Meridian Unplugged - Powered by MrTechGuy.co.uk Forums Discussion Meridian - Systems DSP8000 vs Wilson Audio or similar speakers

I find the Wilson comparison interesting since they seem to use old design, less exotic drivers in a well designed box.

There are other companies spending money on driver R&D Paradigm persona, Revel, B&W, Magico, etc. that are pushing the SOTA with the mineral table.

Meridian should address why they don't use such materials in their new products and more specifically why each driver is still preferred to the competition, and they have to use real words

Only your ears can influence any decision. I am sure you will not be swayed at any price by marketing propaganda.
Hector

Because they sound better.

It’s what you do with the parts, regardless of what they’re made of, which makes the real difference.

As Bob Stuart once said, to paraphrase, it’s easily possible to make a component which measures completely flat and yet sounds awful.

Magico speakers were very impressive to audition and very well made.

I couldn’t have been less impressed when I listened to a pair though. Honestly the least musical, coldest, most clinical speakers I’ve ever heard.

Interesting how we vary in our perceptions.

I listened to a pair of Magicos in an ultra hi-end system and was specifically impressed by their detail and rhythmic articulation on top of them doing all the things a mega-buck speaker should do. Best full range passive speakers I've heard.

Hi 3dit0r
Hate to push you further into minority status, but my experience of Magico speakers has always been very positive. Heard several pairs with various pre amps and amps, they never failed to impress musically, very tight bass, female vocals astonishingly live. Just Magico but some may not enjoy such purity.
Hector

True purity in domestic audio (which I take to mean utter transparency to the source material) is largely impossible to assess, though, unless one has the privilege of being at the performance/recording.

I shouldn’t judge Magico on one audition, perhaps, but it was in a known decent audition room on the end of top of the line DCS sources and McIntosh amplification, with dealer who knows their setup stuff, so I’d be surprised if it wasn’t shown at its best.

The same day, I auditioned Harbeth, Sonus Faber and Focal. I left with the Harbeths, no contest on the day. Once I’d decided, the dealer told me John Williams (the composer) had auditioned there a while back. He left with Harbeths too.

Back home, albeit with lesser amplification, but 818v3 as a reference source, the Harbeths are nice and very tonally accurate and pleasing, but the 7200.2 are on a different level completely. It was then I decided Meridian are not only very, very good, but also very good value as a total package. Just the Mcintosh amplification alone in the demo was more than 7200.2s. The DCS stack, don’t even go there!

A musician friend of mine from KL decided to buy a "high end" set up after he heard my 808v5 & 7200SEs.

At that time (2015) there was no Meridian dealer in KL but a particular lifestyle shop sold the 5200SEs and C15 but the shop attendant had no clue about Meridian or hifi in general and my friend wasn't impressed.

At the end he opted for Wilson Sophias with Goldmund mono amps and a Linn Akurate pre amp streamer.

When I first heard his system, the hairs on my neck stood up. The imagery, holographic nature of vocals was incredible - and this from an iTunes library.

However, after a while, the set up just sounded too bright, the ears bled at high volumes and it was hard to listen to it for more than half an hour.
His listening room as huge and he spent an age positioning the speakers so it could have been down to his poorly ripped iTunes library.

Anyhow, his speakers blew up after 6 months and so he replaced them with the Wilson Sashas and Transparent cables.

About 12 months down the line, he again upgraded his speakers and now has the Alexia 1's.
All the while I am still content with my Meridian gear which I feel is very neutral and rarely tiring no matter what source is thrown at it.

I demoed, again the Paradigm Persona 7F in a room that's been painstakingly setup for the specific speakers. The imaging was unfreakingbelievable, in the opposite way M does it. These had depth and detail to die for, the problem I heard was there was so much air around all the instruments and vocals that while it added to some aspects the overall presentation came off a bit dry ... Impressive and bass to die for, images you could touch cymbals floating in space, but as impressed as I was I find the Meridian richer in tone.

I had a good set up of Wilsons and Audi Research tube amp etc. Fabulous sound. If it came to it, I’d have a slight preference for Meridian’s house sound. Same speaker principles though, separate head on a bass unit. At least the Meridian pallet collapses for storage... Wilson crates can fill a modest garage but we not really talking practicality here...

I brought home my favorite passive speakers last weekend for an extended demo as a local dealer I know needs the floor space. These are only $25,000 a pair plus components and cables, but its enough to convince me the sota hasn’t passed us by. Considering the previous speakers I had before finding the 8k I’m a believer reaffirmed in active DSP.