Meridian Unplugged - Powered by MrTechGuy.co.uk Forums Discussion Off Topic Meridian vs. other high end brands

SME.

I couldn't afford to buy one today, but I still have my SME3009 in storage.

i've owned M for over a decade now and aside from a few troubling issues along the way, there is no other brand i would consider.

sure, the processors are currently long in the tooth, not supporting the new(ish) codecs, but i believe M will step up their game shortly and address this.

and yes, this forum is bordering on ghost town...

Interesting conversation - this is something I have wondered about myself, having migrated to Meridian some twenty years ago (and, overall, extremely happy with the move).

I have always felt they were at the top their game, but some recent comments from a couple of Hi-Fi dealers suggests that there are now equal or better alternatives in this price range.

I would have probably ignored them, but the recent lack of information on the direction of the 861 and the shift in focus to the custom install market has made me wonder whether their heart is still in this game in the same way is was when Bob was running the show.

Having invested heavily both emotionally and financially into their products, I hope they will stick to bringing out class-leasing music systems that we can upgrade to, but if I were ever to think about moving to the DSP8000's, then the cost jump is big enough to reopen the question!

Well have a look at T+A:

Quality: perfect
Support: perfect
Sound: beyond comparison
Price: hafty

Andreas

T+A, to which definition of this acronym do you refer. I hope it is Time and Attendance and not the urban version.

Hector

Compared to M, the T+A in slang parlance looks like the latter. Not sure how it sounds, but perusing their website has me totally uninterested in their product line, with processing for HT seemingly an afterthought.

(Disclaimer: strictly dating strippers for last 10yrs or so [strangely coinciding with M ownership], I know about these things...)

Ah! The dilemma, customer ownership v corporate ownership. Each has its place but without assets, value and profit neither can exist alone for long.

However the customer can always walk away.

Hector

What kind of speakers are they running in Scores?

They use M&K at Scores and Hustler on the West Side Highway uses some kind of "kustom" junk. I try to enlighten them, but they only care about the bass.

At least the lucky strippers that have been over know what's what audio-wise. As you can prob infer, I'm a most excellent host thanks in no small part to my M kit (and my automated bar with integrated mood lighting doesnt hurt either).

I will have to visit your bar then, the next time I am in NYC !

any time! make sure to bring a few 8-balls, so we can do some a/b blind comparos

Quad is another company that hasn't really dated.

I have a pair of old Quad 988 Electrostatics which are from 1999, which are the same speakers as the ESL63 just a more modern looking cabinet, from 1981. Even today the ESL2812 is the same speaker. 36 years for virtually the same speaker is pretty good going really.

I am still running a Quad 405 amplifier too, launched in 1975, tweaked in 1982, still beats so many modern designs. Mine has seen off many Meridian amps over the years, and some more modern stuff from Classé, Bel Canto, Unison Research, Bryston etc. etc. There is something about the current dumping amps that makes them so nice to listen to.
The 606 came out in 1986, got a new case in 1997 in the 707, then in 1999 became the 909 and we now have the Artera, which is pretty much the same amp inside, still a 140wpc current dumping unit.

They still offer the Quad II power amp, that was released in 1953. Sure it has better components now and a much better psu, but it is still based on the classic Peter Walker design from nearly 70 years ago.


I can't think of any company that has had such good products that have pretty much stayed the same for so many years?