Quote
It amazes me sometimes that some may feel hard done by the cost of the upgrade by comparing it with cheaper available alternatives, yet at other times they may have justified their choices of high end products based on sometimes marginal sound quality improvements.
It's not the cost of the upgrade, it's not knowing what's coming next. That can be said for any manufacturer, but with Meridian it's become a little annoying over the past few years. When I bought into Meridian I knew they'd be among the first to bring new technology into my home. These days, they're years behind others. I'd happily buy the 722 for retail if they'd tell me I could still use with with a 861v10 or a new processor that supports the new formats and that such a processor is in the works, even if it takes them another two years or so to release it. But at this point I have to assume that when (if) a Meridian solution arrives one day, it might require to replace the 722 again, be it for decoding the new formats or simply pass through the bitstream via MMHR.

Given that 4k switching in an external box hooked up to an existing HD621 can be done for under £250, it might be the better temporary solution (again, we don't know if the 722 will have to be replaced "soon").
The fact that the 271 is available for the same price as the 722 with trade-in is tempting for those who want the new formats and it's probably what I'd do if I wanted the new formats right now and a Marantz processor isn't that expensive and would probably make a good temporary solution until Meridian comes up with a solution of their own. If that's not gonna happen, then any "cheap" processor can still be replaced by Trinnov/Datasat/whatever for a fully digital system.

- Stephan