Meridian Unplugged - Powered by MrTechGuy.co.uk Forums Discussion Off Topic RIP Allen Boothroyd

Condolences to his family.

Most industrial art is derivative and ordinary. His was thoughtful, unique and inspiring.

Very sad to hear this. May he rest in peace, my thoughts with his family and friends.

As others have mentioned, Meridian was never only about sound quality for me, although that was a large part of it. No, I recall being blown away when I walked into Doug Brady HiFi on Seven Dials in London in the mid-90s and was treated to a demo of 500/6Ks while waiting for a different dem (no way I could afford Meridian as a student).

Well I was blown away, both by the incredible sound quality, the likes of which I had never heard in recorded music, and the stunning design, which I rate to this day as some of the best I’ve ever seen, especially in 500 series. I only learned of the earlier series (200, etc.) and Lecson in more recent years while on here as a Meridian owner and getting equipment serviced by Chris, but it is no less stunning in its design.

I find it disappointing, in a post-Alan Boothroyd world, that things haven’t moved on more than this by now - most hifi boxes still look like they did 30 or 40 years ago, give or take, with no real thought to industrial design beyond a subtly different front fascia layout or badging. Don’t start me on most speakers. But this disappointment in lack of progress extends way beyond the world of hifi, so I shouldn’t be surprised.

Thank you Alan, for giving us aesthetic perfection to match the sonic perfection we all love.

I would love to see a modern, commemorative, version of the Lecson released by Meridian. It’s design would still be cutting edge.

Sad news. Allen is one of the main reasons I became interested in hifi. I saw his Lecson designs at the Design Centre in London in the late 70s, and was hugely impressed. This set a seed that ended up with me buying a 500 series system many years later.

Very sad to hear

Apparently the LC-1, although totally stunning to this day, was an absolute pig to construct and rather unreliable and difficult to repair. Plus Lecson wasn’t really Meridian, so I can’t see them doing that.

Perhaps an (original) 200 series, or 500 series commemorative would be brilliant, though, and they could do with some more pleasing boxes, aesthetically, right now!

A 'Boothroyd Signature' version of the Linn Selekt would be a suitable and worthy replacement for the AC200.

I think what Meridian have been missing is a true lower cost alternative to 818. Similar functionality (if not out and out SQ) in a retro 200/500 series design would perhaps be fitting? Alternatively, a special Allen Boothroyd edition of the 818 with that retro AB styling as a signature piece?

I just read this online. Click here

It happened some time ago.