applications shown in the manual are kept relatively simple to cover the main use and intention of the unit.

Obviously, the other option comes to mind, where the 218 SL output would be connected to the SL input on a G65, with the MQA signal passing directly thru the G65 (in a kind of MQA/Direct mode, where no processing is applied) and on to the speakers as normal. I don't know if that's possible with the G65 (I'm sure someone who knows better than me will correct me) but it would need a software update as a minimum.

Brian

Brian,
How do I get L+R from the 861 or G65 to one SL input?

Would it be possible to connect the 218 to the 861 and G65 via there two SL inputs on ID29 of the 861 and the back of G65? (You beat me to this question).

By reading the manual of the 218 it doesn't seem like Meridian think that the 218 is suppose to be the MQA answer to us with surround processors but rather a cheap processor.

So in effect now all source (Sooloos and 808) and prosessors/DACs (Ultra DAC, Explorer2, 818 and 218) handling 2 channels can handle MQA but not the multy channel processors including Meridian's flagship 861... (the expandable dream processor).

Christofer