Meridian Unplugged - Powered by MrTechGuy.co.uk Forums Discussion Meridian - Systems DSP5500.2 vs DSP5200.2 5.1 HT setup?

With speakers of that quality and a processor of that capability, I would probably not change to Meridian for home theatre.

SQ-wise I suspect the processor and amplification is perhaps not quite up to Meridian's best but the extra HT facilities you have over a Meridian processor probably balance out that shortfall. I guess you could go for the latest Marantz processor if you wanted/needed Dolby Atmos, etc.

And the room layout you posted would I suspect be overwhelmed by the DSP5500-based system (I imagined your room was ~6m x ~7m) as would your neighbours

This system will be sold with my flat soon, I really like it, but nothing is eternal.

Would a DSP5500 be too much for my room and what about DSP5200?

Just to add to the topic of the original question, in my experience Meridian speakers integrate best with each other when of the same type. My priority would be to use the same across the front, then from front to rear.

This may matter less with DSP8000’s/DSP7200’s, but it does seem to matter with their smaller speakers. I found the tonal difference quite noticeable when I had a Meridian surround system.

Is there is a big tonal difference between 5200 and 3200/3300?

I was thinking of Atmos, but its cool for real HT with projector etc.
My HT is in living dining room with only 77" oled TV.
So, to your mind, 5200 based system will be better for my flat?

In the simple binary proposition DSP5500-based vs. 5200-based, and in the context of your current flat, then yes I would go for the DSP5200 system as the DSP5500 system will just be too overwhelming.

You (and I) have introduced other variables such as selling your current system, moving house and adding Atmos. All of those considerations would affect my decision making...

I can’t speak to those specific speakers, but I have experience of living with the DSP5000’s, DSP7200’s (as non-SE and SE’s) and also A500’s, M33’s and M60’s. All of these sound tonally different.

When using a different speaker for the centre, it didn’t gel very well. From front to rear, it wasn’t awful, but wasn’t great either. I’d certainly recommend using identical speakers across the front and, ideally the same (or very similar) all round.

Given the choices on offer, I would go with 5200s/DSW and trade up to at least a 5200 centre as quickly as possible - 5200s are great speakers, most SL models should be upgradeable to SE when the upgrade bug bites and are EBA compatible also. The weakest link in the current suggestion is the centre, not the mains. Given the centre is probably the single most important speaker in a multichannel setup, I would not skimp on this.

Another purely practical reason to not go for legacy speakers currently is that most of the drive units are no longer available for repairs. This is very sad, as I love some of the legacy models, but true nonetheless.

Anton, which source/processor did you decide on in the end?

Depends which version. SE's? definitely. Tonally it's minor between 5200.2, it's been a while since I heard them both. I'd say more importantly, features such as Enhanced bass alignment are not included in the 3200/3300, they are only EBA compatible if other Meridian speakers in your system uses it. They add a delay so they play nicely, but don't gain the time alignment goodness. To me EBA is a crucial feature in terms of SQ.

+1

Speakers that don’t have sufficient Bass don’t need EBA by definition.

True, but do EBA capable speakers integrate better with EBA capable subs, since EBA is really about delaying the treble and is more of a continuum across the whole frequency spectrum, rather than, e.g., MRC which only affects the bass itself?

Perhaps it might also depend on where you intend using the non-EBA speakers - in my head (without trying it), it might not make quite so much difference just having the general delay on surrounds, but on the critical centre, it might be much more important to integrate EBA properly with the sub to get the full effect?

FWIW, I heard doing the DSW EBA was one of the most difficult implementations Meridian had to design.

+1

This is a good option.