Meridian Unplugged - Powered by MrTechGuy.co.uk Forums Discussion Meridian - Systems A Meeting for Hikers in Huntingdon: Interest Check

Well it was only a couple of hundred pounds more than the MS200 and offers so much more from a technical perspective. I would expect to pay £750 for a better looking MS200 and more for a better looking 218.

Meridian seem to be criticised for making expensive products that are out of reach for the new buyers. In my opinion the 218 is the best value piece of kit that Meridian supply.

Cheers
Tom

+1

C'mon guys, give the poor little 218 a break. I think it looks great sitting next to my NUC--they almost look like they're related! And after selling the 818 and replacing it with the 218 (which does everything I need as well as the 818 did) my bank account looks downright handsome.

Ken

+1, thanks Ken.

As I said, I completely understand the use case for pure installation when it’s hidden away, but to me for representatives of a company which has such a proud tradition of being at the cutting edge of design - Alan Boothroyd creating award-winning, mould-breaking aesthetics, a perfect blend of form and function - to say the 218 looks ‘cool’ is, frankly, heartbreaking (if that is, in fact, what was said).

I also fully agree that M need to make more affordable ranges, but they used to accomplish this while meeting gorgeous design criteria at the same time. Other companies achieve good design at lower price points today; it’s fiercely competitive out there.

Please take these comments in the right light. I’m a huge, huge fan of Meridian and would love to see them return to the very high functional and aesthetic standards they once stood for at every price point they targeted.

One aspect of the 218 which was mentioned was the ability to hide it away.

It is still too large to hide away within their in-wall DSPs however, and I would welcome a simple MQA-enabled MS200 substitute which had the form-size to achieve this.

I did ask John whether it was technically feasible to produce an endpoint where you could select between RAAT and Sooloos protocols for use with Roon. He didn’t know the answer as he is not on the technical side.

Something else to consider is that all Meridian products are UK Made and they are very proud of this.
This means they cannot benefit from a low wage economy or major economies of scale.

John’s very words, “I think it looks cool”. He appeared (To Me) surprised at comments on its overall look. I think we have to consider the price and speed of development if it had a more sexy looking case.
The discussion raised the issue of the time it took Meridian to bring an MQA solution to market. Especially as people had spent a lot of money to have the very best audio systems. The consensus was that it seemed longer than the 6 months ish it actually was.
MQA was known about and discussed a long time before it’s official commercial release and this inevitably led to frustration.

Rumour has it, that these devices have been around in Prime style enclosures for a number of years. Just never made the official light of day.

I dont have any idea of their size, but a Prime style box that allowed these units to be plugged in the rear and user friendly controls and display on the front woukd be a nice option.

This had already been suggested for other devices, a plug in module that could be fitted into various Meridian units, such as processors, DSP speakers and, as was being discussed at the time, inside a F80/M80 replacement.

I too feel that a large part of the Meridian DNA has been lost. The Prime is the last item that can be displayed in full view. I wonder if the new units are displayed in the 'Art Cabinet' at Meridian HQ?

But if they ensure the future of Meridian, its the unfortunate price of necessity.

I don't think we have to be, or should be, apologists for Meridian.

Let's get real: on MQA, Meridian promised more than any other manufacturer. They sold it to us, sold it, and sold it again. *That's* why six months late providing a solution for MQA with 861 etc. is six months too late. There may well be issues with MQA licensing that need to be resolved, but that's no consolation when you've spent over £50k on a pair of 8kSEs and an 861v8 and can't get fully rendered MQA without a 218 or (as ludicrously suggested) an 818v3.

I think that the 218 is a *superb* product for what it is and, of course it can be used for "non-custom-install" purposes (as I do). But pretending it's remotely akin to one of the Boothroyd designs of the past is pretty disingenuous IMO.

It's clear that the company has been through one heck of a change in the last few years, in terms of demand on resource (the development of MQA), change in ownership structure (spin-out of MQA), departure of key personnel, and no doubt profitability targets from Richemont. I really hope that Meridian succeeds with its strategy and delivers the products (and de facto promises) that we all want and need.

Very often, I feel hostage to Meridian; the only reason I'm still here is that the engineering philosophy makes so much sense and the sound quality is so damn good.

Well said!

That MQA is still not available via a 861 card is a major disappointment and its lack of overall evolution (MRC included) is the major reason I jumped ship.

Changing the subject, does anyone know what the 722 looks like? I've not seen any pics to date.

I think JB was let off with the question. Beauty is subjective so why not give the easy answer! Personally I would hide away all of my hi-fi if I could and spend my aesthetic budget on furniture and decoration.

Hi-fi has had to be visible in the past for line of site control or feeding media. The 218 device does not need to be physically accessed once it's connected to the network. Why would you want to see it. Saying that... would you want to hide it behind a speaker if you were thinking of using the other connectors?

Cheers
Tom