I can't understand what you expect from the 218 it is not a high end Product. This is what Meridian states about 218:
<The performance of the 218 is somewhere between the MS200 and the MS600 on PCM files up to 24 bit/96KHz. So for a collection made up of mainly CD-quality material, the MS600 has the edge on the 218 by virtue of its superior power supply circuits, digital signal processing and output stages.>
I Think it's a good replacement for MS200 but nothing more.

861v8+ID41, HD621, G98, Arcam P35, DSP7200SE, DSP7200HC, SW1600, DSP320.
2xMS600, 2xMS200, 2xDSP3200, AC200, Explorer2, 2x218, AD88, Prime, 251, 210